By Eurohoops Team / info@eurohoops.net
Zalgiris Kaunas got a much-needed victory against FC Barcelona Lassa (90-74) that brought the team closer to the home court advantage.
The game was over by the third quarter with the hosts having a 63-44 lead thanks to Kevin Pangos who won the point guard battle against Thomas Heurtel. The 25-year old Canadian dished five assists while and scored 18 points, setting the tone early by being the only player of Zalgiris in double digits during the first half. Despite ending the game with just two made threes in eight attempts, Pangos proved once more than he is the natural leader of this team and one of the main reasons for their success so far.
The hosts built a double-digit lead (40-29) during the first 20 minutes, which they eventually kept until the final buzzer. Axel Toupane was also impressive for the winners as he added 21 points (4/4 3FG), even if most of them were scored when the game was already decided, while Aaron White added 11 points and 5 rebounds. For Barcelona, Pierre Oriola finished with 18 points.
With this win, Zalgiris improved to 15-9 while Barca dropped to 7-17. The visitors have now lost seven of the last eight EuroLeague games and the playoff hopes are more than slim.
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