By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Zalgiris Kaunas managed to recover from the big Game 1 loss against Fenerbahce BEKO and grabbed an 82-80 road win in Game 2 to tie the series. This was the first home defeat for the Turkish team this season after 16 wins as well as their first home loss in the playoffs since Zeljko Obradovic took over as head coach.
The Lithuanian squad had everything going for them. They were ahead 46-39 at halftime and had a 17-point lead (73-56) in the third quarter but Fenerbahce made a big comeback to tie the game at 80.
Edgaras Ulanovas hit the layup after an offensive rebound to set the final score and give Zalgiris the win.
Ulanovas scored game-high 20 points while shooting 9-10 for two while also adding seven boards, two assists and a steal. Nate Walters followed with 14 and Brandon Davies with 13 points.
“They were unbeaten at home, but the most important things is we won today”, said Ulanovas after the final buzzer. “It was a very difficult game. Fenerbahce has a very good quality, no matter what lead we had they came back with amazing fans. We are expecting a very difficult [rest] of the series. If you want to have second chances in basketball, this a bonus position. Rebounding is one of the most important things in basketball. Today we did a great job, but we also had a couple of mistakes on the other end and we have to prepare for the next game.”
For Fenerbahce, Luigi Datome was close to a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds while Kostas Sloukas scored 15 points and dished six assists.