Rokas Jokubaitis: "We face the semifinal with the desire for revenge"

Rokas Jokubaitis (Maziekai, Lithuania, 2000) tiene ante sí un gran fin de semana. As much as the Polish Tomas Satoransky is the starting option for Sarunas Jasikevicius, the explosiveness of this young Lithuanian point guard, who arrived at Barça in the summer of 2021 and whom the NBA does not take its eye off, may be one of the great arguments so that the Catalans finally shake off the bittersweet taste (much more sour than sweet, of course) of their two previous consecutive Final Four. In the first, Anadolu Efes defeated them in the final. And in the second, last year, it was Real Madrid who cut them off directly in the semifinals. A duel that, curiously, will be repeated again this year in Kaunas.

He will play in Kaunas, at the Zalgirio Arena. Will it be special for you to play a Final Four at home? Yes, of course. It is a special occasion, especially due to the fact of playing in Kaunas, the city where I spent four years before coming to Barça. My family and friends will be there, it's an event that will see all of Lithuania. It's something I look forward to. It will be Barça's third consecutive Final Four. Do you think it will finally be the charm? I hope so. We will play in Kaunas, again against Madrid, like last year. So, we had no luck and I hope that this time everything will be different. More than a matter of luck, what we need is to get there in the best shape possible and with maximum concentration. Is there a certain feeling of revenge for last year's defeat? Each time we play they are different games, they don't have nothing to do with the previous ones, but in the classics you always have to fight a lot. Last year they beat us and of course we face the semifinal wanting revenge, but Madrid is also going to play with maximum concentration. It is difficult to predict what will happen on the field, but I think that, in any case, we will see a very good game. Were you surprised by what happened in the series between Madrid and Partizan, both the fight in the second game and the comeback signed by the whites? It is not very normal for a game to end with a fight on the court, it does not seem good to me that things like this happen, but Madrid, on the other hand, knew how to control the situation, although everything had been lost on them very difficult position, and they managed to get into the Final Four. Before the fight happened, I thought they were going to be left out, but then they turned everything around, they managed to get 3-2 and they will also be in Kaunas. The fight helped Madrid, but that's not the way to go: basketball should just be basketball. Speaking of your game, are there things you want to improve? There are always things, like defense, three-pointers, my right hand…. If I said that I shouldn't improve at anything, I would be wrong.. I work a lot and, little by little, I am achieving it. Did you always dream of being a professional or was yours a late vocation? Well, when I started playing, at the age of six, my whole family already played this sport. I can say that basketball is in my blood. The NBA option is something that is still on the table. Have you already decided when you will try to make the leap? The season is not over yet, I don’t know what position I’ll be in. When it’s all over, I’ll talk to my agent. It’s something that is always there, but I want to go when I can contribute something, not to stay on the bench. Right now, I’m only thinking about Barça. Do you dream of winning the Euroleague? Everyone who will be there dreams of winning the Euroleague, but it’s better not to talk about it. First of all, to get it, you have to beat Real Madrid.