It remains in the eighth position and narrowed the gap with Mazeikiai “M Basket” (10-13). The chances of the people of Šiauliai to advance to the playoffs are reduced to a minimum.
The people of Šiauliai lose for the fourth time in a row.
Everything was determined by almost the last attack of the match: Jonava led 81:80, but with 6 seconds left. T. Jogėla lost the ball and Šiauliai’s legionnaire Shaquille Keith had a chance to steal the victory – after intercepting the ball, he launched an attack, but he did not take advantage of his opportunity. According to the judges’ decision, there was no foul against the attacking basketball player, he “slipped” to the sidelines.
“It was much easier for us to play the end of the match and win,” said Virginijus Šeškus, coach of Jonava’s “CBet” club, after the ninth victory of the LKL championship.
“I can’t talk and move on to the next game – we feel robbed.” We wrote a protest. Of course, those protests don’t change anything, because don’t think that we are whining – it was a pivotal match for us, explained Šiauliai’s coach Žydrūnas Urbonas after the match.
Now the guide of the Šiauliai team assured that it is hardly possible to get into the LKL playoffs.
“I’m not saying that we don’t have a chance yet, but this was the match that should have answered whether we can realistically hang on to the playoffs. The men knew this, so they fought to the end. And that thing, those events are hard to understand.
We intercept the ball in a fast attack, Sh.Kheit goes fast… Of course, I didn’t see the situation from behind, but later he showed the replay… It’s a thousand, not tens of thousands, no – a million percent that it was an unsportsmanlike foul.
He was chasing the ball and Ryan Larson hooked him – no play on the ball. Imagine a train with Shaqiulle is coming and you are trying to get something off the platform.
You can’t take the ball away from him, and R. Larson hangs on his hands. Maniškis raises the ball, cannot and falls to the sidelines with the ball. And no whistle.
It’s good that I didn’t see it, I didn’t react, because if I had seen it, I wouldn’t have watched it so calmly.
Sh.Keith did not react to the foul because he had previously received a technical. Then I “weaved” the player for her, I said – what are you doing, point by point everything is happening, and you are here. And now he just spread his hands: after all, the referee won’t give a technical penalty for outstretched arms…
Anyway, it’s a tragedy, a huge damage has been done to our club. Now what’s the point – that judge will be removed, the commission will watch, but how can such a thing not be seen?
I am not clear in the human sense – I am not against any judge, we communicate with all of them. And today we talked… But how can you not see such a thing? How to spend? The victory was completely stolen,” Ž.Urbon expressed his disappointment.
The strategist was also reminded of other misunderstandings in the duel: missed lines, penalties. So Ž.Urbon was asked if he remembers more controversial matches than this one.
“I have never been robbed so painfully. Too painful. Taking away that opportunity is not seeing the situation that way. It’s hard to understand how you can not whistle like that and still give them the ball…
Oh Jesus… I’ve seen quite a few in basketball, but it turns out… Anyway, I’m thankful for men. It must be admitted that “CBet” hit well… But… Well, a lot of things were illogical. Well take care, watch those throwing phases. You can’t see those phases that way,” said the coach.
The team from Šiauliai is currently in tenth place and is four wins behind the eighth-placed team from Iona. There are seven rounds left to play.
