“The first half was still a bit dull… Although we were leading, we knew we could attack and defend even better. In the second half, we put in a ton of effort from the start, created a lead, and then just played the plays we tried less, which didn’t go as well. I think everyone perfectly took their positions and fulfilled the coach’s wishes,” said Ą.Tubelis.
Kaunas “Žalgiris” friendly match against Wroclaw “Śląsk” in London
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– We will have to work on this issue all season (regarding passes to Jonas Valančiūnas). We have many good, talented players even without Jonas on this team. Of course, Jonas is unstoppable there if he gets the ball, because they try to defend him not with two but with three players. He passes well. I think in the future we will figure out exactly how and when to pass him the ball because he really tries and takes positions.”
VIDEO: Ą.Tubelis: “Everything will come with time”
Ą.Tubelis: “Everything will come with time”
Ą.Tubelis was also asked about Deividas Sirvydis’s dunk: “You don’t see what Deivis does during training. I was a bit surprised that he dunked with two hands because I might not feel comfortable dunking that way from that side. But I’m very happy for him. And he made that three-pointer. Maybe he will have more confidence. I’m very happy for him.”
VIDEO: Žalgiris – Śląsk | Game Highlights | 2026.09.11
Žalgiris – Śląsk | Game Highlights | 2026.09.11
In the first quarter, Žalgiris did not lose a single ball, but in the second quarter they made 5 mistakes (in the 3rd and 4th quarters they again made mistakes rarely – only 3 times).
“We know the coach’s instructions from last season about what he wants us to do if the opponents don’t allow our big men to receive the ball under the basket. We have a certain sequence of plays we need to do. In this case, I think we just need to practice it more so that all players feel it and everything happens almost automatically. We know what we have to do, but maybe during the game sometimes new players forget? – Ą.Tubelis pondered. – We will polish it and during the season it will become automatic.”
“For me, with our new guards – everything is fine. They look good, are learning the new coach Tomas Masiulis’s philosophy, and because of that they make more mistakes. That’s completely normal. And with time. It won’t be perfect in the first or second games, but during the season, like last season, everything will come. We need those trainings so that all players engrain certain schemes in their heads and everything will be fine.
The coach emphasizes that we often play one-on-one. Last season we played quite well as a whole team, sharing the ball. There are very talented scorers and playmakers who can definitely make that three-pointer with defense or a mid-range shot, but it takes time and training for everyone to share the ball and find that open shot,” concluded Ą.Tubelis.
The Kaunas team took 3rd place because yesterday, in the tournament semifinal, they suffered a dramatic defeat against the EuroLeague club “Paris” (82:83).
That was the only “Žalgiris” loss in this preparation phase. Before that, Kaunas defeated Riga “Zelli” (Latvia) 97:85, beat Utena “Juventus” 82:77, and crushed Baku “Sabah” (Azerbaijan) 112:78.
Understand instantly
Masiulis after the first “Žalgiris” loss: “We lacked cool heads at the end”
For “Žalgiris” these were the last friendly matches in this preparation phase. T. Masiulis’s charges will start the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) games next week – on September 17 – away against “Gargždai”.
In the EuroLeague, “Žalgiris” will play their first new season game on September 24, also away against Belgrade “Crvena zvezda” (Serbia).
