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| Euroleague Bayern – Grunwald | 21:30 | Thursday |
74:73 – this is the end of the first battle between “Žalgiris” and “Bayern” just before Christmas.
In the match reminiscent of an action thriller, Marius Grigonis had the last word, hitting a difficult shot in the last second and starting the victory for “Žalgiris”.
More than three months have passed since then, and during this time the situation of the teams has changed significantly.
The Žalgiris people, although they defeated ALBA in Berlin on Tuesday, no longer even have theoretical hopes of breaking into the quarterfinals and being able to climb to ninth place at the top.
For their part, the Bavarians dream of breaking into the top eight for the first time in the club’s history. With 19 wins and 13 losses, Andrea Trinchieri’s pupils are currently sixth, but they still can’t be sure of a playoff spot as the pursuers are just 1-2 wins behind.
Getty Images / Euroleague.net nuotr./Wade’as Baldwinas
The Bavarians would have to beat Žalgiris a lot, because otherwise they would decide their fate in the last round, when they will have to travel to Barcelona and play against the leading team Šarūnas Jasikevičius in the Euroleague.
“From what I understand, Munich must win to control its own destiny, so it will be a very difficult, tough and intense match,” Žalgiris strategist Martin Schiller said before the flight to Bavaria. – Bayern are a very good team. They are good on defense, they have a high defensive range, they have a lot of athleticism and length. They keep the basket perfectly, block shots, are aggressive against players with the ball and cause errors. This is a very effective defensive team.
In attack, they are similar to us: they don’t shoot a lot of 3-pointers, they often stop on the penalty line. “
According to Austria, the biggest change compared to the first game is the return of one of Bayern’s leaders, Vladimir Lučičius, who plays in the career season and accumulates 13.8 points per game.
Getty Images / Euroleague.net nuotr./Vladimiras Lučičius
“Stylistically, they remain the same. Lučičius, who was not in the first match, plays a very important role in his team. It is a well-trained and tactically intelligent team. It will be a great challenge for us, “said Schiller.
According to the “Žalgiris” coach, the fact that Bayern are desperate for this match will have a strong impact on their course.
“It just came to our knowledge then. Their intensity and adrenaline will be at their highest level. This is an important factor in sports. I think we will see an intense match. I am waiting for you,” said the specialist.
Eriko Ovcharenko / 15min nuotr./Martinas Schilleris
He also confirmed that Žalgiris is going to Munich in the same line-up as ALBA. It will feature Artūras Milaknis, who has not played for over a month, and Augustine Rubitas infected with COVID-19.
“Nothing has changed. Agustín will not be able to play and the others are healthy, so we go with the same players,” concluded the Austrian.
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