Kaunas and Klaipėda teams are preparing for the third duel, against which the former “Neptūnas” Martynas Mažeika does not hide – his team is more and more confident in their strength and is not afraid of “Žalgiris”.
“Already in the course of the first match we saw that we could fight. With each passing day, self-belief only grows, ”he told the LKL.lt portal.
M.Mažeika admits that this season Kaunas club is more vulnerable than before, and the changes in the coaching staff have become a huge challenge for Kazys Maksvytis.
“I think there are changes in the game, but we also need to understand the coach – Kazys was thrown into the wounded Žalgiris. It’s hard for him to change something, he needs to heal that team first. It is very difficult to suddenly make “Žalgiris” powerful again, “M. Mažeika thinks.
The third team match will take place on Saturday at 7 pm at the Garliava Sports Center and will be broadcast live on Go3.
– In the first match of the quarterfinals, there was little shortage before the victory, in the second it was achieved. What are the emotions after such a successful Betsafe-LKL playoffs?
– Good! Not everyone around believed that this could be the case. The coaches kept trying to make us believe that the most important thing was to trust ourselves. Emotions are different and could not be – just good.
– When did you have the most faith in yourself: before the series, after the first bad match, and maybe now?
– We always thought that “Žalgiris” could be vulnerable. Already in the course of the first match we saw that we could fight. With each passing day, self-belief only increases.
– When did you find out just before the quarter-final series that you would have to fight the Betsafe-LKL champions, what was Neptune’s reaction?
– I will not hide that we may not have wanted “Žalgiris” (Smiles). But got as you got. Then we already decided that if we want to win, we have to beat everyone, because sooner or later we would have to meet each other.
Erikas Ovčarenko / BNS / LKL match “Neptūnas” – “Žalgiris”
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– Do you agree that this season’s Betsafe-LKL playoffs are perhaps the most intriguing of the last decade?
– The quarterfinals are really interesting. This shows that teams outside the first four are able to compete with others. Even the pair of Lietkabelis and Uniclub Casino – Juventus is not boring, although the series is not equal. It’s fiction, we look forward to seeing how others do. I totally agree that this is one of the most interesting plays.
– After the victory, Dainius Adomaitis told him that it was most disappointing that the result of the series was not 2: 0 in your favor. This may sound hard to comprehend, but how frustrating do you feel?
– It’s a pity, it’s a pity, but it happened as it happened. Always think it could have been 2: 0, that would be the fairest. Although it is difficult for the mind to comprehend, it must have been so.
– What makes Žalgiris so vulnerable this season?
– The main thing is that they do not have to give up. As soon as Žalgiris shows the fight, it is different. I imagine that they thought we would play three matches and go to rest, but our thoughts were different and they became a cold shower for “Žalgiris”. Probably everyone sees that Kaunas residents do not show the basketball they used to show before, but I really don’t know the reasons for that.
– Is it possible to feel that Kazys Maksvytis has changed the drawing of “Žalgiris”?
– I think there are changes in the game, but we also need to understand the coach – he was thrown into the wounded “Žalgiris”. It’s hard for him to change something, he needs to heal that team first. Suddenly making “Žalgiris” powerful again is very difficult.
– The stalled Kaunas club also lost Edgars Ulanovs, who was one of the leaders. How much does this affect the series and how realistic is it for Neptune to win the quarterfinals?
– First of all, I never injure my opponents and I don’t want to take that opportunity. Edgar is one of the most fighting players in Žalgiris. Even if he sometimes seems unlucky, Edgar’s combativeness is simply fascinating. It is painful for Žalgiris to lose one of its most fighting people. As I said, with each passing day, our belief that we can overcome Žalgiris again and again is only growing. I believe we can do it.
The moment of the match
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– “Neptūnas” was the team that was positively affected by the changes in the coaches’ headquarters: when D.Adomaičius arrived, the club started collecting victories and if the changes were earlier, they might have managed to finish in a higher position in the regular season. Isn’t that a little frustrating because of that?
– I don’t want to go back anymore, there were a lot of matches we could win and the situation would be different. Now, as it is, we need to look ahead to what we can change.
– In general, how did D. Adomaitis infuse your team with confidence in your strength?
– I have worked with him before, so I hoped that this coach would look at everything in much more detail. All the details are important, especially in the decisive match, maybe that was all it took to inspire us.
– Deividas Gailius and Žygimantas Janavičius are some of the most important players of Neptune at the moment. How big is their factor in the playoffs?
– As we can see, it is not in vain that we have won the last match. They have always been the main people of ours, we play the game around them. So far, everything is going well. I hope the men will continue to lead our team forward, and it is up to us to support them as much as possible, because the workload is high. It’s not easy to play for many minutes and withstand the pressure. But Hike and Dave all season show he’s getting along with it, and we need to plug holes where they can’t do something.
– As for the pressure: when D. Gailius stopped throwing important three free throws, the first two – what was the level of stress in the team before the third throw?
– He himself said: I do not understand what is, the elbow frowned (Laughs). The three fines are quite a number. I really believed David would throw at least one, even though he wanted three. But here’s the Neptune team, which likes to paint viewers for both good and bad. We like to surf like the sea (Smiles).
– How satisfied are you with your season and how many reserves do you feel you have for the playoffs? Your stats in 5.3 minutes are 5.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 5.6 utility points.
– I dedicate myself to both training and matches, as long as it takes minutes. Each coach has different roles, sometimes they are different in each match as well, but I hope to give the team more benefits than the numbers in the stats show. I try to help as much as possible. The relegation load is high, so I’m ready to help as soon as I need to.
– Mindaugas Lukauskis recently told the LKL.lt website that he is ready to play for at least another season. What are your thoughts on this?
– As I said here, you can plan as much as you want – yes, I would like to play, but I’ll watch. So far, I wouldn’t really like to go into that topic.
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