Zalgiris Kaunas fell to Fenerbahce Istanbul 90-94 in Game 4 of the EuroLeague quarterfinal series, ending their EuroLeague season. After the game, head coach Tomas Masiulis shared his thoughts.
“I think we started this series somewhat relaxed. Maybe I didn’t prepare the team properly, because not all players performed at their full level. We didn’t enter the series the way we wanted – the first two games didn’t go our way, and we weren’t at the level we aim for. Game 3 was very competitive, but today we once again allowed Khem Birch to grab eight offensive rebounds, so especially at the start of the game, we lacked physicality,” said Masiulis.
Masiulis also commented on Fenerbahce’s final possessions.
“They hit a three-pointer, and like I said, they grabbed 15 offensive rebounds overall, which cost us a lot. On that last play, they ran a set where Dustin hesitated between switching and not switching, so maybe they caught him off guard. Baldwin drove to his strong side and made the shot. We can now discuss whether we should have missed the second free throw, but there were still more than five seconds left. It’s easy to say now that we should have missed, but if they had scored anyway, we would be talking differently,” he explained.
The coach also reflected on the overall season.
“It’s very difficult to analyze everything right after this loss, but I’m proud of the entire team and every player. A big thank you to them and their families for their support. And thanks to all the fans – it’s incredible to play in such an atmosphere. You could clearly see that both the fans and we as a team – players and coaches – have grown. Everyone was striving toward the same goal,” Masiulis concluded.