By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Zalgiris (6-4) is back in the winning column. The Lithuanian team got a big win in Spain where they overcame a double-digit deficit and in the end prevailed against Valencia 80-76.
Valencia (4-6) now has three “L’s” in a row despite a great game from Chris Jones who scored 19 points. James Webb added 15.
On the winning side, Rolands Smits scored 19 points.
“We did not start the way we wanted to, but in the second half we played like a team“, Smits said after the game.
Keenan Evas played great down the stretch and got 18 points for Zalgiris.
The game started with an offensive clinic on both sides, not entirely on the level of Real Madrid and Partizan from last night, but non the less it was exciting to watch Valencia and Zalgiris going back and forth in the first quarter.
The Spanish side was a bit better scoring 32 points. The offensive rhythm dropped significantly in the second quarter, but Valencia had a comfortable halftime lead of 44-37.
The start of the second half was all Valencia. James Web scored to give his team a double-digit lead (50-40). But to the credit of the Lithuanian side, they did not give up. Zalgiris was back in the game with a quick 7-0 run. They were only trailing by two points going into the final 10 minutes (61-59).
It was clear that Zalgiris was playing better by then, after a strong drive to the paint and a bucket by Keenan Evans, the guests had the lead (65-64). A nail-biting finish ensued. Another Keenan Evans bucket leveled the scoreboard 71-71 with only three minutes remaining.
Then an unlikely hero emerged for Zalgiris – Tyler Cavanaugh. The American forward scored five points in a row to give his team a 76-71 lead. It proved too much for Valencia to overcome in the end.
“We played worse in the second half, we collapsed in the offense“, said coach Alex Mumbru of Valencia.