By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Unics survived a thriller game on the road against a fiery Zalgiris Kaunas and won 80-88. The Russian team grabbed its 5th win in 14 games, forcing Zalgiris to fall to a 5-9 record.
Keith Langford was one of the two key players for Unics in this important win (the other being Artsiom Parakhouski), by scoring 25 points, grabbing 4 rebounds and handing out 3 assists. The Belorussian big man scored 24 points. It is to be noted that Quino Colom was also impressive with an efficiency of 25, 15 points scored and 8 rebounds.
For Zalgiris, Paulius Jankunas finished the game with 21 points, followed by Antanas Kavaliauskas’ 15.
Unics stepped into the game while being more concentrated and effective in defense, not allowing Zalgiris to score easy points. With a short outbreak, the hosts reduced to 19-23 after the first 10 minutes.
The Lithuanian team recovered in the second half, improved its shooting and even managed to keep a 3-point lead at halftime, 46-43.
Yet the game was set to turn into a roller-coaster in the second half! The hosts managed to keep their lead and even expand it to double digits during the third period (69 – 58 at 30′), yet things were about to change before the finale. With 4 minuts to go, Jankunas tied the score to 72 points, then the visitors took charge before Lukas Lekavicius made it a one-point game at 38′, 78-79. Parakhouski and Langford kept their team alive in the end, and even slipped away with a flattering deficit, given the game’s nature.