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The battle at Nemunas Hall was reminiscent of the slaughter of dogs, unlike the last Olympia showdown last Wednesday in Milan, when Fenerbahche Istanbul’s “designers” scored up to 100 points.
In the defensive-style match, Kaunas “Žalgiris” plunged into the traps prepared by coach Ettore Messina, but did not give Italy opponents a respite.
The hosts did not reach the 20-point limit in any of the four halves, as did Olimpia.
VIDEO: The place is no longer fading: the voice M.Schiller screamed and climbed onto the parquet
Called an Italian teacher, E. Messina sounded probably the loudest in the arena of “Žalgiris” – she cursed in both Italian and English. Especially after the mistakes and decisions of Jeremy Evans.
This basketball player replaced Zach LeDay, the second most useful player in the starting lineup, who played in Kaunas last year. Some of the tournament leaders couldn’t be helped by Olympia’s main player Malcolm Delaney.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Marius Grigonis received a technical foul, but woke up Žalgiris. M. Grigonis scored three points, Lukas Lekavičius added a long shot and the hosts’ deficit was reduced to 2 points – 57:59.
Kyle Hines put up the impressive block to Žalgiris at the deciding moment, and Olimpia, who played harder at the end, clinched the second win against Žalgiris this season.
VIDEO: Nervous war in Kaunas: fatal mistakes and fiery emotions of the people of Žalgiris
“I think we have beaten a very good team. According to the coach’s hand, the organization and the effort in the game, Žalgiris is one of the best teams in the Euroleague, – said Ettore Messina after the victory. – The quality shown for Žalgiriai on defense was impressive, because he pressed the ball for the whole 40 minutes. It’s not easy to play against Žalgiris. If I’m not mistaken, they won 7 matches in a row at home. We didn’t have a main player, but Micheal Roll did a job Impressive in both defense and attack. Our defense was what it would take in the playoffs. It was a game at play-off level. Now all the games are at playoff level. I’m happy for the win. I hope we finish the I work on the next games. “
Eriko Ovcharenko / 15min nuotr./ Etore Messina
– You got low points. Is it because of fatigue or a good defense of “Žalgiris”?
– It’s a combination. Also contributing to the fact that we lost at home, the players felt tension and nerves because they didn’t want to lose again. It is normal. The Euroleague is rare. Yesterday we saw Anadolu Efes overtake CSKA by 30 points, although they lost by 35 points three months ago. Everyone loses a point and loses a match. We did not show an adequate defense two days ago. Fenerbahce had a great evening in attack and deserved the victory. Today there were games of this type, we cannot compare them. That does not mean that there was a lack of quality or that something was wrong. Our concept of evaluation is different.
Photo by K. Kavolėlis / KKF / Shavon Shields and Kyle Hines
– After the first match in Milan, you gave Martin Schiller some advice. How unusual was his request for you at the time and how do you think Martin is doing in his first Euroleague season?
– First of all, I think he’s a polite guy. We lost to face each other in the United States, but we did it in Europe. He is respectful and understands the game well. In fact, I stole some of what Grunwald is doing and used my team in the game.
I think he is doing well in Kaunas. It is not easy to come to another country, to another culture. A season ago he lost Patricio Garino, who was supposed to be an important part of Žalgiris’s game. He would have played third number and Grigonis would be a great offensive defender. Martin didn’t have Milaknis today. I think that the defense of “Žalgiris” is of a high level, and the attack, like many, depends on the blow.
Martin does a great job and I don’t tell myself anyway. I really think so.
Eriko Ovcharenko / 15min nuotr./Martinas Schilleris
– Recently, Lithuanians have been suffering for Danish basketball players. How is Shavon Shields doing this season and how did he do in this game?
– He is playing an incredible season, we are very happy with him. Shavon plays very well both in attack and defense. He makes decisions, and today was also an important reason for the victory. We are very happy with it, of course.
– How did you try to stop Marius Grigonis and what was the defense plan against “Žalgiris”?
– You must do everything possible in the field. You can’t completely stop Grigonio. You can try to make life more difficult, but you can’t stop completely. Players at this level have many advantages. You can expect to reduce the number of shots, touches on the ball. I think the help from the weak side today was good. A decisive episode when Kyle blocked the pitch. We had no such defense against Fenerbahche. We are a team that works a lot on defense. Today we showed it again and we won the game. There was a stubborn fight that could end anyway. Although the advantage was not great, we led most of the game. It is not easy to score 3-4 points and stay calm. I have to congratulate the players who worked hard.
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