The defending EuroLeague champions were unable to open their season with back-to-back victories, falling short in a tight contest against Zalgiris Kaunas. For head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius, the outcome was especially frustrating, as the Lithuanian coach expressed clear disappointment with his team’s performance.
“This is not the first game we have lost. We cannot play this type of basketball on the road; it’s not physical. Obviously, everybody knows the strengths of Zalgiris players and apparently we don’t understand which hand is right, which one is left, so we lost the game,” Jasikevicius said after the defeat.
For much of the night, Zalgiris controlled the game, leading for nearly 30 minutes. Still, Fenerbahce managed to rally and turn it into a close battle down the stretch. However, the reigning champions ultimately fell short, unable to execute in the final moments.
“Very surprisingly, after a horrible performance in the first minutes, we made it a game, showed a lot of character, and found Wade (ed. note: Baldwin), who was very hot today. And at the end, we lost the same way we lost in Bursa, by settling down for three pointers, not playing driving basketball, which wins the game; we were just jacking up three-pointers, and it cost us,” Jasikevicius added.
Sarunas Jasikevicius after loss to Zalgiris:
“Apparently we don’t understand which hand is right, which one is left…” https://t.co/WNNxr5Z6YC
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) October 3, 2025
