The greats came to "Morač" this season, but no name is as resonant as the man who will step into the entrance of the biggest Montenegrin hall tonight. It is enough to list only a fraction of what he won and achieved - four-time winner of the EuroLeague, MVP of the EuroBasket in 2003, final four of the elite club competition, ACB League, one of the six official legends of the EuroLeague... And we could go on forever, but that's enough. just say his nickname Šaras and anyone who knows basketball at all will know everything about him.
It is, of course, one of the best European basketball players of all time, Šarunas Jasikevičus, who also began to pave the way to heights in his coaching career. With Žalgiris, he had the second smallest budget last season, but won 3rd place in the Euroleague and was even one step away from taking over Toronto. This season, he is probably the biggest asset of the "green forest", which will host the ABA league champion in the 6th round.
"The future has to play its basketball, we have to play ours. Whoever plays better, usually wins. That's the secret of basketball, to score more points than our rivals. We managed to do that in two away games, but not at home," Jasikevičus said with a smile when asked Montenegrin journalists, what could decide the winner.
The man born in March 1976, "just" to prevent his mother Rita from winning gold with the USSR handball players at the Olympic Games in Montreal, praised the "blues" and coach Aleksandar Džikić.
"Budućnost is a very solid team, which plays good basketball and is very well managed. It is a typical team from the former Yugoslavia, very disciplined, very well physically prepared, which knows what it is doing at all times and we have respect for it".
When asked what are the advantages and who are the main players of the home team, he did not hesitate and tried to hide what he was thinking.
"Team play and discipline, and it's always difficult to play here. Buducnost has two or three options in each position, and the coach is looking for the best in every game. Gordic and Ivanovic are key players, how well they lead the team depends on how well Buducnost play. There are also a lot of solutions from other chances, and Omić is playing an excellent season in attack. We are not expecting an easy game, but a very difficult one".
Last week in Kaunas, Žalgiris led for 35 minutes against the European champions, Real Madrid, but eventually lost 90:79.
"We have to be more consistent during 40 minutes. We played very good basketball in some parts of the games, we have to find a boss on the court. When we "lose our head", we don't have a man to lead the team in attack and get us out of difficult moments. My goal to find him, and that's not easy when you have a lot of new players. But that's the reality of teams like Žalgiris and Budućnost," he alluded to the fact that he was left without the leader of last year's team, Kevin Pengos, as well as four other players.
Šaras played in Morača once, in a phenomenal atmosphere at the opening of the Euroleague on October 18, 2000, when Barcelona won 85:77.
"I remember that match, it's always difficult to play in the former Yugoslavia. I remember both the hall and the fans. It's not easy for anyone here, because the Buducnosti players draw a lot of energy from the crowd, that will be a factor in this match as well. It's very important how we control series of rivals and fans".
In his career, he collaborated with many great coaches - Aita Garcia Reneses, Svetislav Pešić, Pini Geršon, Željko Obradović... but he did not want to copy anyone too much.
"There are no idols, you have to learn from the best, to take something from everyone. I think I've picked up something from a lot of coaches, but in the end you have to do things your own way and adapt to the players you have," concluded Jasikevicius.
Westerman remembers "Morača"
Leo Westerman has much fresher memories of "Morača" than his coach. In 2012, as a 20-year-old, the French playmaker was an actor in the famous match Buducnost - Partizan, which was delayed 30 minutes due to unprecedented disturbances in the hall and the fight between "barbarians" and "gravediggers". That was Westerman's only match in Podgorica (he skipped coming to Montenegro the following season due to an injury), and the Belgraders won 81:62.
"I remember that game well, the fans were kicked out before the game even started. It's difficult to play here, because the stands are very close to the field. That will certainly be an advantage for Buducnost in this game as well - stressed the occasional member of the French national team. Žalgiris is up to now lost in Kaunas against Baskonia (79:87), Fenerbahçe (75:82) and Real (79:90), while away from home they defeated Anadolu Efes (93:79) and Panathinaikos (87:83). They will try to continue that strange series, but now for the first time he will be the favorite, which was not the case until now. - We had tough opponents, now we have another exciting battle waiting for us. Now, admittedly, the situation is different, because until now we played with big teams. We were not favorites against Panathinaikos, Real and Fenerbahce, but now we are and there will be a different kind of pressure to win," admits the 26-year-old from Ageno.
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