“Žalgiris” flew on the wings of M. Grigonis: a unique leader and a party of rare toughness

“I always want those kinds of pitches,” he told a news conference after killing Bayern Munich. Marius grigonis.

Po to kai Nick Weiler-Babbas scored critical points in the fourth quarter, leading the Bavarians to the front, and Martin Schiller asked for a minute of rest, no one doubted who would finish the ball.

He doesn’t hide such pitches on game day by rehearsing, and the Kaunas player is really ripe for them. In general, the whole match of this leader of “Žalgiris” was very intense. He used very strong defense and put great emphasis Andrea Trinchieri He sought to isolate himself from the players and make life as difficult as possible for M. Grigonis, who had to work hard in each of his situations, scoring much of his points in direct one-on-one situations.

That it was difficult is also shown by the more modest three-point shot (1/6 trit.), But the defender did not disappear in the match. 22 points won and one of the three most productive games of the season played, even in difficult conditions.

M. Grigonis has played just two games this season, in which he wouldn’t have scored double-digit points. In his Euroyga, he accumulates an average of 15.1 points each year, which is seventh place in the Euroleague. No one showed such a performance attack on the “Žalgiris” team in the Euroleague, even in the time of Šarūnas Jasikevičius, and the last time a higher average was recorded only six years ago, when the American Justin dentmon he averaged 16.8 points each. However, it must be emphasized that in terms of the overall influence and benefits of the player to the team, M. Grigonis is an incomparably higher caliber basketball player than the Legionnaire currently competing in Denmark.

Such a rhythm of this season of basketball player “Žalgiris” allows fans to remember the legendary times, when Lithuania could offer Europe elite attacking defenders, such as Arvydas Macijauskas. And if there were still doubts before this match with Bayern, then this shot by M. Grigonis in the arena “Žalgiris” had to become a berry on a cake.

“I think we defended better in the last attack, but Grigonis was better,” coach A. Trinchieri removed after the game.

However, there is no doubt that the rest of Žalgiris’s army is also worthy of respect. The Bavarian club doesn’t have the most famous names this year, but A. Trinchieri lubricated this German car perfectly, making it aggressive, disciplined and, most importantly, hungry. However, Žalgiris managed to keep it with a total of 73 points, and he scored 74. This is only the second time this season that Žalgiris manages to win the match with a relatively modest number of points. Also noteworthy is the fact that this was even the fifth game in a row, when Martin Schiller’s army held opponents to 73 points, and the two teams did not even exceed 70.

When he was one of the worst defenses in the Euroleague in November, Kaunas Club now shows a cardinally different face. By the way, there have been few cases this year where a team like “Žalgiris” wins the match without exaggerating the three-point line, with only 6 long shots. Here, too, Bayern’s credit is that Kaunas, who shot a total of 15 3-pointers, did not get the kind of freedom he was used to in this series of victories.

“In terms of contact, it was the hardest game of the season. They also wanted a victory, a well prepared and trained team. We had only received that contact from Barcelona, ​​so it seems they will go a long way. It’s good that we also try to respond, maybe sometimes we run out, but today success was on our side, ”said M. Grigonis.

In general, it was a very viscous and full of contacts match. Neither team had much choice in attack, but in this regard, Žalgiris developed a double-digit lead by making good use of a bunch of inaccurate shots from Bayern. Naturally, in this way, the defending team gains more freedom to move on to a quick attack, and from such situations, when the opponents failed to line up, not only quick points were created, but also long shots.

Here it is necessary to emphasize the defense against Wade baldwina – The main personality of the German club in attack, accumulating 13.3 points this season and characterized by brusqueness and individual technique, but with a somewhat weaker launch. Schiller’s team stalled in such a way that the 24-year-old defender attacked with difficulty, throwing many unsuspecting shots (3/11 total).

“I think our men handled it well, Thomasas Walkupas focused on him, Lukas Lekavičius went low, but still managed to hinder him. All the credit goes to these men, “Schiller explained the recipe for success.

This is how green and white came out of one of the most difficult Euroleague games of the season. M. Grigonis and Artūras Milaknis (11 points) were the only “Žalgiris” players to score double-digit points.

He experienced a great strangulation Rokas Jokubaitis, making only one pitch in five, and even spent 32 minutes on the court Nigel Heyes He played one of the three darkest games of the season. However, such a benefactor of M. Grigonis only proves that the defender can shoulder the responsibility even when no one else does.

Mr. Schiller accompanied the team with a smile on his face for a two day break. He deserves it: the positions in the eighth are further confirmed with the hope of a year and at the same time finishing the first round even higher.

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