Regular Season Game 11 - January 19, 2006 CET: 20:45 Local time: 20:45 - PALAVERDE

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-0 Playoffs 0-0
0-0 Top 16 0-0
0-0 Regular Season 0-0
6-4 Overall 7-3

Referees

Crew Chief
ZAVLANOS, NIKOLAOS, Greece
Referee
MARTIN, JOSE, Spain
Umpire
VOJINOVIC, MILIJA, Serbia

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
80.7 Points 74.9
31.5 Rebounds 36.5
8.5 O. Rebounds 10.0
23.0 D. Rebounds 26.5
13.5 Assists 13.3
11.1 Steals 10.9
2.7 Blocks 4.5
10.2 Turnovers 15.9
50.4 % 2PT 51.7 %
41.4 % 3PT 33.8 %
73.5 % FT 72.5 %
94.0 Index 84.8

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
19.5 / Nicholas Points 15.6 / Lavrinovic, D.
7.2 / Goree Rebounds 7.3 / Lavrinovic, D.
2.4 / Goree OR 2.0 / Jankunas
4.8 / Goree DR 5.5 / Lavrinovic, D.
4.9 / Zisis Assists 3.6 / COTA, ED
1.6 / Goree Steals 1.6 / GINEVICIUS, VIDAS
1.5 / Goree Blocks 2.9 / Lavrinovic, D.
2.0 / Goree Turnovers 3.0 / Lavrinovic, D.
56.5 % / Popovic 2PT 63.2 % / Serapinas
66.7 % / SLOKAR, UROS 3PT 43.8 % / GINEVICIUS, VIDAS
86.4 % / Nicholas FT 82.4 % / Maciulis
18.1 / Nicholas Index 19.4 / Lavrinovic, D.

THE TAKE

Two of Group A's finest meet this week in Treviso, Italy as Benetton Treviso hosts Zalgiris Kaunas on Thursday. Group co-leader Zalgiris (7-3) can clinch a spot in the Top 16 with a victory. After recent departures from its backcourt, however, Zalgiris is quite a different team from the one that defeated Benetton in Lithuania earlier this season. Shooting guard Elias Ayuso, who led all scorers with 19 points in that game, and playmaker Ed Cota, who went for 10 points and 7 assists, have both been released in the last 10 days. On the other hand, dominant big man Tanoka Beard (12.2 ppg., 7.7 rpg.) is back after a lengthy injury layoff. Benetton (6-4) could also make the Top 16 this week, but would need other results to go its way, too. David Blatt's team is 4-1 at home and has used its depth to cover well for its injury woes, which still include point guard Nikos Zisis (8.1 ppg., 4.8 apg.) and captain Matteo Soragna (7.2 ppg., 2.7 rpg.). Benetton's own Lithuanian ace, shooting guard Ramunas Siskauskas (9.8 ppg.), missed the previous game against Zalgiris and will certainly be called on to help against Zalgiris this time. He, Euroleague leading scorer Drew Nicholas (19.5 ppg.) and Marco Mordente will try to take advantage of Zalgiris's backcourt shortage. Zalgiris will rely on Vidas Ginevicius (5.3 ppg.) to replace Cota, but will also expect to get ballhandling and passing help from swingman Reggie Freeman (11.9 ppg.). Should either of them run into foul trouble, however, Zalgiris will have to be very creative. Small forward Simonas Serapinas could help, but the only other point guard on the Zalgiris roster is promising teenager Zydrunas Kelys, who has yet to make his Euroleague debut. Whoever has the ball, his role will be rather simple: get the ball inside and avoid turnovers. Zalgiris's 15.4 turnovers per game are tied for worst in the league, while Benetton commits the fewest (10.2). Zalgiris has been able to count big-time on its frontcourt, however, with center Darjus Lavrinovic (15.3 ppg., 7.3 rpg., 2.9 bpg.) having scored in double figures in every game since Week 1. He alone averages more blocks than three-quarters of the teams in the Euroleague. Paulius Jankunas (12.8 ppg., 6.6 rpg.) is also enjoying his best season to date, making Zalgiris – the co-league leader in rebounding (34.4) – a tough foe in the paint. Benetton will try to combat the Kaunas big mena with classic center Petar Popovic (12.3 ppg.), versatile power forward Marcus Goree (11.6 ppg., 7.2 rpg.) and a rising star in Andrea Bargani (8.1 ppg.). While Benetton has work to do inside, the key matchup for the visitors will likely put Freeman on Nicholas, who has seemed unstoppable in many games.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

Players

Benetton sealed its ticket to the Top 16 from Group A by beating Zalgiris 82-76 in Treviso, Italy on Thursday. Both teams now share the second spot in the group standings with 7-4 records and despite the loss, Zalgiris also clinched a berth in the Top 16, as a confluence of results allowed all teams with seven victories to make it to the next round. Ramunas Siskauskas led the winners with 21 points, while Andrea Bargnani had 17 and hit a pair of key three-pointers in the final minutes. Drew Nicholas added 15 points and Marco Mordente 12 for Benetton. Reggie Freeman led all scorerd with 24 points for Zalgiris. Tanoka Beard posted a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, Simonas Serapinas scored 11 points and Darjus Lavrinovic grabbed 13 rebounds for the guests. Serapinas and Freeman brought Zalgiris within 74-72 in the final 2 minutes, but Bargnani took over with consecutive threes to seal the outcome.

Benetton head coach David Blatt started put youngster Ernest Kalve in his starting five while Zalgiris got back-to-back jumpers by Freeman and Serapinas for an early 0-6 lead. Siskauskas hit the lane for a bucket-and-free throw to get Benetton started but Serapinas scored from inside and Beard from the line to make it 3-11 for the guests. Blatt then went with a tall lineup, calling Bargnani, Uros Slokar and Mordente from the bench, but Zalgiris kept dominating the boards. Bargnani found a triple to revive Benetton, 6-11. Slokar put a good pressure on Beard’s low post and Treviso came within 1, 10-11, after a three-pointer by Mordente. Freeman hit consecutive threes to stop the rally but Slokar dunked an offensive board and Siskauskas hit a long jumper to make it 14-17. After a free throw by Paulius Jankunas, Nicholas had the last basket of the quarter, driving for a 16-18 scoreboard after 10 minutes.

Nicholas drained a triple for the first Benetton lead, 19-18, while Beard kept struggling against Slokar. Beard’s charging foul let Benetton to get a two-point lead at 22-20, after a three-pointer from Siskauskas. Freeman tied the game with a layup before Bargnani and Jankunas traded big threes, 25-25. Slokar went inside to spur Benetton and Siskauskas’ pull-up from downtown forced a Zalgiris timeout as Benetton lead 30-25. Freeman landed another three-pointer to pull its team within a point, 32-31, after free throws by Jankunas and Jonas Maciulis. Benetton found buckets from Siskauskas and Mordente to get a 37-33 lead, but Zalgiris replied with a 0-5 run to back in charge at the halftime, 37-38, thanks to the first shot from the floor made by Lavrinovic.

A reverse dunk by Bargnani set the score on 39-40 after Lavrinovic scored free throws to open the second half. Freeman found his fifth three-pointer and Zalgiris went up by 43-45 when Lavrinovic dunked on a Beard assist. Vidas Ginevicius pushed the lead to 43-47 before Marcus Goree hit a long jumper. Lavrinovic dunked an offensive board and Beard found a low-post bucket to put the guests up 47-51. Benetton took the momentum with a 7-0 run inspired by a Nicholas three-pointer and capped by a one-handed Bargnani dunk. Up now 54-51, Benetton suffered Bargnani’s fourth foul and had to sit him down. After 2 minutes without scoring, Freeman pulled Zalgiris within 54-53 with free throws, but Siskauskas took the baseline to make it 56-53. Serapinas found a difficult three-pointer and Nicholas scored free throws to set a 58-56 Benetton lead at the end of three quarters.

Nicholas dropped a three and fed Slokar to put Benetton in front 63-57 to start the last quarter. Jankunas fired from the arc too and Ginevicius found free-throws to stay in touch, 65-62. Freeman hit a pull-up shot to cut the lead to 1, 65-64, when Jankunas missed a go-ahead triple. Siskauskas closed a fastbreak and Beard scored to make it 67-66. Both offense got red-hot now as Goree dunked, Beard added another layup and Mordente found a floater to make it 71-68 with 3:34 to play. After Serapinas scored foul shots, Mordente hit a three-pointer to build a four-point lead, 74-70. Freeman scored 2 of 3 free throws to keep Zalgiris close, but now came Bargnani time. The Benetton youngster fired back-to-back triples to fix an 80-72 scoreboard with 1:17 left. Beard got free throws for the guests, but when Slokar missed a three-pointer, Mordente grabbed the rebound and let Siskauskas make it 82-74 with seconds remaining to preserve the big victory.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Marco Martelli, Treviso
Referees: ZAVLANOS, NIKOLAOS (GRE), MARTIN, JOSE (ESP), VOJINOVIC, MILIJA (SRB), REINBACHER, HARALD (AUS)
Attendance: 0
By Quarter1234
Benetton Basket16212124
Zalgiris18201820
End of Quarter1234
Benetton Basket16375882
Zalgiris18385676
Head coach: BLATT, DAVID
Benetton Basket
# 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 KALVE, ERNESTS 3:00                         2   -2
7 SORAGNA, MATTEO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 SISKAUSKAS, RAMUNAS 34:00 21 7/9 2/4 1/4 2 1 3 1 4 2     2 4 22
9 MORDENTE, MARCO 29:15 12 3/4 2/4 0/2 1 2 3 1 3       3 5 16
10 SLOKAR, UROS 26:15 6 3/5 0/2   3 5 8   2       4 1 9
11 BARGNANI, ANDREA 30:00 17 2/4 4/6 1/2 1 2 3 1 2 1 1   4 3 17
12 NICHOLAS, DREW 39:45 15 1/7 3/8 4/4 1 2 3 5   2     3 3 10
13 CORRADINI, FRANCESCO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
14 JARMAKOWICZ, MATEUSZ DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
16 SOTTANA, LUCA 0:15                              
18 GOREE, MARCUS 27:45 7 2/8   3/4 1 7 8 4 1   1   2 2 14
19 POPOVIC, PETAR 9:45 4 1/3   2/2 1 1 2   1 1     2 1 3
Team                   3           3
Totals 200:00 82 19/40 11/24 11/18 10 20 30 12 16 6 2 0 22 19 92
47.5% 45.8% 61.1%
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: SIREIKA, ANTANAS
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
4 GINEVICIUS, VIDAS 38:00 8 2/2 0/2 4/4 1 2 3   1 3     1 2 8
5 FREEMAN, REGGIE 40:00 24 2/4 5/8 5/7   1 1 4 1 1     1 3 24
6 BEARD, TANOKA 31:15 12 3/9 0/1 6/6 3 7 10 2 1 2   1 4 4 15
7 LAVRINOVIC, DARJUS 31:00 9 2/2 1/2 2/2 2 11 13 2 1 3     1 4 24
8 MACIULIS, JONAS 18:45 3 1/3   1/2   1 1 1 1 2   1 5 1 -4
12 DILYS, VILMANTAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
13 JANKUNAS, PAULIUS 17:45 9 0/2 2/3 3/6 1 3 4   1 2     4 5 7
14 SILINSKIS, DARIUS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
15 SERAPINAS, SIMONAS 23:15 11 1/2 2/5 3/4 2 1 3     3     3 3 6
22 ALEKSANDROVAS, ANDRIUS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team             1 1   1           2
Totals 200:00 76 11/24 10/21 24/31 9 27 36 9 7 16 0 2 19 22 82
45.8% 47.6% 77.4%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

BLATT, DAVID
Benetton Basket
"I’m really happy for this win. It’s been a tough game, tight, very intense. We played in a playoff atmosphere even though we’re still in the first round. Our second half has been very good and we all are happy to have achieved the win. Nicholas and Siskauskas didn’t practise two days before the game and it’s very difficult to know what to expect on the game night. It was not easy but my guys did a great job. Siska played a great game and young players – Bargnani and Slokar – were the keys too. We played good defense tonight, forcing turnovers with pressure on point guard and high-low. That was a key, because we got extra possessions and shot 19 times more than Zalgiris. There are three games left, we look forward to do the best for a good position in the standings."
SIREIKA, ANTANAS
Zalgiris
"It’s been a balanced game for three quarter and I think we played good basketball in that period. The key was their shooting down the stretch. We allowed open shots and they didn’t miss them. We did some mistake in defense and we paid. But it’s been a good game anyway, especially in the first half We won in rebounding but it wasn’t enough because we committed many turnovers."

Players

NICHOLAS, DREW
Benetton Basket
"We did all the possible things to win this game. The atmosphere was good and finally clinched our seventh win. Siskauskas was sick but played a great game. Bargnani helped us a lot down the stretch while Slokar did a great job on defense, after having played good in the Italian league four days ago. Our next goal is to play a tough game against Tau in Vitoria because we try to finish at the highest position in this group. But, to be honest, if you play the Top 16 you will find all difficult matchups. You just have to lock homecourt and try to do your best on the road... yes, I know, it’s too early to talk about."
JANKUNAS, PAULIUS
Zalgiris
"We played a tight game as we always did in this Euroleague. We left those open shots to them in the closing minutes – and it’s a pity. The game has been decided there. Maybe we played too fast on offense to overcome the gap. We had to play a little slower to come back. We finally saved the goal difference with them and this could be important for the next games because we could end with as many wins as Treviso."
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