Without game on the court, lacking their best version on the Belgrade parquet, and practically speechless, the Barça players ended up, especially the team's star, Nikola Mirotic, who had a hard time articulating a sentence to define a tough defeat and disappointing, separated by the eternal rival of the great goal of the season: the Euroleague. “They played much better than us in the second half. They have been more successful. Congratulations to them, ”said the Balkan, who expressed more with his silences, full of frustration, than with his sparse words. Mirotic regretted the advantage they let slip in the third quarter. “We let them get into the game. It's not the first time it's happened to us. I don't understand it, especially when we are risking our lives”, added the Hispanic-Montenegrin. “They deserve more. I feel sorry for them”, he concluded about the Blaugrana fans present in the stands of the Štark Arena.
“There has been a lack of attention to detail. It is very difficult for the coach to make the players understand at the break that they are not playing well when you win by 11. This lasts 40 minutes. Extra-professionalism was lacking. It is a disappointment. More sacrifice has been lacking. In the third quarter we gave everything away”, Saras Jasikevicius stated at a press conference, angry with his pupils for how they faced the last two quarters: “It is unacceptable that they score 52 points in the second half”.
The voices changed, but the speech remained in the Catalan locker room. “The advantage that we lost, that is the key. This loss hurts. Let's go for the League. We have to come out of this defeat strong”, indicated Nicolás Laprovittola, intermittent during the game. The most blunt of the azulgranas, as well as self-critical, was Álex Abrines: “We didn't come out with the necessary intensity in the third quarter. You can't let that lead slip away against Real Madrid. We must ask for forgiveness. We have not been up to the task. A club like Barça must compete until the end”.
4
