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Pascual no longer wants NBA scores and is focusing on defense again

- Barca will want to improve their game in front of their fans, but we're entering this match with all seriousness and will look for a win- said the best three-point shooter of the Euroleague, Zalgiris' guard Milaknis

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It's been very unusual watching Barcelona lately. A team that once had the reputation of the best defense in Europe started playing games with NBA results. First they had 114-110 with Unicaja, then 92-77 with Zvezda, and then lost at Laboral 94-103 last weekend. Coach Xavi Pascual cannot be too happy with such basketball.

- We defended very poorly throughout the game, and compounded that with many turnovers in the first half, they turned those into easy points, and that lost us the match.

This is not the first time this season  that Barcelona had this happen to them. They seem to get lost in away matches, which is strange considering how much experience they have. Luckily for them, they're still very hard to beat at home, which gives them confidence prior to meeting Zalgiris today, a team they respect mostly due to their former player Jasikevičius:

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-Saras is a legend, an icon of European basketball, and will certainly get the welcome he deserves. He is now with Zalgiris, who have a very good team and great centers playing very physical basketball. We have a hard match to play and will need the support of a full arena- said Pascual.

What they need much more than a full arena is defense. Although Barcelona have been known to win games scoring 90-100 points, those don't give Pascual the security he wants. Barca have the team composition that forces them to reduce matches to the lowest possible score, and Zalgiris are fine with such a philosophy.

- We have to start defending better. We know we're facing a tough opponent, but we have to be even tougher and look for the open court from that defense. The team is in great shape physically, and there is no reason not to play that way- said Pascual.

Realistically speaking, Zalgiris are not a team Barca should fear, at least not in their own arena. Apart from Anderson, they have no players that could pass muster in Barca, and the Catalan team have stronger players in all positions. Playing at home, where they've been way better than away this season, gives them the advantage.

In the first round Zalgiris were against a rock (Real Madrid), and now they've come to a hard place in the Top 16 stage (Barcelona). They did not embarrass themselves in their first two duels against the Spanish team, managing to parry Real somewhat in the away match, not to mention at home. They held +9 after 37 minutes in Kaunas, after Songaila made free throws, and Anderson missed the shot for extra time in the finish of the game. He was the go-to guy of the Lithuanian champions against Real, scoring 21 point, 9 rebounds and 3 assists in the end, and was supported by excellent Jankunas with 17 points and 8 rebounds.

Captain Jankunas did very well against Maccabi as well, but did not manage to prevent the first home defeat for Zalgiris in the Top 16 of the Euroleague, though he did score 18 points and get 13 rebounds. Today the power forward will have a tough job as he will be guarded by defensive specialist Doellman, meaning Anderson will be more sought on offense.

Preparing for this duel Zalgiris won two league matches. First they defeated the offensively quite potent Siauliai in an away match limiting them to 62 points, and then easily dealt with bottom ranked Mazeikiai at home, whom they froze at just 52 points! Coach Gintaras Krapikas switched around the roster a bit and rested some players in those matches, which meant Anderson and Javtokas did not play against Mazeikiai three days ago, as everything was geared towards the away match in the Catalan capitol.

We should also mention Jankunas suffered a minor muscle injury against Mazeikiai, but should be fine. Krapikas left him off the court purely as a precaution, to prevent a worse injury. This means there are no injured players, and the Zalgiris coach will have to leave two players to watch the game from the audience, probably the youngest ones such as Dimsa and Tarolis.

- Barca will want to improve their game in front of their fans, but we're entering this match with all seriousness and will look for a win. We should be prepared, and will have a few practice sessions in Barcelona prior to the match- said back Milaknis, who left for Spain with the team back on Wednesday.