Jasikevicius: "We arrived well but in the Cup you start from scratch"

"It is important that Unicaja does not counterattack us"

BARCELONA, 14 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Barça coach, Sarunas Jasikevicius, acknowledged that the team arrives "well" at the Copa del Rey de Badalona 2023, which will take place from February 16 to 19, but qualified that in the cup competition they start "from scratch" and that , in the quarterfinals against Unicaja, they will have to be very attentive and prevent those from Malaga from running on the counterattack.

"We arrived at a good time, this is clear. The 40 minutes on Thursday night matter, clearly it is better to arrive well but you have to show it on the track and know how to manage your emotions. We arrived well but in the Cup you start from scratch," he said. at a press conference.

It is clear to him that his players arrive happy and excited, perhaps --in an ironic tone-- he pointed out that they are even overmotivated. "The boys are excited, they are so excited that today in training we have lost as many balls as possible. I don't know if there are any balls left to train tomorrow. They have a lot of desire, experience, and I hope things go well for us," he valued.

"We had one of the most difficult opponents, they are having a very good season. They have balance in what they do, with 6 outsiders scoring almost 10 points per game. They play at a good pace, incredible on the counterattack. It is important that they do not make counterattacks. It is the Cup and there will be surprises, things prepared, we will have to know how to play and control our emotions", he said about Unicaja.

And it is that he fears that the game will be fast, of comings and goings. "One thing that Unicaja can do a lot of damage with is that it steals balls and then they punish you on the counterattack. We have to be patient and not lose balls, be solid and not give away either in attack or defense. We have to make them work to have whatever they can get," he asked.

"The Cup is a very special competition, there are always surprises, tomorrow you have to talk to the boys about the Granada Cup, where there were matches to go up 15 that were equalised", concluded the Blaugrana coach, who has won the last two Cups with Barca.

For his part, Cory Higgins assured that the entire team will attend the Badalona Cup with great enthusiasm. "Not only me, the whole team makes us very excited, it's a very important moment for us in the season. We'll do our best to win the Cup, it won't be easy but we're motivated and we're playing for that," he said.

"I'm fine, ready to play these games that will be, we hope, three finals in four days. The first day will already be very difficult, but I feel ready to give everything for the team. And I think the team is ready," said the American escort.

In addition, after two important victories in the League and the Euroleague, he believes that the team is "comfortable". "To win this tournament you have to take care of the details, everything starts in defense. So if we get tough, we will have a lot more chances to win the tournament," he explained.

Asked why they perform so well in the Cup, with four titles in five years, he said that "it's hard to say." "The truth is that we prepare very well for these games, which are won by character and by details and these years we have been very good. It has more to do with the fight or the desire than with tactics", he valued.