By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
FC Barcelona Lassa escaped from Kaunas with an 88-85 overtime victory over Zalgiris in Round 7 of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Barcelona moved up to a 5-2 record, while the Lithuanians ceased to grab their first home victory and fall to a 3-4 record.
Kyle Kuric stepped up for the visitors with his 15-point performance (5/6 from the three-point line), while the always reliable Ante Tomic followed with 14 points and five boards.
Despite being toe-to-toe for most of the game, Barcelona ended the third quarter with a 10-point, though the hosts quickly recovered from a 13-point deficit and sent the game to overtime. However, Barcelona’s 7-0 start in the extra five-minute period left no space for another comeback.
“For 30 minutes I think we played excellent basketball. Then they started to play aggressive defense with double-teams and everything. We didn’t find always a very good decision, but anyway nobody asks if you found it or not. The most important thing is that we won the game”, commented coach Svetislav Pesic after the game.
Aaron White and Nate Wolters tried to save the day for the hosts, adding 21 points, eight boards and 19 points, six assists each.
Notably, prior to the game, Zalgiris honored its former player Kevin Pangos and thanked him for his contribution to the team with a special poster.
?Abans del partit el @bczalgiris ha fet un reconeixement a @KPangos, que ba jugar dues temporades a Kaunas
✅ Antes del partido el Zalgiris ha hecho un reconocimiento a Kevin Pangos#ForçaBarça! pic.twitter.com/NA80UY0ImE
— Barça Basket (@FCBbasket) 16 Νοεμβρίου 2018