Zeljko Obradovic: 'I'm against any kind of war, but I don't remember people talking when my country was under bombing' / News - Basketnews.com

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Zeljko Obradovic crossed himself when Gediminas Orelik drained another three-pointer to increase Lietkabelis' lead by 14. Partizan's coach tried to hide his disappointment with the ironic smile on his face because his team was helpless on a horrible EuroCup night in Panevezys.

Player of the Game EFF 25 Djordje Gagic Points 21 Accuracy 7-9 Rebounds 5 Assists 1

Lietkabelis Panevezys, coached by former Partizan's captain Nenad Canak, handed his former club one of the worst losses of the season 93-78.

"I want to congratulate Lietkabelis. They played very well from the beginning until the end," Obradovic said in the post-game press conference. "My team was not in the game, this is obvious. Without any kind of wish, any kind of concentration."

Orelik, who Obradovic had on his radar during the 2016-17 season with Fenerbahce, scored 17 first-half points, including 5 of 7 three-pointers.

This incredible number told everything about Partizan's presence.

"My preparation for the game was directed to deny every pass to him. Not to leave him to shoot the ball," Obradovic spoke of Orelik, who finished the game with 21 points. "I respect him very much. I know that his 3-point average was 40%. And we prepared in the way to deny any pass to him. What else should we talk about then?"

Partizan already faced a tough Lietkabelis challenge at home when they beat Lithuanians after a long battle 84-77.

But after the first win of the season against the main rival Crvena Zvezda 48 hours ago, Partizan didn't show up in Panevezys.

The home team made a second-quarter run 24-2, letting Lietkabelis build a huge lead (48-26). The difference even increased to 29 points at the end of the third (78-49). Partizan saved their honor in the last minutes of the games, avoiding the worst loss of the season.

"Let's try to find some excuse that two nights ago we played big derby in our country. But that's the most stupid excuse that somebody can use," Obradovic told BasketNews. "This is not an excuse. Everything is the opposite. If you like to play basketball and if you play for a club like Partizan, you have to give everything inside."

Points this season

45%80,0Points made:80,0Accuracy:45,1%Place in standings:12Record max:96Record min:60Best scorer:Gediminas OrelikasTeamEuroCupStatisticsSchedule

"Tonight in my team, there were two players. The first one, Kevin Punter, is always ready to help the team and does incredible things. And the other player that was in the level normal to play the game was Rade Zagorac. All the rest... A disaster," he added.

The deadline for the new player registration in the EuroCup has passed. Partizan rank second with nine wins in 14 games, and Obradovic still believes in his team.

"We have a young team with some experienced players. Unfortunately, no one of them responded today. This is how it is. The roster is the roster. These are my players, and we'll continue to trust them until the end of the season. The season always is something that you discuss after you finish it. We still have many games in front of us. This is our team, and we need to trust it," Obradovic said.

When BasketNews asked Obradovic to share his thoughts about the ongoing war in Ukraine, he was very firm with his position.

"I don't want to make any statement. Statements are good. But this is not the first time it happened in our life. I'm 62 years old. I remember a lot of things in my life. But I will remember what people also talked at that moment about this," he said. "My country was under bombing in 1999. But I didn't see people react and talk."

"Also, in Iraq. Also, in Syria. Also, in Afghanistan. Did anybody talk about this at that moment?" Obradovic added. "Of course, personally, I'm against any kind of war in the world. Any single person who died because of the war is terrible. But there is something little bit more inside if we discuss about this."

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