By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
After enduring six straight losses in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, Zalgiris decided to make a change, appointing Trinchieri in place of Kazys Maksvytis.
The effect was instantaneous, as Zalgiris defeated ALBA Berlin 77-71 in Trinchieri’s debut on the bench.
In a generally tough and closely contested game, Keenan Evans led the Lithuanian side with 13 points and five assists. Tomas Dimsa added 12 points with five boards, while Edgaras Ulanovas followed with 10 points. Lukas Lekavicius contributed nine points, six rebounds, and five assists.
“We return home with smiles; you can go outside and see other people. Before, when you keep losing, losing, losing… you walk around as if hiding, not wanting to see anything. Nervousness sets in. Today, we’ll go out with a good mood, but tomorrow we have to come back, and everything, the next game awaits,” Dimsa said.
Johannes Thiemann had another good game for ALBA with 17 points, while Matteo Spagnolo scored 15 with five rebounds and four assists. Sterling Brown added 12 points, while Yannick Wetzell was near a double-double with 10 points and eight boards.
“First of all, congratulations to Zalgiris on the win; they played excellently. I think the game was great on both sides. If we had made some free throws that we missed, we would have had a better chance. We were not good in certain aspects. We will work on improving them and be better in the upcoming period,” ALBA’s coach Israel Gonzalez gave his assessment of the match.
Despite Zalgiris having the upper hand for most of the match, ALBA refused to go down and erased a 10-point deficit in the final quarter, taking the lead twice in the dying minutes. Nevertheless, Zalgiris found a way to bounce back. Trinchieri’s team did not allow the opponents to score any points in the last 159 seconds.
During that time, Kevarrius Hayes and Lukas Lekavicius each added two points, Edgaras Ulanovas made free throws, and Tomas Dimsa added one more. As a result, Zalgiris pulled away, securing a victory for the first time since November 30th of last year in the EuroLeague.
“The win is a win, and we have to enjoy it. Partially, we didn’t look good, but we managed to win a game. The players were better than me. They really tried to listen. I asked the team one thing. I am not asking for a perfect game, but I can ask for the perfect effort,” Trinchieri said after the match.
In just 48 hours, Zalgiris will play against ASVEL on the road in Round 19, while ALBA will host Virtus Segafredo Bologna a day later (05/01).