The Final Four curse of Saronas Jasikvicius and Nikola Mirotic continues, and after tonight (Friday) the negative stigma on these two will only get worse. Barcelona’s 78:66 loss to Real Madrid in the semi-finals in Cavan was a direct continuation of the disappointments suffered by the two main figures of the Catalans in recent years.
Mirotic, who finished the game down with only 3 points and 1 of 10 from the field, set a negative record in points as a Barcelona player precisely at the moment of truth, and provided convincing proof to his critics who claim that he does not function in moments of pressure. “The worst game of Mirotic’s career came at Barcelona’s most important moment”, they wrote in the Catalan “Sport”, and in “Mundo Deportivo” they also focused on the weak display of the star – the most expensive player in Europe for those who have forgotten – and defined it as “the most evening Black by Nikola Mirotic”.
Mirotic himself agreed with these statements, saying at the end: “It was my weakest game of the season, in its most important moment. I feel so bad, it’s the hardest day of my career… I apologize to the fans, and to everyone. I just didn’t perform like necessary”.
Mirotic’s poor performance and Barcelona’s subsequent loss could have direct consequences for Ronas Jasikvicius. If Mirotic now stands at six EuroLeague finals and 0 trophies, Charas’ record is not much better, and in four appearances as a coach at the highest level of European basketball, he has yet to lift a trophy, and again collapsed at the moment of truth.
Shaaras was eliminated in the semi-finals for the second year in a row, and unlike last year when he pointed the finger of blame after the loss to the players and said they were “not killers”, this time he took responsibility. “We didn’t play as a team. We were very tense, the pressure was very felt on the players. In such situations, the coach must step forward and calm the team down. Unfortunately, we made very bad decisions in the decisive moments of the game. And in such moments, the coach has a great responsibility. So yes, I take The responsibility is on me tonight.”
On the other side, Real Madrid once again showed impressive winemaking, just the opposite of its arch rival. Eddie Tavares was once again above everyone else, literally, with 20 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks. It was a direct continuation of Tavares’ miraculous playoff, which brought the Blancos back from a seemingly impossible situation when they were behind 2:0 in the series against Partizan Belgrade. This time too he brought the victory almost with his own hands, and at the end he told about the intervention that led to his performance.
“Before every game Sean Poirier misses, I joke with him that I have to contribute 20 points and 20 rebounds to cover his disadvantage. I also told him that before the semifinals, and we laughed. But tonight the joke almost became a reality,” said Tavares.
