By Stelios Toromanidis / info@eurohoops.net
So what if they have a low budget? So what if for the most part they rely on young and talented players? So what if it is rumored that they use their noisy and amazing home court as a springboard?
With Sarunas Jasikevicius at the helm, the Lithuanian champions have acquired the makings of a big team, capable of beating anyone anywhere in the top club competition of the Old Continent.
How else to explain the UNBELIEVABLE record of 11 wins and 9 losses that they have away from home in the new format of the EuroLeague that was introduced last season. In order for this huge achievement to become better understood, suffice it to say that Zalgiris have the third-best record in away games, ahead of European champions, Fenerbahce (10-10), and behind only Olympiacos, Real Madrid (11-8 each) and CSKA Moscow (10-8)!
If one considers the “weapons” that Saras’s team possesses to compete with the best, this record is a small basketball miracle and it shows the amazing potential the Lithuanian coach has to become a legend as a coach after already becoming a legend as a player. Whether he makes it is a different conversation, but the signs are more than encouraging for him.
In fact, if Zalgiris were as effective at home last season, they could have easily qualified for the quarterfinals of the competition. To talk with numbers, in the 2016-2017 season, Lithuania’s top team had an 8-7 record in missions away from their fort and just 6-9 at home. Another interesting element is the fact that they beat every EuroLeague team except for Olympiacos, Real Madrid, and Fenerbahce, at least once.
Whatever happened last season is a thing of the past and now, Jasikevicius’s squad is focusing on this season’s course, which has been highly satisfactory so far. More specifically, they are in the top eight with a 5-4 record, while, in terms of their home games, they have three wins and two defeats. If they qualify for the quarterfinals, they will do so for the first time in the modern era of the EuroLeague since, so far, they are the only team with 17 appearances in the competition without a single appearance in the top eight.Will Saras’s armada achieve this as well?
Whatever happened last season is a thing of the past and now, Jasikevicius’s squad is focusing on this season’s course, which has been highly satisfactory so far. More specifically, they are in the top eight with a 5-4 record, while, in terms of their home games, they have three wins and two defeats. If they qualify for the quarterfinals, they will do so for the first time in the modern era of the EuroLeague since, so far, they are the only team with 17 appearances in the competition without a single appearance in the top eight.Will Saras’s armada achieve this as well?