Jasikevicius' message to young players: 'I'm very disappointed' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: www.imago-images.de-SCANPIX Credit www.imago-images.de-SCANPIX

FC Barcelona ended the EuroLeague Regular Season suffering a tough loss at home against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. The Israeli powerhouse scored 104 points, becoming the team with the highest score at Palau Blaugrana in the history of the competition.

FC Barcelona / Schedule

Olympiakos Piraeus FC Barcelona73-66 FC Barcelona Maccabi Tel Aviv80-104

Sarunas Jasikevicius opted for giving Nico Laprovittola and Kyle Kuric a rest. The Lithuanian specialist trusted in youngsters like James Nnaji, Michael Caicedo, and Gael Bonilla. None of them made Saras smile.

In the post-game conference, Jasikevicius had a clear message to all the young players.

"When you're young, it's normal to arrive half a second late for each action. But if they overcome you, make fouls, fight for each ball, learn to suffer. Why were Calathes and Exum the only ones who dived for the ball? I'm disappointed," said Sarunas.

"Maybe we're asking too much of some guys, but I only ask for 100% concentration, physicality, and effort.

If you want to fight for this club, you have to at least put in the effort, and I'm not sure some players had it tonight," continued the 46-year-old.

"I think that some players did not understand that we were trying to help them, but that this help is not forever, "Barcelona's head coach kept going in his deep speech.

Jasikevicius concluded by talking about how important it is to work before standing out.

"I have only seen how delighted they are for playing here at Palau Blaugrana, which is a great honor, but for this honor, a lot of work has to be done. I'm very disappointed."

Alex Abrines, who finished with a team-high 17 points, including a 5-7 from beyond the arc, admitted the image was not acceptable.

"We all had to play, and today the score was not important, but the image we have given as a team was not good. On Sunday, we have the opportunity to forget this defeat against Real Madrid," said Abrines.

FC Barcelona will host another edition of El Clasico on Sunday at 6.30 pm CET. If the Blaugranas win, they will almost secure the 1st seed in the ACB League Playoffs.

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