Djordjevic on canceled wins against Russian clubs: 'It was taken from us and we feel it every day' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: D.Repečka/BasketNews Credit D.Repečka/BasketNews

It is strange to think that Fenerbahce Beko played its last home game back on the 8th of February, against Real Madrid. The packed stands in the Atasehir were relentlessly cheering for their beloved team, Fenerbahce.

Player of the Game EFF 18 Yovel Zoosman Points 20 Accuracy 6-12 Rebounds 3 Assists 2

There was no Nando De colo, no Jan Vesely, and many others. But there was a strong belief in the air that this team could make it to the playoffs no matter what.

Tonight against ALBA, that hope was diminished to all but zero.

"Tough, tough opening of the game," Sasa Djordjevic said after the game. "Inside, we were talking about how to play, but when the tough moments started, we stopped responding to comeback. That second quarter is something I can't even explain."

Fenerbahce Beko came to this game after a series of three losses suffered against Baskonia and Barcelona in the EuroLeague and against Pinar Karsiyaka in Izmir, with a last-second shot.

"This is the 4th game in seven days. Three trips were very tough. Some of the players are still far away from game shape. You can see why the morale fighting was a little bit down," Djordjevic explained.

"I tried to encourage them and give them the desire to fight in a game like this for the cause of the club. I tried to make them understand the importance of the game. This is my disappointment. It wasn't there all the time. 50-50 balls were theirs, they got the offensive boards," the Serbian coach continued.

But he did not stop there. The Serbian coach did not hide his disappointment about the attitude and even criticized some of his players almost purposefully.

"In a game like this, it should not be only the captain (Melih Mahmutoglu) who carries the team on his back," he said.

"Being professional means giving 100% to the club that engaged you, not only in a game but all the time you are living your life when the season is there. In recovery, in resting, in eating well, sleeping well.

Fenerbahce Istanbul / Schedule

Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz Fenerbahce Istanbul77-62 FC Barcelona Fenerbahce Istanbul88-67 Fenerbahce Istanbul ALBA Berlin57-66 UNIKS Kazan Fenerbahce IstanbulThu16:00 Fenerbahce Istanbul FC Bayern MunichMon17:45

You need to respect your duties as a basketball player. That is my message as an ex-professional basketball person that gives respect to this game. This is the word that you used in the beginning, and we need to understand what it means," he continued.

But it was not only the players that Djordjevic addressed in his post-game press conference. He also mentioned how hard it is to recover from the mental toil that Fenerbahce faced after the expulsion of the Russian teams.

Their three valuable wins went into the air, and according to Djordjevic, players got heavily affected emotionally.

"We are living this moment since the Russians were banned from the EuroLeague, and trust me, it is everyday talk. Every day, to make them get their motivation back because something was taken from us. It is in their talks every day. It is something that we feel," Djordjevic said.

In the same vein, Djordjevic also explained the hardship that came with the last-minute cancellations of the home games and the mental effects that came aside by them.

"It's been fifteen-something days that we did not play a home game in EuroLeague. You know the atmosphere here during the Real Madrid game.

"We were supposed to play with our rival Bayern, but due to Covid or some whatever reason, we had skip games and found ourselves, instead of playing, having three games at home and giving that boost of confidence and rhythm of playing, were lost."

Finally, Djordjevic also mentioned the injury problems that they had throughout the season. However, he gave a bigger emphasis to the De Colo case. For him, the start-stop was destructive for the entire team, in mental terms as well.

"Henry's first game was against Baskonia after two days of practice after a month. Jan Vesely came back after 3 months, but his case was the same," he reminded.

"Even Danilo Barthel said, "this is my first home game at Euroleague this year," to me. It is unbelievable what we are experiencing right now. But these are facts, and this is what we are living.

"The injury of our leader Nando de Colo happened after the 15th minute of the game in Baskonia. And this happened after we made our game plans for him before playing three important games in succession.

He needed some time to turn back to match fitness, and he was finally smiling in the practices he came back. And then, we had this injury. These are things that also hurt others. Players are creators of the wins. These are emotional killers," Djordjevic concluded.

Fenerbahce Beko's playoffs chances are still there, albeit only in mathematical terms.

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