By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Zalgiris Kaunas made the 1- 0 in the quarterfinals battle against Olympiacos Piraeus by defeating the Greek powerhouse 87 – 78 in overtime, in a packed “Peace And Friendship” arena.
Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius’ players put on the court wonderful team efforts vs. a lackluster Olympiacos that paid the price of an unimaginative and predictable offensive game.
Before overtime, Zalgiris had a chance to also win the match in regulation since they were up 72 – 69 with less than one minute remaining after a corner 3-pointer by Arturas Milaknis. Yet Vassilis Spanoulis tied the score for the Reds with a 3-pointer of his own to force the extra period. Vangelis Mantzaris’ long-range shot at the buzzer fell short and the two teams headed to the extra five.
The guests proceeded to more or less dominate. First, they made it 74 – 77 with three minutes left to play and then Edgaras Ulanovas put his team up 76 – 80. Then Kevin Pangos added his own piece for the 76 – 82 before captain Paulius Jankunas sealed the victory of his team with a floater.
The Reds had poor choices on offense throughout the bulk of the game following their electric 23 – 8 entrance. Save for Vassilis Spanoulis (25, 9 assists) and Giorgos Printezis (11 points), the hosts were predictable and often stale, something that their opponents greatly took advantage of.
Zalgiris easily pulled stops, forcing Olympiacos to 15 turnovers while committing less than half (seven). For the majority of the match, they had more possessions than the opponents a factor that was proved to be decisive.
It all began after that 15-point deficit. With Brandon Davies leading the charge with a superb display on both ends (21 points, eight rebounds) and Kevin Pangos (20 points, 6 assists) putting his touch, Zalgiris balanced the game 32 – 32 and then proceeded to often take the lead. Olympiacos was answering back but never managed to get up by a safe margin.
Arturas Milaknis also made damage to Olympiacos with 16 points and many uncontested shots.