Venice: Spahija Apologizes to the Fans: “We Set a World Record…”

Nutribullet Treviso defeated Reyer Venice 97-89 in overtime at the Taliercio, and Reyer Venice coach Neven Spahija commented bitterly on his team’s stinging loss—their second consecutive home defeat following the one against Virtus Bologna.

“Congratulations to Treviso; they deserved this victory. We didn’t play the kind of basketball we’re capable of; I think many players didn’t perform at their best—I won’t name names, the stats speak for themselves. Two or three times we could have taken control of the game, but we didn’t.”

“The ending is bitter, especially since it’s the derby and it means so much to us. The fans helped us a lot, but the players fell short in the end. I tried lineups that have almost never played together; on offense, we didn’t get any open shots, and we didn’t make free throws—I think today’s free-throw differential is a world record (46–18)… I don’t remember ever having this problem in my career.”

“The fans were fantastic, and I apologize to them—we didn’t live up to their expectations. Congratulations once again to Treviso.”