By Eurohoops Team / info@eurohoops.net
Especially thanks to Pangos’ impressive performance, Zalgiris Kaunas defeated Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv 99-84 in Lithuania.
The backcourt battle between Maccabi‘s and Zalgiris‘ guards was won by Kevin Pangos and Vasilije Micic. The dynamic duo of Zalgiris led their team past Maccabi and proved that they belong to the playoffs.
Pangos finished with a double-double: 16 points and 11 assists. Vasilije Micic added 12 points and 6 assists. Micic shot 50% from the field, while Pangos was also efficient shooting 6/8. Their opponents, Pierre Jackson and Norris Cole combined for 21 points but shot just 7/20 from the field, they dished four assists and made five turnovers.
This marked Zalgiris’ seventh consecutive win at home. Jasikevicius’ side won by 15 points and ensured control of the head-to-head tiebreaker between the teams. Zalgiris also shot an impressive 60.9% from behind the arc, scoring 14 three-pointers.
Paulius Jankunas and Axel Toupane also played a crucial role for the hosts. Zalgiris’ veteran scored 17 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, while Toupane added 15.
Maccabi went on a 2-8 run in the second half cutting the lead to just one point (55-54). Zalgiris, however, was on another level offensively, responding to Maccabi’s run, with a run of its own (71-58) and kept this double-digit advantage until the end.
Zalgiris has improved to a 13-8 record while Maccabi fell to 12-9.