Zalgiris Kaunas will play their final EuroLeague regular-season game this Friday in front of their home fans, as they take on Paris Basketball, a team that has won three of its last four games.
Ahead of the upcoming matchup, Zalgiris forward Dustin Sleva shared his thoughts on the opponent and the team’s preparation.
“Playing in the Belgrade atmosphere, we proved to ourselves that we’re not the team we were in the fourth quarter against Dubai Basketball. Sometimes things like that happen, and you have to move on quickly. We’re a team that knows how to bounce back – not only in the last game, but throughout the entire season,” said Sleva.
The American also spoke about the team’s approach to the final regular-season contest.
“We’re treating this game like any other – we’re doing the same things and preparing the same way. We’ll keep the same routine in the playoffs as well; there’s no need to change much. We know this is an important game, but we can’t look at it differently,” Sleva explained.
At the end of March, Paris Basketball parted ways with their head coach, with long-time assistant 28-year-old Julius Thomas taking over on an interim basis.
“Sometimes when a team fires its coach, everyone wakes up a bit and starts worrying about their own jobs – not just for this season, but the next one as well. Teams with nothing to lose can be even more dangerous than playoff teams. Like I said, all of their guys are fighting for contracts next season, so they’ll be hungry and ready. I’ve watched them play – they’re very focused, and nothing will come easy because we know their level,” Sleva emphasized.
In the previous round, Paris scored 41 points in the first quarter against Maccabi Tel Aviv, and Sleva highlighted the importance of slowing down their pace.
“I don’t think you can completely stop them, but you can slow them down. It’s important to battle for offensive rebounds and sacrifice your body so they don’t grab easy boards and push the ball in transition. We have to stay focused even after scoring, because they run the floor extremely well,” Sleva said when describing their style of play.
The game between Zalgiris and Paris Basketball will tip off at 8:00 PM.
