Scariolo: "It's a massive win against a great team"
"We were able to keep our nerve when they took the lead in the third quarter and react," said our coach.
Sergio Scariolo appeared before the media and analysed the Whites' win against Zalgiris in the 12th round of the Euroleague: "It's a massive win against a team that has shown why they are one of the best teams in the competition so far. They have size, shooting ability and players who handle the ball very well."
"We were able to keep our nerve when they went up by a point in the third quarter. We gradually recovered and got back into the lead, which we held for the whole first half. The players deserve credit. The game from the outside was a great game, with so many scores and moments of tension, changes of dominance. On our side we know that there are some aspects, not so much what made their shots difficult to defend, but the situations that we can control better. Today we were able to score very high, getting to the paint with tremendous vision and accuracy."
Lack of success with three-pointers
"We controlled the rebounding, we were able to run and we hope that little by little we can add some contribution from outside shooting. It's obvious that it's a lot of merit to score 100 points with only two three-pointers, but we have seen the example of Francisco; he generated an advantage, looked for an angle and made the baskets with the three-point shot. We congratulate him and keep working to improve."
Third quarter
"I think we won the game at the end of the third quarter. After a complicated start, where we made some offensive and defensive mistakes, we were outplayed. The ability to finish tied was key."
Energy of some players
"Of course, we must have contributions from as many players as possible. I congratulate those who tied the game from the bench and their commitment to come in and give 100% regardless of how they are doing individually. That's the way forward for all of us to have a dangerous team on different parts of the court."
Players off form
"If you're professional and respect the shirt and your team, you will never pull the plug. You can play better or worse, you can have a dip in form, but you don't pull the plug. I'm not the one who has to plug the players in; I have to correct them and manage the team. But in this team, every player works hard because it's their duty. Sometimes they succeed and sometimes they don't."