With its season definitely needing a boost, Lietkabelis found on in the return from injury of a veteran guard.
Return of Valinskas boosted Lietkabelis to key win
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Around the midway stage of the third quarter as 7bet Lietkabelis Panevezys hosted ratiopharm Ulm on Tuesday night, it looked likely that the German champ was poised to surge to a resounding victory.
A superb start to the third quarter from Karim Jallow had seen Ulm establish a 49-57 lead, the biggest of the night. Lietkabelis had fragile confidence after losing three games in a row, whereas Ulm was flying high after winning four of five, including the previous week over previously unbeaten Gran Canaria. The handwriting appeared to be on the wall for the home team.
But then Ulm playmaker Juan Nunez – who had dazzled until then by dishing 8 assists in 17 minutes – complained a little too long about a refereeing call, earning technical foul...and then complained again to receive another, meaning that he was ejected. All of a sudden, Ulm was without its main orchestrator.
That moment knocked Ulm off its stride, presenting Lietkabelis with an opening that the Lithuanian team eagerly took to launch a comeback that ultimately resulted in a thrilling 94-90 victory, reigniting the playoffs ambitions of head coach Nenad Canak's team.
The catalyst for the turnaround was three-point shooting, with Lietkabelis converting 13 of its 24 attempts from beyond the arc (54.2%), including a pair shortly after Nunez's ejection and 4 more in the first 4:14 of the final period to open up an 82-72 advantage that eventually proved enough to secure the victory.
And the most potent Lietkabelis shooter on the night was Paulius Valinskas, who was returning to action after a month-long absence through injury and exceeded any reasonable expectations by scoring 24 points. What's more, his crucial consecutive scores in the latter stages protected the lead as Ulm attempted a comeback.
The 28-year-old guard was sharp from downtown, converting 4 of his 6 three-point attempts, while also adding 3 of his 4 two-pointers and 6 of 8 free throws. Valinskas was also his team's main orchestrator, dishing 10 assists, and he contributed on defense with a pair of steals.
Perhaps most impressively, he spent more than 33 minutes on the floor – more than any other player – despite coming back after an extended spell on the sidelines. And that was partly out of necessity, because another key player, swingman Martynas Varnas, went down with injury after just 6 minutes on the floor to leave head Coach Canak with eight senior players to call upon.
After the game Valinskas said he was happy to be back to such great effect, telling EuroLeagueTV: "I didn't play for five weeks. I missed basketball. I only had a couple of practices, but we have a short rotation, so I needed to step up. I'm happy that we won today and I played a really good game."
He also admitted that the win was much-needed for a team that had been lacking in confidence but is still right in the playoffs race.
"We had a five-game losing streak [three in the EuroCup, two domestically] so we talked before the game that we needed to believe in each other and bounce back," Valinskas said. "We had an amazing crowd today and they helped us, so we're really happy with the win.”
Lietkabelis will be very happy to have him back, too. The former Zalgiris Kaunas player has now averaged 13.5 points in his six appearances this season, converting 8 of his last 11 three-pointers. And if he can stay fit for the remainder of the regular season, his team's chances of advancing deeper into the competition look a lot better.