Jasikevicius: “Crvena Zvezda is currently on a wave” 1

Zalgiris takes on the double EuroLeague week, with both games being played on the road for the first time. On Wednesday evening, the green-and-whites will face Crvena Zvezda, and follow it up with a game against Panathinaikos in Athens on Friday.

The Greek side has won 10 times in 18 games, standing in the 6-7th spot. Meanwhile, the Belgrade side is eighth with nine victories. Zalgiris currently shares the 16-18th positions with five wins.

Crvena Zvezda has won their last four games, and 7 of their last 9, putting them amongst the hottest teams in the EuroLeague at the moment.

“They’re a very physical team that plays even more physical at home. They’re highly dependent on their guards. And they’ve strengthened their roster with Punter, with Stimac. Crvena Zvezda is clearly a team on a wave. It’s always difficult in Belgrade, and it won’t be any easier now.”

The newcomer Kevin Punter is averaging 16.5 points and 3.5 assists in the two games he’s played in a red-and-white jersey, while Stimac has put up an average of 13.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in his 3 games.

“They add some rotation. Punter gives some extra scoring. We need to stop him. Stimac enforces the paint, another option down low. He’s gelled with the team very well.”

Crvena Zvezda has won a handful of close games recently, with their only double-digit victory coming against Bayern, when they blew the Germans out of the water by 30 points.

“They make shots at the end of the game. You can’t say they’ve got too much creativity, but they find ways to win, and that’s what’s most important in this sport.”

Speaking of the last outing between the two sides, Jasikevicius stressed that he was happy with the defensive efforts in Kaunas, and pointed out two of the main offensive tools for the Serbian side.

We will do it, him and Brown are the main scorers for them, but we did a lot of things well on defense here in Kaunas.

“We will have accents on Billy Baron. Him and Lorenzo Brown are the main scorers for them, but we sure did a lot of things well on defense here in Kaunas.”

The game in Belgrade will tip off at 8:00 PM on Wednesday, while Friday’s game in Athens starts at 9:30 PM.