By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
It was all about emotions before the tip-off of Game 1 of the best-of-five EuroLeague Playoffs series between FC Barcelona and Zalgiris Kaunas, as Sarunas Jasikevicius, Rokas Jokubaitis, and Rolands Smits shared hugs with their respective former teams.
However, as soon as the game started in Palau Blaugrana, the hosts, and 2th seeded team in the Regular Season hammered it down and took home the 91-69 win to go up 1-0 in the series against the Lithuanian side, forcing Zalgiris Kaunas to one of its worst scoring performances this year.
The Catalan team saw impressive performances from several players, but Sertac Sanli mainly shone in Game 1. The Turkish center had one of the best games of his second season in Spain, dropping 17 points and 5 rebounds with 4/6 from two and 2/3 from three.
“It was really a tough game, we prepared for it and we put a lot of hustle on the court. That’s how we won the game, and we need to keep going. I tried to help my teammates, today it was me and the next time it will be somebody else”, the EuroLeague champs with Efes said after the game.
Nikola Mirotic followed him with 15 points and 4 rebounds, while Tomas Satoransky proved to belong in the stage of the EuroLeague playoffs, dishing 5 assists and grabbing 7 rebounds while performing the best play of the game with a dunk in transition.
“It’s playoffs, they are very demanding. We didn’t play 100% Zalgiris. This is what playoff basketball is all about, pushing and not losing the concentration”, Sarunas Jasikevicius said in the flash interview following the win. In the press conference, he went on to speak about the game. “We were playing very solid basketball for the longest period of the game. In 48 hours, it’s one of the most crucial games of the season”, he added.
Bad shooting nigh for Zalgiris
Zalgiris Kaunas had a really tough night shooting from deep (2/13, 15.4%) and recording 13 turnovers, with only Ignas Bradzeikis and Dovydas Giedraitis scoring double-digits with 14 and 10 points. The native Canadian was followed by Kevarrius Hayes and Achille Polonara, who respectively ended the game with 9 and 8 points.
“We started the game very well. They were physical and motivated, and they took advantage. What we did wasn’t enough for the playoffs. We lost one fight, but we haven’t lost the war. In the next game, we will try to win”, head coach Kazys Maksvytis said in the post-game press conference.
Sarunas Jasikevicius’ team, which won one of the two clashes during the Regular Season against the 7th-seeded side, completely dominated the encounter in terms of assisted produced (17 vs 6) and was perfect at the stripe with 21 attempts.
Game 2 of the best-of-five series between Barcelona and Zalgiris before moving to Kaunas, where the 2023 Final Four will be played, for at least one encounter, is scheduled for Friday 28 at 20:00 CET.
PHOTO CREDIT: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague