By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Zalgiris Kaunas sealed a 93-79 victory against Anadolu Efes in Istanbul in Round 2 of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Both teams now share a 1-1 record.
Leo Westermann and Brandon Davies paced the winners, scoring 17 and 18 points each, while captain Paulius Jankunas followed with 11 points in his 299th EuroLeague game!
The Lithuanians were in charge of the game right from the second period (46-32 at halftime) and managed to keep their double-digit leads throughout the second half of the game. At the 30-minute mark, Zalgiris was up by 20 points, 68-48.
Anadolu Efes coach Ergin Ataman admitted: “I think that we lost the game in the second quarter. Our bench players came into the game, our defense went down and we lost our defensive intensity. And honestly, Zalgiris played great basketball in the second quarter“.
However, Efes wouldn’t go out without a fight and managed to trim the deficit in the middle of the final period (they shared a partial 31-25 score). Still, a few decisive plays by Westermann and Davies saved the day for the visiting team en route to their first win of the season.
“I am very happy to have the first win. It always takes away a little bit of pressure from us“, said Zalgiris’ coach Sarunas Jasikevicius after the game. “This first win in the EuroLeague is always so important, and we have to build on this performance. I think overall, it was a good performance by our players. I don’t care how many three-pointers we shoot. If players are open, they can shoot 50. It is all about getting good shots, and working for a good shot. But it helps if you hit them, for sure.”
On the other side of the court, Krunoslav Simon scored a team-high of 17 points for Efes, while Vasilje Micic and Adrien Moerman followed with 14 points each.