Jasikevicius: 'Games against Murcia are physically harder than in EuroLeague' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: ZUMAPRESS.com-SCANPIX Credit ZUMAPRESS.com-SCANPIX

FC Barcelona remained at the top of the ACB League standings after a tight win against UCAM Murcia on Tuesday. The Blaugranas played a really physically demanding game, outscoring the Murcianos with a stunning Nikola Mirotic.

The power forward finished the game with a season-high 30 points and 39 PIR.

Since the loss against AX Armani Exchange Milan at home back in January, Barcelona have won 21 of the following 24 games. They have finished their own March Madness with a 10-3 record.

Sarunas Jasikevicius did not hide his satisfaction after an important victory, as Barcelona are battling Real Madrid for the 1st seed in the Spanish league.

"I want to congratulate our guys for this game," the Lithuanian head coach began. "It went as we planned. We should have been calmer at the beginning. We did not find offensive situations, so we were down too early," he added.

"Then we found our rhythm, and we were better in the following three quarters, playing our game in one of the hottest courts of the league," continued the 46-year-old coach.

Regarding the bad start of the game, Jasikevicius mentioned the main key to erasing the difference.

"We just hit as UCAM Murcia is used to. They are a really physical team, so we could not lose this battle. Games against them are even harder than EuroLeague ones. Sito Alonso prepares them really well," recognized the Lithuanian mastermind.

Nick Calathes dished 5 assists in 21 minutes of action, being crucial with his temperance in the end.

"Murcia plays really well, especially at home. For us, it was a difficult game. We started very badly but improved enough to secure a big win. We were down by 17 points, but we managed to pull it off," explained the Greek guard.

FC Barcelona will face Olympiacos Pireaus in Greece in the Euroleague's penultimate round on Friday night.

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