Zalgiris vs. Benetton Basket - ShowGame - Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL

June 19, 2013

Regular Season Game 8 - December 14, 2006 CET: 19:45 Local time: 20:45 - S.DARIUS AND S.GIRENAS SPORT CENTER

Zalgiris 76 - 86 Benetton Basket

REGULAR SEASON, GAME 8

GROUP A

GROUP B

GROUP C

Records

Ave.		Ave.
0-0	Final Four	0-0
0-0	Playoffs	0-0
0-0	Top 16	0-0
1-0	Regular Season	0-0
1-6	Overall	4-3

Referees

Crew Chief

KOUKOULEKIDIS, STELIOS, Greece

Referee

RYZHYK, BORYS, Ukraine

Umpire

PEREZ PIZARRO, EMILIO, Spain

Team Stats

Ave.		Ave.
79.6	Points	76.9
33.6	Rebounds	31.3
11.1	O. Rebounds	8.4
22.4	D. Rebounds	22.9
14.7	Assists	15.1
11.7	Steals	14.1
1.7	Blocks	2.3
13.6	Turnovers	14.9
57.1 %	2PT	55.4 %
32.0 %	3PT	39.9 %
72.7 %	FT	70.5 %
88.6	Index	89.3

Team Stats - Zalgiris

Team Stats - Benetton Basket

Player Stats

Ave.		Ave.
15.1 / Popovic	Points	13.6 / Goree
9.9 / BEARD, TANOKA	Rebounds	7.1 / Goree
3.1 / Jankunas	OR	2.8 / NELSON, SPENCER
6.9 / BEARD, TANOKA	DR	5.4 / Goree
4.9 / Popovic	Assists	5.1 / Zisis
1.7 / Jankunas	Steals	2.4 / Lyday
0.6 / BEARD, TANOKA	Blocks	0.9 / Goree
2.7 / MOTTOLA, HANNO	Turnovers	2.3 / Lyday
75.0 % / GINEVICIUS, VIDAS	2PT	75.0 % / NELSON, SPENCER
50.0 % / MOTTOLA, HANNO	3PT	71.4 % / MORDENTE, MARCO
100.0 % / MACHADO, M.	FT	90.0 % / MORDENTE, MARCO
19.1 / BEARD, TANOKA	Index	17.7 / Goree

Team Roster - Zalgiris

Team Roster - Benetton Basket

THE TAKE

A proud club faces what could be a last best chance at turning around its Group C season when Zalgiris hosts Benetton Treviso in Kaunas, Lithuania on Thursday. The situation for Zalgiris (1-6) is stark. It needs to win Thursday or likely face fighting desperately for fifth place - the last guaranteed Group C qualification spot - while travelling to four of its remaining six games. It must also do so despite the doubtful injury status of three key contributors: Marko Popovic, Hanno Mottola and Paulius Jankunas. Benetton (4-3), meanwhile, can either attach itself to the group's higher echelon for good or fall back into street fight for Top 16 places. It will have to try to win without injured forward Spencer Nelson, who was a key when these teams met to open the season in Treviso and Benetton ran up a 95-82 victory. Nelson poured in 26 points that night, but since Benetton as a whole shot 70.9% on two-pointers and 54.5% on triples, the visitors will enter the rematch with plenty of confidence against the Zalgiris defense. The hosts will rely as usual on Tanoka Beard (13.6 ppg., 9.9 rpg.) to try to control the interior. If Popovic (15.1 ppg., 4.9 apg.), Mottola (13.7 ppg.) and Jankunas (9.7 ppg.) are not at full strength, Zalgiris will almost certainly need to play a perfect defensive game while hoping that, despite an overtime loss last week to Pau-Orthez, shooter Marcelinho Machado finally arrived with his 20 points in that game. Benetton counters with all sorts of offensive weapons, the hottest of late being guard Marco Mordente (11.7 ppg.), who is shooting an incredible 71% from three-point distance. Euroleague assists leader Nikos Zisis (11.7 ppg., 5.1 apg.) and do-everything forward Marcus Goree (13.6 ppg., 7.1 rpg.) are the other big guns that Zalgiris will have to limit in order have a chance to keep its season alive much longer. The absence of Nelson (12.8 ppg., 8.2 rpg.) will thrust Angelo Gigli (6.1 ppg.) into the spotlight if Benetton finds itself struggling inside. Particularly if Beard can cancel out Goree on the boards, Benetton might be looking for enough rebounds to keep its fast-paced game moving against a Zalgiris team that will be motivated to stop at nothing for the victory. Wednesday, December 13, 2006 Euroleague.net

A proud club faces what could be a last best chance at turning around its Group C season when Zalgiris hosts Benetton Treviso in Kaunas, Lithuania on Thursday. The situation for Zalgiris (1-6) is stark. It needs to win Thursday or likely face fighting desperately for fifth place - the last guaranteed Group C qualification spot - while travelling to four of its remaining six games. It must also do so despite the doubtful injury status of three key contributors: Marko Popovic, Hanno Mottola and Paulius Jankunas. Benetton (4-3), meanwhile, can either attach itself to the group's higher echelon for good or fall back into street fight for Top 16 places. It will have to try to win without injured forward Spencer Nelson, who was a key when these teams met to open the season in Treviso and Benetton ran up a 95-82 victory. Nelson poured in 26 points that night, but since Benetton as a whole shot 70.9% on two-pointers and 54.5% on triples, the visitors will enter the rematch with plenty of confidence against the Zalgiris defense. The hosts will rely as usual on Tanoka Beard (13.6 ppg., 9.9 rpg.) to try to control the interior. If Popovic (15.1 ppg., 4.9 apg.), Mottola (13.7 ppg.) and Jankunas (9.7 ppg.) are not at full strength, Zalgiris will almost certainly need to play a perfect defensive game while hoping that, despite an overtime loss last week to Pau-Orthez, shooter Marcelinho Machado finally arrived with his 20 points in that game. Benetton counters with all sorts of offensive weapons, the hottest of late being guard Marco Mordente (11.7 ppg.), who is shooting an incredible 71% from three-point distance. Euroleague assists leader Nikos Zisis (11.7 ppg., 5.1 apg.) and do-everything forward Marcus Goree (13.6 ppg., 7.1 rpg.) are the other big guns that Zalgiris will have to limit in order have a chance to keep its season alive much longer. The absence of Nelson (12.8 ppg., 8.2 rpg.) will thrust Angelo Gigli (6.1 ppg.) into the spotlight if Benetton finds itself struggling inside. Particularly if Beard can cancel out Goree on the boards, Benetton might be looking for enough rebounds to keep its fast-paced game moving against a Zalgiris team that will be motivated to stop at nothing for the victory.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

GRIGAS, RIMANTAS Zalgiris "Benetton plays an uptempo transition game. They use a lot of screens and players move a lot without the ball. Benetton may stumble against very active defenses. While offense is a very big part of Benetton's game, our defense will be the key to the victory. But it is very hard task since we have three very important players, Mottola, Popovic and Jankunas, on the inactive list. It's very questionable if any of them will be able to play on Thursday. In our first game against Benetton we made way too many mistakes. It was our very first game in this Euroleague season and my players were too hyped-up and couldn't choose their game. Spencer Nelson had a superb game that night. He punished us from the outside. I was little bit surprised by his performance then. He hit a few difficult shots and was factor in the paint. Nelson is good player and we have to find way to stop him."

GRIGAS, RIMANTAS

Zalgiris

"Benetton plays an uptempo transition game. They use a lot of screens and players move a lot without the ball. Benetton may stumble against very active defenses. While offense is a very big part of Benetton's game, our defense will be the key to the victory. But it is very hard task since we have three very important players, Mottola, Popovic and Jankunas, on the inactive list. It's very questionable if any of them will be able to play on Thursday. In our first game against Benetton we made way too many mistakes. It was our very first game in this Euroleague season and my players were too hyped-up and couldn't choose their game. Spencer Nelson had a superb game that night. He punished us from the outside. I was little bit surprised by his performance then. He hit a few difficult shots and was factor in the paint. Nelson is good player and we have to find way to stop him."

BLATT, DAVID Benetton Basket "In a competitive group like this one, the record or the standings don't reflect the worth of each team, then if you have a balanced situation everything is possible and every game is really tough. Zalgiris is a talented opponent, they are particularly tough when they play at home, moving the ball quickly and scoring with many different options. On the other hand, we are not facing this trip at the top of ourphysical condition, but this is`'t meant to be an excuse, since we will go to Kaunas to make our best effort to take the win, with the same spiirt we have had in past games."

BLATT, DAVID

Benetton Basket

"In a competitive group like this one, the record or the standings don't reflect the worth of each team, then if you have a balanced situation everything is possible and every game is really tough. Zalgiris is a talented opponent, they are particularly tough when they play at home, moving the ball quickly and scoring with many different options. On the other hand, we are not facing this trip at the top of ourphysical condition, but this is`'t meant to be an excuse, since we will go to Kaunas to make our best effort to take the win, with the same spiirt we have had in past games."

Players

JANKUNAS, PAULIUS Zalgiris "We lost our previous game against Benetton because of poor defense. We cannot play the same way against them. In that game, they made a lot of open shots, especially from the three-point area. Our defense just didn't work against them. Benetton plays quick basketball, they like playing at a fast pace. Versatile players like Nelson and Goree can penetrate or shoot from the outside. This team is very well balanced and dangerous. Now we are working on our defense, trying to improve it. I hope our efforts will bring us a long-awaited victory."

JANKUNAS, PAULIUS

Zalgiris

"We lost our previous game against Benetton because of poor defense. We cannot play the same way against them. In that game, they made a lot of open shots, especially from the three-point area. Our defense just didn't work against them. Benetton plays quick basketball, they like playing at a fast pace. Versatile players like Nelson and Goree can penetrate or shoot from the outside. This team is very well balanced and dangerous. Now we are working on our defense, trying to improve it. I hope our efforts will bring us a long-awaited victory."

ZISIS, NIKOS Benetton Basket "It's really a difficult game on the road for us right now, but we need to play with attitude to face this team and get the win: It would be important for the standings after our loss at home against Napoli last week. The key will be concentration in every moment of the game. We know they will try to speed up and stay aggressive for the whole time, so we have to do smart things to avoid their defensive intensity, expecially on the boards."

ZISIS, NIKOS

Benetton Basket

"It's really a difficult game on the road for us right now, but we need to play with attitude to face this team and get the win: It would be important for the standings after our loss at home against Napoli last week. The key will be concentration in every moment of the game. We know they will try to speed up and stay aggressive for the whole time, so we have to do smart things to avoid their defensive intensity, expecially on the boards."

A game between a pair of shorthanded Group C teams went the way of the visitors on Thursday as Benetton Treviso came from behind to top Zalgiris 76-86 on the road in Kaunas, Lithuania. The victory helped Benetton hold onto third place with a 5-3 record while it doomed Zalgiris to a 1-7 record and last place. Benetton played without key starter Spencer Nelson at forward, while Zalgiris was missing point guard Marko Popovic as well as forwards Hanno Mottola and Paulius Jankunas. The lead went back and forth for most of three quarters until Angelo Gigli and Nikos Zisis sparked the visitors to comfortable leads they held the rest of the way. Marcus Goree led the winners with 20 points, while Gigli came off the bench for 16. Zisis put together a double-double of 16 points and 11 assists. For Zalgiris, Tanoka Beard scored 15 points, Jonas Maciulis 14 and Kirk Penney 12. Its 1-7 start matched the worst for Zalgiris in the Euroleague this decade. Benetton took advantage of the missing Zalgiris starters with a dunk by Joey Beard and Bryant Smith scoring inside to start the game. Zalgiris got going as Beard hit a semi-hook and Vidas Ginevicius a coast-to-coast layup off a steal. Benetton continued to play at a fast pace but Zalgiris went with it and gained a 12-10 lead on baskets by Vladimir Stimac and Marcelino Machado following another steal. Benetton answered quickly with penetration by Nikos Zisis, which Angelo Gigli copied on the next possession, but Zalgiris found Kirk Penney open for a triple on the left wing. Stimac made 1 of 2 free throws before Gigli answered with a three-pointer that put the visitors ahead 20-21. However, the last word belonged to Mantas Kalnietis, who penetrated for a flashy basket that closed the quarter giving Zalgiris a 22-21 lead. Terrell Lyday drove for a basket that regained the lead for Benneton to open the second quarter, but Maciulis took it right bck for Zalgiris at 24-23. Benetton answered with a 0-5 run that forced a Zalgiris timeout. The hosts returned more focused and Penney connected twice from downtown as Zalgiris bolted in front again, 30-28. Zisis drilled mid-range jumper in response, while Beard tipped in Penney's miss for Zalgiris as the lead changed hands again. Goree dunked and Smith finished a fastbreak for the guests, to which Beard responded by hammering down two dunks to put Zalgirs on top 38-36. Goree slammed now and hit another jumper over Beard, who then downed 1 of 2 free throws. Again Kalnietis finished by putting Zalgiris ahead, feeding Jonas Maciulis for a buzzer-beating triple that left a 42-41 scoreboard at the half. Maciulis opened the third quarter with a free throws that was followed by Beard's layup. Zizis scored from the paint and fed Goree for an open triple that put Benetton back in front. Matteo Soragna drilled from the arc, but Penney did the same for Zalgiris to make it 50-51. Zalgiris hurt itself from the line as Stimac and Maciulis missed 4 free throws. Gigli and Maciulis exchanged three-pointers before Joey Beard of Benetton made his presence felt inside with a basket-plus-free throw that extended the visitors' lead to 53-57. Zalgiris turned to Darius Silinskis for a dunk, after which the hosts had a chance to tie, but Ginevicius now missed his free throws, too. Benetton took the opportunity to take off with triples from Marco Mordente and Gigli, although Marcelinho answered with 5 points in a row for Zalgiris. Zizis reached double figures in assists with a pass that set up a Goree jumper before Stimac hit a difficult layup to pull Zalgiris within 62-68 after 30 minutes. Silinskis scored the first points of the fourth quarter for Zalgiris, but the hosts couldn't stop Benetton. Lyday connected from the outside and Joey Beard made an easy shot inside. After Maciulis got a point back for Zalgiris at the foul line, Kalnietis fouled out, leaving interim coach Rimantas Grigas with a very few options left. Tanoka Beard made his own path through the paint for a difficult basket and then Vytenis Jasikevicius, younger brother of Saruns, entered his first Euroleague game and charged the crowd with a flashy jumper. When Ginevicius hit a pair of free throws, Zalgiris was within 73-76. That, however, is when Gigli proved his was still hot, drilling his fourth triple. Zisis followed him with a bomb to widen the gap to 76-82 with less than 2 minutes left. It was too much for shorthanded Zalgiris and soon a layup by Soragna fixed a 76-86 victory for Benetton and left Zalgiris at the bottom of Group C. Thursday, December 14, 2006 Antanas Pakula, Kaunas

A game between a pair of shorthanded Group C teams went the way of the visitors on Thursday as Benetton Treviso came from behind to top Zalgiris 76-86 on the road in Kaunas, Lithuania. The victory helped Benetton hold onto third place with a 5-3 record while it doomed Zalgiris to a 1-7 record and last place. Benetton played without key starter Spencer Nelson at forward, while Zalgiris was missing point guard Marko Popovic as well as forwards Hanno Mottola and Paulius Jankunas. The lead went back and forth for most of three quarters until Angelo Gigli and Nikos Zisis sparked the visitors to comfortable leads they held the rest of the way. Marcus Goree led the winners with 20 points, while Gigli came off the bench for 16. Zisis put together a double-double of 16 points and 11 assists. For Zalgiris, Tanoka Beard scored 15 points, Jonas Maciulis 14 and Kirk Penney 12. Its 1-7 start matched the worst for Zalgiris in the Euroleague this decade.

Benetton took advantage of the missing Zalgiris starters with a dunk by Joey Beard and Bryant Smith scoring inside to start the game. Zalgiris got going as Beard hit a semi-hook and Vidas Ginevicius a coast-to-coast layup off a steal. Benetton continued to play at a fast pace but Zalgiris went with it and gained a 12-10 lead on baskets by Vladimir Stimac and Marcelino Machado following another steal. Benetton answered quickly with penetration by Nikos Zisis, which Angelo Gigli copied on the next possession, but Zalgiris found Kirk Penney open for a triple on the left wing. Stimac made 1 of 2 free throws before Gigli answered with a three-pointer that put the visitors ahead 20-21. However, the last word belonged to Mantas Kalnietis, who penetrated for a flashy basket that closed the quarter giving Zalgiris a 22-21 lead.

Terrell Lyday drove for a basket that regained the lead for Benneton to open the second quarter, but Maciulis took it right bck for Zalgiris at 24-23. Benetton answered with a 0-5 run that forced a Zalgiris timeout. The hosts returned more focused and Penney connected twice from downtown as Zalgiris bolted in front again, 30-28. Zisis drilled mid-range jumper in response, while Beard tipped in Penney's miss for Zalgiris as the lead changed hands again. Goree dunked and Smith finished a fastbreak for the guests, to which Beard responded by hammering down two dunks to put Zalgirs on top 38-36. Goree slammed now and hit another jumper over Beard, who then downed 1 of 2 free throws. Again Kalnietis finished by putting Zalgiris ahead, feeding Jonas Maciulis for a buzzer-beating triple that left a 42-41 scoreboard at the half.

Jonas Maciulis - Zalgiris Kaunas

Maciulis opened the third quarter with a free throws that was followed by Beard's layup. Zizis scored from the paint and fed Goree for an open triple that put Benetton back in front. Matteo Soragna drilled from the arc, but Penney did the same for Zalgiris to make it 50-51. Zalgiris hurt itself from the line as Stimac and Maciulis missed 4 free throws. Gigli and Maciulis exchanged three-pointers before Joey Beard of Benetton made his presence felt inside with a basket-plus-free throw that extended the visitors' lead to 53-57. Zalgiris turned to Darius Silinskis for a dunk, after which the hosts had a chance to tie, but Ginevicius now missed his free throws, too. Benetton took the opportunity to take off with triples from Marco Mordente and Gigli, although Marcelinho answered with 5 points in a row for Zalgiris. Zizis reached double figures in assists with a pass that set up a Goree jumper before Stimac hit a difficult layup to pull Zalgiris within 62-68 after 30 minutes.

Silinskis scored the first points of the fourth quarter for Zalgiris, but the hosts couldn't stop Benetton. Lyday connected from the outside and Joey Beard made an easy shot inside. After Maciulis got a point back for Zalgiris at the foul line, Kalnietis fouled out, leaving interim coach Rimantas Grigas with a very few options left. Tanoka Beard made his own path through the paint for a difficult basket and then Vytenis Jasikevicius, younger brother of Saruns, entered his first Euroleague game and charged the crowd with a flashy jumper. When Ginevicius hit a pair of free throws, Zalgiris was within 73-76. That, however, is when Gigli proved his was still hot, drilling his fourth triple. Zisis followed him with a bomb to widen the gap to 76-82 with less than 2 minutes left. It was too much for shorthanded Zalgiris and soon a layup by Soragna fixed a 76-86 victory for Benetton and left Zalgiris at the bottom of Group C.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Antanas Pakula, Kaunas

Referees: KOUKOULEKIDIS, STELIOS (GRE), RYZHYK, BORYS (UKR), PEREZ PIZARRO, EMILIO (ESP)

Attendance: 3672

By Quarter	1	2	3	4
Zalgiris	22	20	20	14
Benetton Basket	21	20	27	18

End of Quarter	1	2	3	4
Zalgiris	22	42	62	76
Benetton Basket	21	41	68	86

Head coach: GRIGAS, RIMANTAS

Zalgiris
#	Player	Min	Pts	2FG M-A	3FG M-A	FT M-A	Rebounds			As	St	To	Bl		Fouls		PIR
#	Player	Min	Pts	2FG M-A	3FG M-A	FT M-A	O	D	T	As	St	To	Fv	Ag	Cm	Rv	PIR
4	GINEVICIUS, VIDAS	19:15	6	1/1	0/2	4/7		1	1	2	1	2			1	4	6
5	MACHADO, MARCELINHO	19:00	9	4/5	0/4	1/1	1	1	2		1	2		1	1	2	5
6	BEARD, TANOKA	35:15	15	7/15	0/2	1/2	5	4	9	2				1	3	2	13
7	PECIUKAS, VAIDOTAS	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
8	MACIULIS, JONAS	38:00	14	2/4	2/5	4/8	2	4	6	4	2	1	1		2	5	20
9	KALNIETIS, MANTAS	20:45	4	2/3	0/2			2	2	5	1	2			5	1	3
10	JASIKEVICIUS, VYTENIS	4:15	2	1/1								1			1
14	SILINSKIS, DARIUS	14:30	6	3/5				3	3	1					2		6
20	PENNEY, KIRK	18:45	12	0/2	4/6			2	2		1				1	1	11
31	STIMAC, VLADIMIR	30:15	8	3/3	0/1	2/6	3	4	7						3	5	12
	Team							1	1		1	1					1
	Totals	200:00	76	23/39	6/22	12/24	11	22	33	14	7	9	1	2	19	20	77
				59%	27.3%	50%

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: BLATT, DAVID

Benetton Basket
#	Player	Min	Pts	2FG M-A	3FG M-A	FT M-A	Rebounds			As	St	To	Bl		Fouls		PIR
#	Player	Min	Pts	2FG M-A	3FG M-A	FT M-A	O	D	T	As	St	To	Fv	Ag	Cm	Rv	PIR
4	LYDAY, TERRELL	20:45	6	2/4	0/2	2/4		2	2	6					2	3	9
5	SMITH, BRYANT	18:15	6	3/5		0/2								1	1	2	2
6	ZISIS, NIKOS	35:15	16	5/5	1/3	3/4	1	3	4	11	2	2			3	4	29
7	SORAGNA, MATTEO	33:00	9	2/5	1/3	2/2		2	2	1		2			1	2	6
8	GEORGE, NICK	1:00
9	MORDENTE, MARCO	12:45	5	1/1	1/1										4		1
11	RULLO, ROBERTO	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
15	GIGLI, ANGELO	25:15	16	1/3	4/4	2/4	1	5	6	1	1	1	2		1	5	25
18	GOREE, MARCUS	36:00	20	7/11	2/4		1	4	5	1		1			3	1	17
19	BEARD, JOEY	17:45	8	3/5		2/3		6	6		2				5	2	10
20	CUCCAROLO, GINO	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Team										4	1					3
	Totals	200:00	86	24/39	9/17	11/19	3	22	25	20	9	7	2	1	20	19	102
				61.5%	52.9%	57.9%

This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

GRIGAS, RIMANTAS Zalgiris "I want to congratulate our opponents. We lost the game because we played bad. We fought really hard but made a huge number of mistakes. Our defense was terrible. Players didn't understand each other. Kirk Penney had a good game but was injured and couldn't play in the end. Reserve players played not bad but they are very young and sometimes make bad decisions. Stimac had no Euroleague experience so I think he played well enough. The same could be said about Silinskis who grabbed some rebounds in the defense and hit some shots."

GRIGAS, RIMANTAS

Zalgiris

"I want to congratulate our opponents. We lost the game because we played bad. We fought really hard but made a huge number of mistakes. Our defense was terrible. Players didn't understand each other. Kirk Penney had a good game but was injured and couldn't play in the end. Reserve players played not bad but they are very young and sometimes make bad decisions. Stimac had no Euroleague experience so I think he played well enough. The same could be said about Silinskis who grabbed some rebounds in the defense and hit some shots."

BLATT, DAVID Benetton Basket "I would like to dedicate this victory to my assistant coach Kestutis Kemzura because Kaunas is his native city and we wanted to give him this win as a present. I have been here many times, but I won here for the very first time as a head coach. I think a Lithuanian assistant coach is a must if you want to win in Lithuania. Both teams missed important players, but, I think, it had more influence on Zalgiris' game. However, it's more important how players play, but not who are playing. We all are very happy with this very important game."

BLATT, DAVID

Benetton Basket

"I would like to dedicate this victory to my assistant coach Kestutis Kemzura because Kaunas is his native city and we wanted to give him this win as a present. I have been here many times, but I won here for the very first time as a head coach. I think a Lithuanian assistant coach is a must if you want to win in Lithuania. Both teams missed important players, but, I think, it had more influence on Zalgiris' game. However, it's more important how players play, but not who are playing. We all are very happy with this very important game."

Players

MACHADO, MARCELINHO Zalgiris "We tried our best. We were aggressive in the beginning. But our bench was really short in this game and they took advantage of it. They used different rotations and their players looked fresh. We have to concentrate on an upcoming Baltic League games. We also have 6 Euroleague games waiting and we have to do our best."
KALNIETIS, MANTAS Zalgiris "It's very sad that we lost this home game. We didn't lose because we played with no effort. We played our hearts out but we missed key players with Euroleague experience. Young players like Jasikevicius, Stimac and Silinskis played tonight and lack of experience was a factor. But I think spectators enjoyed the game because we tried as much as we could."

MACHADO, MARCELINHO

Zalgiris

"We tried our best. We were aggressive in the beginning. But our bench was really short in this game and they took advantage of it. They used different rotations and their players looked fresh. We have to concentrate on an upcoming Baltic League games. We also have 6 Euroleague games waiting and we have to do our best."

KALNIETIS, MANTAS

Zalgiris

"It's very sad that we lost this home game. We didn't lose because we played with no effort. We played our hearts out but we missed key players with Euroleague experience. Young players like Jasikevicius, Stimac and Silinskis played tonight and lack of experience was a factor. But I think spectators enjoyed the game because we tried as much as we could."

ZISIS, NIKOS Benetton Basket "It's always hard to play here and it's always a good atmosphere here. Kaunas was missing very important players like Marko Popovic, Paulius Jankunas and Hanno Mottola. Anyway to win game here is always difficult so it's very good for my team that we won. Zalgiris is a more offense-oriented team and not so consistent in defense and that let us make some easy layups. But the truth is that we played very concentrated and worked hard in the defense. We made some steals and scored some points in the fastbreaks. I think we made only 7 turnovers and it was a key. After big loss in Italian League it was very important for us to take this road win."
GOREE, MARCUS Benetton Basket "It was a tough game. We came out and tried to play together. Everybody was playing. We played as a team and everybody scored. Everybody played defense together. We had good chemistry and our defense was really a key. We won the game but we are far from being sure that we made it to Top 16. We have to get home and start preparing for the next games."

ZISIS, NIKOS

Benetton Basket

"It's always hard to play here and it's always a good atmosphere here. Kaunas was missing very important players like Marko Popovic, Paulius Jankunas and Hanno Mottola. Anyway to win game here is always difficult so it's very good for my team that we won. Zalgiris is a more offense-oriented team and not so consistent in defense and that let us make some easy layups. But the truth is that we played very concentrated and worked hard in the defense. We made some steals and scored some points in the fastbreaks. I think we made only 7 turnovers and it was a key. After big loss in Italian League it was very important for us to take this road win."

GOREE, MARCUS

Benetton Basket

"It was a tough game. We came out and tried to play together. Everybody was playing. We played as a team and everybody scored. Everybody played defense together. We had good chemistry and our defense was really a key. We won the game but we are far from being sure that we made it to Top 16. We have to get home and start preparing for the next games."

No pictures yet

There is no video yet

No tv schedules yet