Zalgiris Kaunas brought the game back to life in the third quarter, but lost the opening game of the best-of-five EuroLeague quarterfinal series to Fenerbahce Istanbul, 78-89. After the game, Nigel Williams‑Goss, who scored 24 points, shared his thoughts.
“The second quarter killed us – we dug ourselves too deep of a hole there. We have to learn from it and come back in the next game. Everything in that quarter came down to physicality on defense. For us, everything starts with defense, and we know we can be much better,” said the guard.
Williams‑Goss also revealed head coach Tomas Masiulis’ message during halftime.
“The coach emphasized physicality – the way we played definitely isn’t enough to win against them on the road. We know that, but like I said, it’s a long series, and we have an opportunity to get a win in the second game,” he stressed.
The American spoke about Zalgiris’ main areas for improvement ahead of Game 2.
“It’s important to remember that this is a series, not just one game. We can learn from it and make adjustments. I’m confident we can play much better and do our job in the second game,” Williams‑Goss said.
He also touched on the importance of playoff experience.
“Yes, experience matters, but we have a confident group of guys. If we play at the level we’re capable of, we can do our job in this series. Now we need to learn from this game and prepare for the next one,” Williams‑Goss added.
The second game of the series will take place Thursday in Istanbul, while the playoffs will move to Kaunas on May 6.
