Jasikevicius on meeting Guardiola: ‘We talked about golf, hopefully, we can play together soon’ / News - Basketnews.com

FC Barcelona (17-5) got an easy victory at home against LDCL ASVEL Villeurbanne (9-13) as Blaugranas led the game since the very beginning of the duel. Nico Laprovittola was the top scorer with 20 points, while Nikola Mirotic added 16.

Player of the Game EFF 20 Nikola Mirotic Points 16 Accuracy 5-11 Rebounds 7 Assists 0

Sarunas Jasikevicius expressed his happiness after the game, recognizing the impressive beginning was one of the keys.

"After Madrid's win, it was important to start the game as we did today. Maybe we have relaxed in the second half, but it was a good game overall. Not a consistent game, but quite good. All the players have contributed," began the Lithuanian coach.

Barcelona's head coach praised Calathes' defense and Laprovittola's inspiration in the third quarter. The Argentinian made 12 of his 20 points in that period.

"Calathes did a great job against Okobo. He stopped him. We found good options offensively. In defense, we were not as good as it seems if we look at the numbers. They missed opened shots. When we lost some fluency, Laprovittola rescued us with almost 12 points in a row," Jasikevicius analyzed.

The 45-year-old explained that the game plan was to rotate a lot and give opportunities to everyone.

"All the guys who were on the court performed well. Exum had his chances, Higgins is improving day-to-day, Mirotic made more shots, Sergi (Martinez) defended hard… I am happy."

Jasikevicius had a special mention for James Nnaji, the 17-year-old youngster.

"He was not as good as we see him in the practices, but it's normal. He is doing great, making big steps every week. It's a nice surprise for us. He has a bright future," added Saras.

Asked about the upcoming schedule, Jasikevicius confessed he prefers not to overthink about it.

"February is going to be tough, but March will be madness. I have never seen this. There are too many postponed games, and we must play them. I do not want to look at the schedule," said laughing.

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne / Schedule

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne Crvena Zvezda Belgrade69-67 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne FC Bayern Munich68-77 FC Barcelona LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne84-71 Fenerbahce Istanbul LDLC ASVEL VilleurbanneTue17:45

After the game, Jasikevicius coincided with Pep Guardiola, former Barcelona's football coach.

"We have talked about golf. Hopefully, we can play together soon. I have been following his journey these years, I have read his book… We must be proud of him," he revealed.

On the other hand, TJ Parker made a quick analysis of the game.

"Overall they played with a lot of energy. It is not easy to beat Barcelona. Actually, only Milan won here this year in the EuroLeague".

ASVEL started the season with 6 wins in the first 8 games of the season. Since then, they have just won 3 games.

"It's easy to explain. We have had so many problems during the season. We missed Morgan, Lighty for three months, then the Covid-19 outbreak… We had no time to practice. It's tough. It's hard to get in shape with all these problems," regretted Parker.

Finally, he admitted Barcelona is a better team in comparison with last year.

"They improve every year. Maybe this season they are even better because they know each other better. And they have added some great players like Laprovittola," he concluded.

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