By Nikola Miloradovic / info@eurohoops.net
Zalgiris Kaunas made the first surprise of the 2024/25 EuroLeague season by taking down Barcelona at Zalgirio Arena.
Apart from the third quarter, where Blaugrana dominated, the hosts seemed to be in control, with Sylvain Francisco making a difference with two three-pointers at the end.
The French guard made the highlights with a filthy crossover and a three-pointer with two minutes to go, and then hit another dagger with 18 seconds left to put the game to bed.
Talking about his decisive triple, Francisco mentioned Vassilis Spanoulis, who was his coach two years ago in Peristeri BC.
“Shout out to Spanoulis because that’s his move at the end of the day,” said Zalgiris‘ guard, who scored 15 points in the final quarter.
Sylvain Francisco, bağırtma. 👀
Barcelona’ya karşı galibiyeti perçinleyen muhteşem üçlük 😍pic.twitter.com/U6MBFol2Qu
— Eurohoops Türkiye (@EurohoopsTR) October 3, 2024
Zalgiris’ coach, Andrea Trinchieri, commented on the decision to rely on Francisco’s isolation plays in the final 10 minutes.
“Basketball is a situational game, and every game is different. In that moment, it was the right choice. Ignas Brazdeikis also played a very good game, but the big buckets that he and Francisco scored wouldn’t have been important without the team effort.“