By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz was locked down on its court, and Zalgiris Kaunas got the 74-60 win. The hosts scored just 25 points in the second half, and things proved to be quite comfortable in the end for the Lithuanians.
Edgaras Ulanovas with 15 points was the top scorer of the winning side, making big plays down the stretch and not leaving any space for a comeback to Baskonia.
Lukas Lekavicius added 13 points, and Zach LeDay had 11, as Zalgiris proved to have more offensive weapons compared to the hosts, but this game was about defense.
Baskonia had a small halftime lead (35-30) and only scored 10 points in the third quarter, as Zalgiris built a six-point advantage (61-56) and kept pushing until the end.
“Defense and fighting spirit”
As Zalgiris coach Sarunas Jasikevicius said: “I think our defense was good throughout the game. We did some mental mistakes which they are always going to happen, but the defense was pretty consistent and our fighting spirit. Our heads were not very clear but in the second half we made some better decisions, we hit some shots and usually, like we always say, shots help a lot. I have four days off right now. I don’t care about two home games coming up. I am going to enjoy my time off right now!”
Semaj Christon scored 17 points, but it was far from enough, and captain Toko Shengelia added 12 for the losing side. No other player of Baskonia scored in double digits with the home team, also losing the rebounding battle badly, as Zalgiris finished the game with 38 against just 22 of the hosts.
To be exact, Baskonia had just 16 defensive rebounds, while Zalgiris got 15 offensive boards, which practically means that after half of the missed shots of the guests, the ball ended up again in their hands.
However, both teams still have a lot of ground to cover with Zalgiris being on the 13th spot with a 10-15 record and Baskonia one step behind at 9-16. On the other hand, there are four teams tied at 11-14 in the eighth position, so there’s still hope for both.
Photo credit: EuroLeague