May 24, 2013
Regular Season Game 7 - December 10, 2009 CET: 18:45 Local time: 19:45 - S.DARIUS AND S.GIRENAS SPORT CENTER
Zalgiris 72 - 83 Montepaschi Siena

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-0 Playoffs 0-0
0-0 Top 16 0-0
1-5 Regular Season 5-1
1-5 Overall 5-1

Referees

Crew Chief
JUNGEBRAND, CARL, Finland
Referee
PEREZ PIZARRO, EMILIO, Spain
Umpire
JURAS, MARKO, Serbia

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
67.0 Points 82.2
31.2 Rebounds 29.8
7.7 O. Rebounds 7.7
23.5 D. Rebounds 22.2
12.0 Assists 14.8
6.0 Steals 9.0
4.3 Blocks 1.3
17.5 Turnovers 11.7
51.0 % 2PT 50.5 %
37.6 % 3PT 46.2 %
69.9 % FT 80.8 %
69.7 Index 90.3
Team Stats - Zalgiris
Team Stats - Montepaschi Siena

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
13.3 / BROWN, MARCUS Points 16.3 / Sato
9.5 / WATSON, TRAVIS Rebounds 5.0 / Sato
3.2 / WATSON, TRAVIS OR 1.7 / Eze
6.3 / WATSON, TRAVIS DR 3.5 / Sato
4.7 / Kalnietis Assists 5.8 / MCINTYRE, TERRELL
1.3 / Salenga Steals 2.0 / MCINTYRE, TERRELL
1.3 / Begic Blocks 0.7 / Eze
4.0 / Kalnietis Turnovers 3.3 / MCINTYRE, TERRELL
75.0 % / Kalnietis 2PT 65.7 % / Sato
50.0 % / Pocius 3PT 62.5 % / Ress
100.0 % / Kalnietis FT 100.0 % / Domercant
15.3 / WATSON, TRAVIS Index 20.2 / Sato
Team Roster - Zalgiris
Team Roster - Montepaschi Siena

THE TAKE

Zalgiris Kaunas looks to put an end to a five-game losing streak when it hosts Montepaschi Siena in a Week 7 contest in Kaunas, Lithuania. Zalgiris comes off a tough loss at Asvel Basket last week, which dropped the team into a tie for last place in Group A at 1-5. As the battle for Top 16 berths intensify, every victory is precious and Zalgiris will give everything to protect its home court. Meanwhile Montepaschi bounced back nicely from its first loss by blasting Cibona last week to improve to 5-1. A win in Lithuania would already send head coach Simone Pianigiani’s side into the Top 16. Ben Eze scored 16 and Romain Sato produced a double-double to lead Montepaschi to an 84-64 win over Zalgiris in Siena in Week 2. Zalgiris turned the ball over 20 times that night, something it can ill-afford to do again. Head coach Gintaras Krapikas features a balanced lineup, led by his swingmen. The Euroleague’s career scoring leader, Marcus Brown, and Week 6 MVP Dainius Salenga are Zalgiris prime offensive weapons, with inconsistent rookie Marty Pocius providing a spark off the bench. They will test themselves against Montepaschi’s perimeter attack that boasts the explosive David Hawkins, superscorer Henry Domercant and the always-dangerous Sato. At point guard, Mantas Kalnietis will test his progress against two-time All-Euroleague playmaker Terrell McIntyre and Nikos Zisis. The battle inside sees Zalgiris send rebounding stud Travis Watson, shot-blocking threat Mirza Begic and backup Tadas Kilmavicius to tackle Eze, Ksistof Lavrinovic and captain Shaun Stonerook. Both Lavrinovic and Stonerook can open up the floor with their three-point shooting, creating a problem for the Zalgiris bigs, who prefer to stay closer to the basket. The key matchup could ultimately be at point guard, where Kalnietis produces an average of 4 turnovers per game – second most in the league – and faces a defense that prides itself on takeaways. If Kalnietis or Zalgiris (17.5 TOpg.) do not take care of the ball and allow Montepaschi to turn steals into easy baskets, the hosts will have a rough time looking for the win. However, if Zalgiris is able to control the ball and just as importantly, slow the tempo and feed it inside to Begic and Watson, the hosts will have a real shot at victory.

REFEREES: Carl Jungebrand, Emilio Perez Pizarro, Marko Juras


GAME NOTES

Zalgiris Kaunas

Marcus Brown and Montepaschi center Denis Marconato were teammates during the 2000-01 season at Benetton Treviso.

Brown has made at least 1 three-pointer in eight consecutive Euroleague appearances dating back to last season.

Dainius Salenga was the Week 6 MVP after recording 25 points and a 28 index despite losing at Asvel Basket.

Salenga was a teammate of Montepaschi big man Ksistof Lavrinovic on the Lithuanian national team that won the gold medal at EuroBasket 2003 in Sweden. They also played together for Lithuania at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Mirza Begic has blocked a shot in five straight games.

Zalgiris head coach Gintaras Krapikas has dressed the exact same starting five – Kalnietis, Brown, Salenga, Watson and Begic – in every Euroleague game this season.

Mantas Kalnietis was a teammate of Montepaschi big man Ksistof Lavrinovic on the Lithuanian national team at EuroBasket 2009 in Poland.

Montepaschi Siena

Henry Domercant scored a season-high 21 points against Zalgiris last season. He was 4 for 4 from downtown as Montepaschi won 100-93.

Domercant has made 34 consecutive free throws over his past 19 Euroleague games.

Ben Eze recorded the first double-double of his Euroleague career at Zalgiris in January 2008. Eze posted 10 points and 11 rebounds in a 75-69 loss.

Eze scored a season-high 16 points in a Week 2 win over Zalgiris.

Eze continues to move up on the Euroleague career shot-blocking charts. He is now tied for 12th place with 78 career blocks, needing just 2 more to crack the top 10.

Nikos Zisis had one of the best games of his career against Zalgiris in December 2006 when he played for Benetton Treviso. Zisis scored 16, dished 11 assists and picked up 2 steals for a career-high 29 index as Benetton won 76-86.

Ksistof Lavrinovic’s twin brother, Darjus Lavrinovic, was named to the All-Euroleague team when he played for Zalgiris in the 2005-06 season. Darjus spent three seasons altogether at Zalgiris.

All-Euroleague point guard Terrell McIntyre has drilled at least one three-pointer in 22 consecutive Euroleague games.

Romain Sato has picked up at least 1 steal in eight consecutive Euroleague games.

Denis Marconato passed Luis Scola last week for third place on the career offensive rebounding list. Marconato now has 277 offensive boards and needs 12 more to reach Kerem Gonlum for second place with 289. The all-time leader is FB Ulker’s Mirsad Turkcan with 337.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

KRAPIKAS, GINTARAS
Zalgiris
"We know Siena quite well as we are meeting them for 12th time in 7 years. Rosters of other teams change heavily each season, but Montepaschi have the tendency just to upgrade the team with the players they need. The core in Siena is the same as in the past few years and that makes them a powerful squad. We didn’t play bad in Siena, but had a terrible 4 minutes in the second quarter, which decided the game. We cannot let the same mistakes happen in Kaunas. With our aggressiveness and fan support we can try to take this game away from the favorites."
PIANIGIANI, SIMONE
Montepaschi Siena
"In this game it is not important for us to think about the Top 16. We have to think about getting better in every single game to arrive in the next round with confidence. This kind of game on the road is a great test for us. Everybody knows the atmosphere in the gym, they have a good tradition and many good players with experience and others that are young, but very good. So everybody has respect for this situation and great motivation to play in this place. For us, it is a great test to show our potential for the future."

Players

BROWN, MARCUS
Zalgiris
"We have to play good. Montepaschi is a strong team so it's going to be a tough game. All Euroleague games are no different - they all are tough. We have to find and come out with the same intensity and the same attitude that we had against CSKA Moscow this last weekend in VTB United League. This victory would help us a lot, so we are going to the game with the right spirit and enthusiasm to make it happen."
ZISIS, NIKOS
Montepaschi Siena
"Every game is important for us, and for this reason we are very focused to win the game. We know that is going to be a tough game, because they are fighting for the fourth place in our group and it’s going to be difficult. They beat CSKA in the VTB League, so I think that they are confident to play against us. We know that they have many important players and we have big respect for them."
David Hawkins - Montepaschi SienaMontepaschi Siena advanced to the Top 16 in style by handing Zalgiris a 72-83 defeat in Kaunas, Lithuania, on Thursday night. With the convincing road win, Montepaschi improved to 6-1, remaining just one win behind Regal FC Barcelona in Group A. Next week head coach Simone Pianigiani’s men host Frech champion Asvel Basket. Zalgiris fell to 1-6 and needs to win at least two of its three last games, starting with the tough task of traveling to Barcelona next week, to have any chance of making the Top 16. David Hawkins led the way for the winners with 20 points. Terrell McIntyre had a 10 points and 9 assists, while Ksistof Lavrinovic notched 16 points to go with 6 boards. Benjamin Eze chipped in with 12 points and 7 rebounds as well. Travis Watson had a monster night for Zalgiris with 17 points and an amazing 17 rebounds. Ten of those were on the offensive end – 1 less than his own Euroelague record for most offensive rebounds in a single game. Tadas Klimavicius added 14 points in the losing effort. After Montepaschi built a 17-point lead by halftime, Zalgiris fought back to within 4 points early in the final quarter. However the Italian champs turned up the defense and secured the win on the strength of a 0-9 run to crush any hopes of a Zalgiris comeback.

Romain Sato broke the ice with a baseline jumper before Watson took a Dainius Salenga miss and scored. Montepaschi looked down low where Eze scored on the offensive glass and then off a pick-and-roll from McIntyre on successive possessions. Hawkins drove to make it 2-8 for the visitors. The lead reached 7 before Marcus Brown connected from downtown, but Eze remained a force on the offensive end. Watson dominated the offensive boards with two put backs to narrow the gap to 10-12. Shaun Stonerook buried an open three, but Salenga drove through the Montepaschi defense for a slam. Eze raced downcourt to answer with a dunk only to see Klimavicius hit a three that kept it close. Another Watson put-back kept the hosts within a basket, but Henry Domercant drained a three-pointer at the other end and McIntyre beat the buzzer with a jumper to make it 17-24 after 10 minutes.

Nikos Zisis came off the bench and found a way to the basket for a layup. Domercant sank a pair of free throws to cap a 0-9 run, but Marty Pocius beat him to the corner for a three-pointer. Mantas Kalnietis fed Klimavicius for a fastbreak slam and Zisis spotted an open Stonerook for an easy basket at the other side. Zisis set up Lavrinovic for a layup to give the Italian champs a double-digit advantage and Stonerook found a cutting Domercant for a slam as the lead grew. Watson sank a free throw and Klimavicius made a jumper as Zalgiris clawed its way back. Mirza Begic cut the gap to 29-36 before Hawkins made a free throw. Zygimantas Janavicius fed Begic for another score only to see McIntyre race to the other side for a layup. Hawkins soon sank 2 free throws to restore a 10-point lead. Lavrinovic drained a three-pointer and then padded the Siena lead from the line. With the half coming to a close, McIntyre provided a highlight with a steal and halfcourt buzzer-beating three to cap a 1-12 run that made it 32-49 at halftime.

Travis Watson - ZalgirisKalnietis opened the second half with free throws but Hawkins flashed his athleticism with a slam at the other end. A pretty high-post pass from Watson to Kalnietis resulted in a layup. Watson then scored down low and Kalnietis went coast to coast for a slam to trim the gap to 12. Following a Montepaschi timeout, Adas Juskevicius tipped in a Begic miss and then drained a three from the corner to cap a 9-0 push that made it 45-52. Hawkins ended the Montepaschi dry spell with a basket on an inbounds play. Both teams went to three-guard lineups, opening up the floor a bit. Kalnietis and Lavrinovic swapped threes before Klimavicus hit a scoop shot. Klimavicus continued to push the hosts and , sinking a triple to narrow the gap to 5. McIntyre stepped up with a triple from the corner and Hawkins capped a break with a slam to quickly restore a double-digit Siena lead. Watson slammed home a Juskevicius miss and then a confident Juskevicius hit a long jumper. Lavrinovic scored from the line, but Pocius cut the difference to 61-66 at the end of three quarter by banking in a floater from the lane as the buzzer sounded.

Sim-Sander Vene went made a free throw to open the fourth period for the home team and cut the lead down to just 4 points. Zalgiris tightened its defense, but could not capitalize on Montepaschi’s dry spell. Lavrinovic swished a baseline jumper to give his squad some breathing room. After another stop by the visitors on the defensive end, Hawkins drove hard to the bucket for a left-handed layup to force Zalgiris to call for time down 8 points. But the stoppage of play did not prevent Lavrinovic from dishing to Sato for an inside basket and Stonerook put the nail in the Zalgiris comeback by draining a three-pointer to push the lead back out to 13 points. Juskevicius made a pair of free throws to break the 0-9 Siena run, but Sato hit right back with a turnaround jumper. Lavrinovic continued showing off his playmaking skills by feeding Eze for a slam. Sato struck again inside off a nice pass from McIntyre and Zalgiris had to take another timeout to try and figure out how to come back from 16 points down with two minutes to go, a task which proved to be impossible.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Euroleague.net
Referees: JUNGEBRAND, CARL (FIN), PEREZ PIZARRO, EMILIO (ESP), JURAS, MARKO (SRB)
Attendance: 4005
By Quarter1234
Zalgiris17152911
Montepaschi Siena24251717
End of Quarter1234
Zalgiris17326172
Montepaschi Siena24496683
Head coach: KRAPIKAS, GINTARAS
Zalgiris
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
5 BROWN, MARCUS 17:08 9 0/1 2/4 3/4   2 2 1   1     3 4 8
7 POCIUS, MARTYNAS 21:17 7 1/3 1/2 2/2   1 1 1   2     2 4 6
8 JUSKEVICIUS, ADAS 15:21 9 2/4 1/1 2/2 1 1 2 1         1 2 11
9 KALNIETIS, MANTAS 27:50 9 2/6 1/2 2/2   7 7 3   2     3 1 10
10 JANAVICIUS, ZYGIMANTAS 12:10   0/1 0/1         2   2     1 1 -2
12 KLIMAVICIUS, TADAS 25:49 14 4/7 2/3   1   1 3     1 1 2   12
14 BUTKEVICIUS, POVILAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
15 BEGIC, MIRZA 13:17 4 2/4     1 1 2       1   3   2
20 SALENGA, DAINIUS 21:20 2 1/7 0/1     1 1 1   2   1 1   -7
21 MILAKNIS, ARTURAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
22 VENE, SIIM-SANDER 14:10 1   0/3 1/2 2 2 4     1     1 1  
35 WATSON, TRAVIS 31:38 17 7/10   3/6 10 7 17 3   3     4 6 30
Team           3 1 4               4
Totals 200:00 72 19/43 7/17 13/18 18 23 41 15 0 13 2 2 21 19 74
44.2% 41.2% 72.2%
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Head coach: PIANIGIANI, SIMONE
Montepaschi Siena
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
4 DOMERCANT, HENRY 15:31 7 1/3 1/2 2/2         1       3 1 3
5 MCINTYRE, TERRELL 26:17 10 2/3 2/4     1 1 9 2 1     2 3 19
6 ZISIS, NIKOS 16:40 2 1/2 0/1     1 1 4 2 1     2 1 5
7 D'ERCOLE, LORENZO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 EZE, BENJAMIN 23:36 12 5/5   2/5 2 5 7   2 1 1   3 4 19
9 CARRARETTO, MARCO 5:27                 1 1          
10 SATO, ROMAIN 29:50 8 4/6 0/3   2 2 4 1       1 3 2 6
12 LAVRINOVIC, KSISTOF 25:21 16 3/7 2/3 4/4   6 6 3 2   1     4 27
14 RESS, TOMAS 1:24     0/1                       -1
18 MARCONATO, DENIS 1:39                              
20 STONEROOK, SHAUN 27:13 8 1/3 2/5   2 3 5 3 1     1 4 1 8
34 HAWKINS, DAVID 27:02 20 8/12 0/2 4/7 4   4 2 1 1     2 5 20
Team           2 1 3     1         2
Totals 200:00 83 25/41 7/21 12/18 12 19 31 22 12 6 2 2 19 21 108
61% 33.3% 66.7%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

KRAPIKAS, GINTARAS
Zalgiris
"I just have to congratulate coach Pianigiani and his team with this win, they showed they are a great team. Siena is one of the best passing teams in the Euroleague. They always find an open man because they have played together for so many years. The first half for us wasn’t good, we lacked some defensive aggressiveness. Furthermore, Marcus Brown picked up his third foul and had to sit on the bench longer than we wanted. We cut the difference with one lineup, a more defensive minded one, then we put back our main guys, but we couldn’t tie the score. It’s a tough loss, but we still believe we can achieve the Top 16."
PIANIGIANI, SIMONE
Montepaschi Siena
"We played well from the beginning of the game and we achieved our goal. We controlled the tempo of the game and didn’t let Zalgiris score easy points. We knew that the third quarter would not be easy because Zalgiris always fights. It wasn’t a surprise for me that Zalgiris came back in the game. No matter what their lineup is, they fight until the end of the game and do not let themselves lose by 20 points in front of their crowd. This crowd is fantastic and they always create great atmosphere."

Players

WATSON, TRAVIS
Zalgiris
"We kept fighting in the second half, we cut down turnovers, made some good plays and made a run to come back. Today the younger players stepped up, they hit some shots and they were part of the game. We have another game on Saturday against Lietuvos Rytas, so now we must get ready for it. We will keep fighting as long as we have any chance to qualify to the Top 16."
LAVRINOVIC, KSISTOF
Montepaschi Siena
"We knew what Zalgiris players are capable of. They are a good team and they showed it tonight. Maybe they were a bit to loose in the first half, letting us get a 17-point advantage. But in the second half they came back. What they lacked at the end of the game? Maybe some energy. Most of our players play 20 to 25 minutes and we had more energy in the fourth quarter. I think Zalgiris players were tired and it cost them a victory."
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