After a demonstration in France, what do you expect against vengeful Lithuanians? Vincent Collet: We have to regroup for a match that will be different from yesterday (Wednesday). The heavy defeat conceded calls for a reaction from the Lithuanians at home. We know that tomorrow is going to be difficult. If we show unfortunate signs of apathy at the start of the match, we will have a hard time stemming their reaction. We have to see what this reaction will be over time and it is up to us to make sure to extinguish it. There is no doubt that their attitude will be different, they are a team capable of a lot of intensity and toughness. It really won’t be a friendly game.
After a more than satisfactory start to preparation, do you fear a relaxation in your players? It’s human nature, there is a danger, it’s not always very good to gain too much in preparation. We’re not going to complain. We want to win this match because we know precisely that it is the one with the most difficult context. In 2017, we won well at home (98-77) and we were crushed in Kaunas (96-71). It’s in our memories, but we don’t have the same team at all as in 2017. We need the maturity we’re displaying for the moment to help us manage this kind of moment. We must be ready to resist, we will not be able to completely curb their over-aggressiveness, but it is not certain that they will be able to do it for 40 minutes. If we are in the nails, we will have a window to win.
You mentioned a harmony in the game since the beginning of the gathering, how to perpetuate it? What is important is to be focused on the modus operandi and to want to progress. We know that as we advance, we are observed. Opponents adapt to cause us problems so it’s up to us to anticipate them together, always keeping the same state of mind aimed at sharing the ball. We played pretty well yesterday (Wednesday), with a lot of situations played out just right. But we know that tomorrow (Friday), there are situations that we will not be able to obtain.
