Jasikevicius reflects on playing against Monaco in EuroLeague playoffs / News - Basketnews.com

Sarunas Jasikevicius acknowledges AS Monaco's great program and highlights the significance of attention to detail in the upcoming playoff series.

Credit: Oscar J. Barroso/AFP7 via ZUMA Press Wire - Scanpix, IPA/SIPA - Scanpix Credit Oscar J. Barroso/AFP7 via ZUMA Press Wire - Scanpix, IPA/SIPA - Scanpix

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul wrapped up their 2023-24 EuroLeague regular season with an 81-84 overtime loss to Olympiacos Piraeus on the road, settling for the sixth spot in the standings.

Player of the Game EFF 26 Isaiah Canaan Points 27 Accuracy 8-10 Rebounds 0 Assists 0

This sets them up for a playoff series against AS Monaco, the third seed, in a best-of-five showdown. Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius shared his thoughts on the upcoming challenge.

"Very good team. The team that it's exactly where we wanna be," Saras said of their opponents in the post-game conference. "The team that has continuity. The same coach, the majority of the roster is also the same. This is where we wanna be in the future. Hopefully, to build a program. They've clearly built a very great program over there. Obviously, one of the top teams.

"A lot depends on Mike [James] and great guard play, but you cannot forget about [Donatas] Motiejunas, and you cannot forget about John Brown. It's like a video game, you go one level higher, it's supposed to be harder," Jasikevicius continued.

"I expect more games like today [vs. Olympiacos], and the stakes are higher. Like I said after the game in the interview, probably a little bit too boring to talk about details constantly, but this is the time for details: one basket, one foul, one everything can change the outcome of the series."

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With the potential win over Olympiacos, Fenerbahce could have met FC Barcelona in the quarterfinals, and Saras was asked whether he had any preferences for the series opponent.

"Did we look to you like we had any preference? So..." Jasikevicius' response was straight to the point.

"The good thing is that European basketball is extremely honest basketball," the Lithuanian coach also said. "You saw the teams today that 'they say we are playing for nothing,' we go to overtime. Imagine somebody getting injured now from Fenerbahce or Olympiacos and what they will do to me in Istanbul. But you know, European basketball, EuroLeague has a lot of respect for its own profession. We fight here, it's a blood bath for 34 games."

This season, Monaco and Fenerbahce each secured a win against the other.

Saras' debut game as Fenerbahce's head coach, taking over from Dimitris Itoudis, was against Monaco in EuroLeague Round 14. Fenerbahce then won 86-74 at home. However, Monaco got their revenge on the French Riviera in Round 25, clinching a 76-69 victory.

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