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“Žalgiris” won 79:78 on Wednesday, saving the shot in the closing seconds for the third time this season.
M. Grigonis became its author for the second time.
It’s hard to believe that the people of Žalgiris needed such a thriller, given that 43 seconds before the final siren hit, they were 7 points ahead. Exactly the same as last week they managed to be eliminated against Piraeus Olympiacos, only in double the time.
Then Žalgiris exposed Valencia’s most dangerous sniper, Joffrey Lauvergne rushed to attack the basket, the guests fouled by missing Nikola Kaliničiai in the three-point zone and did not take the ball after his last indiscriminate free kick.
It was enough to play smarter in any of these episodes, and the drama would have been avoided.
“It just came to our notice then. It would be a very depressing state of mind if we let this victory slip from our hands. We made a lot of mistakes in the end: we let Clemen Prepelic shoot a triple, then our Frenchman came up with something … Funny , I hope we learn. We played very stupidly as a team outside of the Euroleague. Now you can make fun of that, it’s funny that the last pitch dropped, “said M. Grigonis.
“It just came to our attention then. It’s impossible to make so many stupid decisions in such a short time. We would have given the opponents victory ourselves, if not Marius. It’s good that fortune is smiling at us so much this season, but we shouldn’t. to be so nervous and confident. It is necessary to analyze that this would not be the case, “said team captain Paulius Jankūnas.
Žalgiris had 3.3 seconds left when Martin Schiller drew the last combination.
But Valencia, who got to their feet on the field, destroyed it from the beginning: Grigonis’ launch under the spindle was an improvisation.
“We sat for a minute, realizing that we had what we deserved. If you play stupid, good teams take advantage of that. After that, the coach drew the combination for the last attack: Artūras Milaknis or J. Lauvergne had to finish it off.
Thomas Walkupas, who had the ball within reach, said that if he couldn’t find a free player, he would give it to me. That’s right, I had to improvise again. After catching the ball, I thought about throwing it from afar or pushing under the basket. Then I saw two players dancing near me. I made a hit and somehow left both rivals behind. Well, what ends well, ”smiled M. Grigonis.
“The plan was to score two or three points, it didn’t matter. Valencia defended well, very well. In the end, everything had to be determined by the skills of the players: Marius made another difficult shot. That is what he defends, he does not evade that responsibility. It’s good that in the last quarter he managed to keep Marius on the bench for at least a while, so he didn’t run out of energy at the decisive moment. In any case, I always felt that we were worthy of the victory, “added Schiller.
The “Žalgiris” coach did not want to look for the culprits in the last minute of the match.
“It just came to our knowledge then. When difficulties arise, you have to react, find the right solutions. Sure, we wanted to finish the game more calmly, but I have to emphasize that there were no missing episodes throughout the game when the team played very hard. I mean first of all the defense against the most effective offensive team in this league. In the first half we lacked a little good rhythm in defense, but then we strengthened it, and that was the most important thing for us, that we it gave the opportunity to win the match. And we will talk about mistakes at the last minute and we will try to learn from them “, summed up the Austrian specialist.
“Žalgiris” (13/9) is in sixth place in the Euroleague table, Valencia (11/11) is in tenth place.
On Friday, the residents of Kaunas will continue their Spanish corridor in Vitoria, where they will meet Rokas Giedraitis and Tadas Sedekerskis and their representative Baskonia (9/13).
“We have one, we need another”, M. Grigonis has not quenched his thirst for victories, adding a total of 12 points and giving 4 assists on Wednesday.
Euroleague match statistics “Valencia” – “Žalgiris”
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