Andrea Trinchieri’s group grabbed a huge win against a competitor in the race for the Play-In Showdown.
Historic first quarter put Zalgiris on the right track against Efes
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 24 of 34
Regular Season
Zalgiris KaunasZAL
9670
Anadolu Efes IstanbulEFS
Overview
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There was no stopping Zalgiris Kaunas in the first quarter of its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague clash with Anadolu Efes Istanbul on Wednesday night.
After going on an 8-0 run to start the first quarter, Zalgiris kept going and going as it raced to a 23-4 lead inside the first 6:15 minutes of the contest. Efes started to mount a fightback, but Andrea Trinchieri’s squad finished the opening period with a 34-14 advantage.
A historic start for Zalgiris
Those 34 points are the most scored in Zalgiris history in a first quarter, with Rolands Smits and Brady Manek netting 6 apiece, while Keenan Evans had 5. In the first 10 minutes alone, nine Zalgiris had at least 1 point, with Lukas Lekavicius being the only player not to score who stepped onto the floor in the first quarter.
Edmond Sumner’s three-point play with the final score of the opening period gave Zalgiris what was at that point at 20-point lead, 34-14, but the hosts swelled their advantage to as many as 30 points on two occasions in the second quarter: 44-14 and 46-16.
Everything was going right for Zalgiris on offense, while its play on defense prevented Efes’s stars from finding their rhythm. That first-half display, and the advantage Zalgiris built in the first quarter, provided the perfect foundation for what turned out to be a 96-70 triumph.
“We came out hard. We know they are a really talented team, but we didn’t let them easily get into the game,” said Laurynas Birutis, who led Zalgiris on the night with a team-high 18 points. “I think we had a really solid game. Of course, we had a run of turnovers, turnovers we don’t want, crazy turnovers, but overall we played a really solid game.”
The Trinchieri effect is paying off
Since Coach Trinchieri took charge of Zalgiris ahead of Round 18, the team has secured three wins from three at Zalgirio Arena. Importantly, the players are getting a better understanding of what the Italian technician expects from them, which was clearly evident on the court against Efes.
As Trinchieri explained in the post-game press conference, he is looking to tap into his players’ existing qualities but also make them more aggressive on both ends of the floor.
“What I am trying to do is use all the basketball knowledge of my players, which is very high, their IQ, and put them in a more aggressive system – offensively and defensively,” he noted. “Instead of waiting for things to happen, provoke so that things will happen. So do something to make the thing happen.
“Sometimes players will look at me like, ‘What is he trying to do?’ But game after game, practice after practice, we are improving. I see a lot of improvement in my team.”
That improvement was certainly evident in Round 24, with Zalgiris looking to keep its momentum going when it hosts Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens on Friday night. A fourth straight win at Zalgirio Arena would see Zalgiris’s Play-In hopes get a big boost, too.