Zalgiris Kaunas routed Catalana Occident Manresa 42-67 in the third-place game at the Ciutat de L’Hospitalet Tournament to secure a place on the podium. Though both teams were back on the floor after short rests following semifinal losses earlier in the day, Zalgiris was far sharper, using its defense to deny Manresa and boasting double-digit leads for most of the game. Marius Grigonas shined brightest with 22 points on 6-of-7 three-point shooting and 9 rebounds. Tomas Dimsa added 14 for Zalgiris, which outrebounded Manresa 29-38 and blocked 5 shots to Manresa’s 1. Zalgiris leaves the tournament with four wins from five games. Marcus Eriksson paced Manresa with 11 points and Sergi Sole and Johan Bitnaa added 10 each in defeat.
Manresa jumped out to an early lead on a pair of three-pointers by Ferran Huertas and Eriksson. Zalgiris though quickly turned the tables. Justas Tamulas scored from downtown to put Zalgiris ahead and Grigonas later connected from downtown to cap a 0-12 charge that made it 6-14. Sole made his presence felt inside for Manresa, but Zalgiris kept on chugging as Dimsa hit from behind the arc and Simas Raupys thres down a slam and a fast break layup to finish the first quarter up 10-24. A three-point play by Dimsa stretched the Zalgiris lead to 15 early in the second quarter, but Manresa soon found its footing as Sole scored twice and Huertas nailed a three in an 8-0 run. Dimsa and Eriksson traded threes as Manresa kept its deficit at a reachable mark, 26-35, at halftime. Aurimas Majauskas and Grigonas hit from downtown early in the second half as the lead sprouted to 28-43. A pair of Bitjaa buckets brought Manresa back within single digits, but a Grigonas three and a pair of Valdas Karinauskas baskets put Zalgiris ahead by 17 at the end of the quarter and Grigonas added another triple as the run reached 0-15 to essentially secure the outcome. Even with the win in the bag, the Zalgiris players continued to rack up points as they cruised to a big win and a place on the podium.
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Euroleague.net
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