By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Leo Westermann with a total of 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, Kevin Pangos with 6 points and 9 assists, Arturas Milaknis with 13 points and Paulius Jankunas with 11 crucial points led a team effort as Zalgiris finished strong the game, scored 30 points in the last quarter and got the 64-58 win.
Panathinaikos set the tone early via defense and led by 12 points at halftime. The real news, however, was that the score was 31-19, as the hosts scored less than 20 points in the first 20 minutes of action.
Zalgiris tried to come back, started the second half with a 4-0 run (31-23) but Panathinaikos managed to keep the distance until the end of the third period (41-34). And then everything changed! Thanks to an 11-4 run Zalgiris Kaunas, which finally started to make its shots, tied the score at 45 and got a 53-51 lead with 2,5 minutes left in the game.
Thanks to a goal foul by Paulius Jankunas, Zalgiris got a 5 points lead (59-54) and suddenly Panathinaikos didn’t have the answers. Nikos Pappas with 13 points was the top scorer of Panathinaikos, as the Greens tried to control the game with their defense, but when the hosts got into rhythm, they couldn’t keep up.