By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
It was an even battle in France for almost 35 minutes, but Zalgiris Kaunas kept their focus until the end and took their first road win against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 93-76.
With a EuroLeague record of 21 points, Tomas Dimsa led Zalgiris. He almost had a perfect night with only one missed shot from the field (5/6 for three).
“Everybody in Kaunas was waiting for our first away win”, he said after the game explaining his motivation.
Lukas Lekavicius followed with 16 points, while Edgaras Ulanovas added 12 points. Keenan Evans had an all-around game with 12 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds.
As Kazys Maksvytis, Zalgiris Kaunas’ head coach said about the way his team closed the game: “We started to play better defensively and we changed the game and we controlled [it] until the end. I’m happy, not only to win but with the big points difference. I think ASVEL is a good team and it will be hard for any team that comes here. This is the first win away, so every situation is different. I expect that, from this game, we will start to play better [in our] away games.”
Jonah Mathews scored 15 points for Asvel, Amine Noua followed with 12, while Nando de Kolo added 11 points for the losing side.
The lead changed numerous times throughout the game before the last crucial period. ASVEL had a two-point lead after the first ten minutes (24-22), but the guests answered in the second period and grabbed an eight-point advantage. The hosts didn’t crumble and managed to cut the deficit in half before halftime (50-46).
The dogfight continued and Zalgiris entered the decisive quarter with a 69-67 lead.
Lekavicius and Evans gave the Kaunas some breathing space, but Tomas Dimsa’s three-pointer with three minutes to go finally broke the resistance of the French team (83-76). From there Zalgiris managed to close out the game without any trouble on an impressive 10-3 run.