Jasikevicius on Sfairopoulos's firing: 'Some players weren't committed as the coach was’ / News - Basketnews.com
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv dismissed the team's head coach Giannis Sfairopoulos yesterday, following the Israeli powerhouse's elimination in the Cup semifinals to Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Points this season
49%82,8Points made:82,8Accuracy:49,2%Place in standings:2Record max:111Record min:64Best scorer:Nikola MiroticTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsScheduleFC Barcelona head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius expressed some coaching solidarity to his colleague when he was asked about Sfairopooulos during the press conference ahead of the Spanish Copa del Rey, which opens tomorrow in Granada.
"It really hurts. This is coaches' reality," Saras said initially, before further commenting:
"I do not want to go into much detail… Some players were not committed as the coach was, but he is the first to go".
Giannis Sfairopoulos had been coaching Maccabi since November 18, 2018. He arrived in Tel Aviv from a four-year stint with Olympiacos Piraeus.
The 54-year-old managed to guide Maccabi to three Israeli League titles in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Moreover, he became the champion of the Israeli Cup in 2021.
"Unfortunately, we did not perform well as of late, even though we tried to lift our team off a difficult situation," the Greek tactician wrote in his farewell letter to the organization.
Apart from a special mention for his colleague, Jasikevicius analyzed how his team arrives in the Spanish Copa del Rey.
"We are excited. It is a title. We are more or less in a good moment. But on Friday at 9:30 p.m. everything starts from scratch. We have to think as it is a final. There is no Saturday.
We need to be focused and be extremely humble. They already beat us twice," said the Lithuanian mastermind.
FC Barcelona will face BAXI Manresa, probably the biggest surprise in the ACB League.
"Manresa makes things difficult for everyone, not just to us. Same coach, same management... it's a consolidated project. They know exactly what they are playing for. High pace, rebounding, physical toughness... It's going to be tough", added Saras, who praised Manresa's head coach Pedro Martinez.
"He is one of my favorite coaches. I really appreciate the way he sees basketball. His success does not surprise me. His teams always play good basketball," he concluded.
Asked about Cory Higgins's absence, Jasikevicius admitted they will need to learn how to play without him.
"People are adapting without him. We have different options. Laprovittola is playing now with Nick (Calathes). Dante (Exum) is doing Cory's job, being aggressive offensively from beyond the arc. We will need as many players as possible."
FC Barcelona will try to complete the back-to-back after last year's title.
"The Cup is like a sprint. First, you play for 40 minutes. If you win, you have to forget about it quickly and focus on the next opponent. You know how to adapt quickly. There are no practicIt'sIt's mentally t"ugh", concluded Sarunas.
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