Sharas, who was aiming for the first title in the Euroleague as a coach in Kaunas, stopped in the semi-finals for the second season in a row, losing to the same principal rival, “Real” club – 66:78.
Rokas Jokubaitis should feel double pain after this failure. In the second half, he fell face down on the floor of the “Zalgiris” arena and lost half of his front teeth, but returned to the field and continued the match.
Having won, “Real” advanced to the final, where they will meet “Olympiakos” of Piraeus on Sunday, while Š. Jasikevičius’ students will have to be content with the fight for 3rd place with the “Monaco” team represented by Donats Motiejūnas.
We will add…
40 minutes M. Hezonja makes a three-pointer and closes the match (66:76).
38 min. There are still two minutes left, Š. Jasikevičius reassures his students, asking them to keep their cool, but Barca is in a hurry, and Real’s veterans collect points (63:71).
36 min. The most expensive basketball player of the Euroleague N. Mirotić scores his first point in this match – he scores 1 penalty out of 2 (61:67).
| Marius MILAŠIUS, 15min journalist in “Žalgiris” arena | |
| “Zalgiris” arena is dry. Real’s veterans are once again kicking into high gear when it’s needed most, and Barcelona are on the verge of yet another upset in the final four. But maybe it is too early to write off the Catalans? One thing is clear – if they want to win, “Barca” must receive the contribution of the leader Nikolas Mirotic, who has not yet scored a single point. |
36 min. Real’s veterans are on a rampage. S.Llull throws in from under the basket, S.Rodriguez makes a three-pointer and Shar asks for a minute break (60:67).
34 min. T.Satoransky loses the ball, N.Laprovittola is punished with an unsportsmanlike foul, and S.Rodriguez takes advantage of this to score 4 points in a row (58:62).
32 min. N. Laprovittola scores another three-pointer and equals (58:58).
The third quarter
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| Marius MILAŠIUS, 15min journalist in “Žalgiris” arena |
| Barcelona was only 10th in three-pointers in the EuroLeague all season, but today the Catalans are wasting long shots like crazy. Before the end of the third quarter, Barca had already surpassed their season average (25) and had taken 26 long-range shots, 12 of which were on target. But the Catalans lack variety, scoring just 19 points on two-pointers and free throws (Real – 43). |
30 minutes At the end of the half, the “Barcelona” team is somewhat revived by accurate three-pointers. Before the decisive quarter, the teams are separated by one accurate shot (55:58).
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| Kęstas RIMCUS, 15min journalist in “Žalgiris” arena |
| Where did the Barcelona snipers go? Barca missed 11 shots in a row, including six three-pointers. And that led to a 0:15 sinkhole. |
28 min. The Royals’ run continues. “Real” wins the section already 15-0! (47:54).
26 min. Real are 10-0 up and Char calls for a minute’s time-out. W. Tavares has 16 points and 25 utility points. The Madrid club outweighs the result (47:49).
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| Marius MILAŠIUS, 15min journalist in “Žalgiris” arena |
| Last year, Nikola Mirotic scored 39 utility points against the same opponent in the EuroLeague semifinals, but even that was not enough for Barcelona to triumph in the El Clasico derby. This year, the brightest Catalan star does not even remotely resemble the monster that raged last year – the forward rolling to the second half in the third quarter has not scored a single point, has already missed seven shots and has -6 utility points. |
25 minutes A. Hanga loses his composure, pushes J. Vesely and is punished with an unsportsmanlike foul. J. Vesely misses the penalties (47:43).
22 min. N. Mirotičius misses shots (0/2 doubles, 0/4 triples), still hasn’t scored a single point and is playing with minus 6 utility points (42:39).
R. Jokubaitis will continue the match:
The second half
20 minutes The half ends with S. Llull’s three-pointer (42:36), and T. Satoranskis also launches a shot across the court and hits. But it’s a little late.
20 minutes J. Vesely also hits a two-pointer, and “Barca” shoots ahead (40:31).
17 minutes “Real” organizes a lightning attack and Š. Jasikevičis doesn’t like it very much. The Lithuanian immediately asks for a consultation (33:29).
| | Rock PAKĕNAS, 15 minutes journalist in the “Zalgiris” arena |
| Rokas Jokubaitis went to the locker room in the middle of the second half. The Lithuanian, who started the match well, had already managed to score 6 points, before he rolled face down on the floor during a breakthrough along the back line. If the nose is in place, then the teeth had to be picked from the parquet and go to the locker room. Fortunately, the basketball player returned a minute later. |
14 minutes And two more points by R. Jokubaitis, who plays bravely and resourcefully (27:22).
13 minutes R. Jokubaitis, who got up from the bench, collects 4 points in a row and weighs the result in favor of “Barcelona” (22:20).
First half
 | Rock PAKĕNAS, 15 minutes journalist in the “Zalgiris” arena |
| In the first quarter, Šarūnas Jasikevičius’ students recorded a unique statistical indicator – Barcelona scored all 18 points with only three-point shots (6 out of 9). Shar’s men missed both 2-pointers and free throws. |
10 minutes The first half ends with a draw 18:18.
9 minutes The “Real” club is led by W. Tavares, who has already scored 8 points and collected as many as 16 utility points (15:16).
| | Rock PAKĕNAS, 15 minutes journalist in the “Zalgiris” arena |
| When the representative of “Barcelona” Nikola Kalinić threw free throws in the arena, the famous “Zalia balta!” was heard in the arena. This chant kept echoing in the Greek noise, but it will probably be heard often enough in the second semi-final. As if receiving the green light from the fans, Rokas Jokubaitis soon entered the field. |
7 minutes Fourth Catalan three-pointer. This time, N. Kaliničius also hits (12:11).
J. Valančiūnas is also watching the semi-final:
6 minutes Barcelona scores all its points so far only with three-pointers, but it already hits the third one (9:10).
5 minutes Barcelona’s leader N. Mirotic makes a mistake in the attack – the brightest star of “Barca” is still struggling against 18-year-old “Real” talent Eli Ndiaye.
3 minutes A. Abrines scored the first points for the Barcelona team with a three-pointer, but Š. Jasikevičius’ students failed to defend themselves (3:8).
| | Rock PAKĕNAS, 15 minutes journalist in the “Zalgiris” arena |
| Greek passions subsided on the island of Nemunas. Olympiakos fans stayed in their seats, but the atmosphere in Zalgiris Arena is incomparable. Although there is no shortage of Lithuanian accents in the Barcelona club, at the beginning of the “El Clasico” match in Kaunas, stronger support for the Catalan team could not be heard. The only moment was the presentation of the teams, where Rokas Jokubaitis received a standing ovation, and when it was Šarūnas Jasikevičius’s turn, the stands literally exploded. |
2 minutes Real starts the match better. The royal club is defending without mistakes so far and scores 4 points (0:4).
Before the match
The Barcelona club is considered the favorite. The Catalans have won 5 out of five duels between themselves this season, if we also include the Super Cup competition that took place at the very beginning of the season.
It is true that “Real” won the last match in the Euroleague after extra time.
As a coach, Š. Jasikevičius is participating in his fourth EuroLeague final four tournament – once with Kaunas “Žalgiris” and third in a row with “Barcelona”. It is true that the Spanish media say that the maximum pressure is placed on Shar – to win the Euroleague or the contract will not be extended.
Both clubs will enter the fight with not the strongest squads, but the “Real” club will be much more bloodied. Guerschon Yabusele can no longer play in the EuroLeague this season due to the famous fights, and Gabriel Deck and Vincent Poirier can no longer play due to injuries.
The only important loss in the Barcelona camp is defender Cory Higgins, who needed back surgery.
The winner of this semi-final will face the Piraeus Olympiakos club in the final on Sunday, which beat the Monaco team represented by Donatas Motiejūnas 76:62. The losing team will have to play in the match for 3rd place.
