2023-12-22 22:10:11
Zalgiris: Evans (13), Giedraitis (6), Smits (11), Ulanovas (15), Hayes -initial zinc-; Sumner (7), Birutis (18), Lavrinovicius (2), Dimsa (5), Hollins (3) and Lekavicius. Coach: Kazys Maksvytis. Barça: Satoransky (10), Laprovittola (18), Kalinic (12), Da Silva, Vesely (15) -initial zinc-; Parker (8), Hernangómez (6), Brizuela (8), Jokubaitis (6), Parra i Nnaji. Coach: Roger Grimau. Partial results: 22-28 / 29-28 / 22-14 / 7-15 Referees: Carmelo Paternico, Saso Petek and Hugues Thepenier. Eliminations: Ch. Pavelló: Zalgirio Arena in Kaunas. About 15,000 spectators.
Barça was able to react in time and avoided another defeat in the Euroleague. The Blaugrana team recovered from a seven-point deficit at Zalgiris (80-85). The defense of the Catalan team only conceded 29 points during a very solid second half. In addition, the culers players were able to distribute 25 assists in Kaunas, the birthplace of Sarunas Jasikevicius.
“The players showed character to win a close game. We adjusted some small things in defense and in attack we played our usual game. The key is teamwork. Our schedule is crazy and now we will try to rest a little” , analyzed Grimau, who had the absence of Àlex Abrines because of muscle discomfort in the pubis.
Jan Vesely, who only missed one shot, added 15 points and 4 rebounds. “We know that playing in Kaunas is very difficult. They have a team that always fights, but we responded well in the second half. The defensive changes worked for us,” said the Czech pivot. Nico Laprovittola was another outstanding player. “We played a very smart second half,” he said.
As has become tradition, Barça did not have the best possible start. The Blaugrana team, which ended up losing by seven points (14-7), ceded the initiative to a rival who scored 22 points in the first ten minutes. The Culer team had a good offensive tone during the first half, but it took time to get things right in defense (51-56).
The passage through the changing rooms changed the consistency of Barça. Grimau introduced interesting tactical nuances and his players applied them with the necessary conviction and energy. Zalgiris started to have problems scoring fluently against a Catalan opponent who knew how to push their game. However, the locals took the lead in the last quarter (73-70). It was then that the best visiting version appeared. The Kaunas team could only score seven points in the last ten minutes.
Office in the final stretch
The Barça players showed skill in a very tight final stretch of the match in which the locals made more mistakes. The points of Darío Brizuela, Tomás Satoransky and Nico Laprovittola and the rebounds of Jabari Parker served to ensure the victory of a Blaugrana team in need of good news (80-85).
“We lacked better decisions and better defenses. If we wanted to win a game like this we should have been more consistent throughout the 40 minutes. Our good first half didn’t have continuity,” explained Kazys Maksvytis, Zalgiris coach.
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