Lietkabelis: 19 is the magic number

Lietkabelis Panevezys had a balanced attack in its 88-75 home victory against MoraBanc Andorra as three of its players scored exactly 19 points.

Gediminas Orelik, Panagiotis Kalaitzakis and Djordje Gagic are very different players, but all of them had something in common in their team's Round 16 win against Andorra: all of them scored exactly 19 points. Orelik was the first to lead the way, scoring 13 points on 3 of 3 shots from beyond the arc in the first quarter. That allowed Lietkabelis to get a double-digit margin, 29-19, after 10 minutes. Kalaitzakis and Gagic each had 6 points in the first quarter as the trio combined for 25 of their team's 29 points.

Andorra managed to get within 35-30 midway through the second quarter, but Lietkabelis found a go-to guy in Kalaitzakis, who had 5 points in an 11-0 run that boosted his team's margin to 46-30. Gagic scored 7 points in the third quarter, allowing the hosts to keep a safe lead. When Andorra got a bit closer, 73-64, early in the fourth quarter, Kalaitzakis and Gagic stepped up again to make the difference, sealing the outcome way before the final buzzer.

Gagic made 6 of 8 two-pointers and all of his 7 free throw attempts. Orelik buried 4 of 7 three-pointers, and also added 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Kalaitzakis scored three times both inside and outside the arc. The three players combined for a PIR of 71 - almost as much as Andorra's total team PIR of 73.