Reigning Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champ Real Madrid started its season with a gutsy road win, 77-79, at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in a thrilling game which went down to the final shot.

Real Madrid steps up late to defeat Baskonia, 77-79

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Facu Campazzo of Real Madrid (center right) looks to get away from Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz pair Vanja Marinkovic (center left) and Matt Costello (right).

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz v Real Madrid (2023-10-06T18:30:00.000Z)

Olympiacos Piraeus started the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season with a huge victory as the Reds prevailed 78-88 in overtime at the home of Greek rival Panathinaikos Athens. 

Olympiacos B.C. downs Panathinaikos B.C. 78-88 in overtime!

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Thomas Walkup of Olympiacos Piraeus (left) and Luca Vildoza of Panathinaikos Athens (right) during the Round 1 Greek derby in the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

Olympiacos downs Panathinaikos 78-88 in overtime!

Panathinaikos Athens v Olympiacos Piraeus (2023-10-06T18:15:00.000Z)

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul had to battle for 45 minutes to edge Olimpia Milano 85-82 in overtime at Ulker Sports and Event Hall on Friday night.

Fenerbahce holds off Olimpia Milano to win 85-82 in overtime!

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Shavon Shields of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (left) and Scottie Wilbekin of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (right) in action during Friday night's Round 1 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague matchup between the two teams.

Fenerbahce holds off Milan to 85-82 overtime thriller

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul v EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (2023-10-06T17:45:00.000Z)

The first round of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season comes to a close this evening, with four intriguing games on offer for basketball fans from Europe's premier club basketball competition.

EuroLeague Live Blogs: Four games to close Round 1!

Friday's Round 1 Live Blogs

[Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 85-82 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/live-blog-fenerbahce-basketball-vs-olimpia-milano/)

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul had to battle for 45 minutes to edge EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 85-82 in overtime at Ulker Sports and Event Hall on Friday.

Scottie Wilbekin paced the winners with 19 points. Marko Guduric, Tyler Dorsey and Georgios Papagiannis each added 15 while Dyshawn Pierre had 11 for Fenerbahce, which was outrebounded by 27-41 but forced its opponent to pick up 19 turnovers. Nikola Mirotic led Milan with 27 points, 11 rebounds and a PIR of 38. He missed a three-point shot that could have sent the game to double overtime at the buzzer. Johannes Voigtmann added 21 points and Shavon Shields had 10 for the guests.

<center>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr">Maç Bizim! 💪<br><br>EuroLeague&#39;e galibiyetle başlıyoruz! 🙌<br><br>Tebrikler Fenerbahçe Beko! 👏<br><br>Maç Sonucu | Fenerbahçe Beko 🆚 <a href="https://twitter.com/OlimpiaMI1936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OlimpiaMI1936</a>: 85-82<br><br>Skor dağılımımız: Wilbekin 19, Papagiannis 15, Dorsey 15, Guduric 15, Pierre 11, Madar 8, Motley 2. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YellowLegacy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#YellowLegacy</a> <a href="https://t.co/EzPmKR5Dti">pic.twitter.com/EzPmKR5Dti</a></p>&mdash; Fenerbahçe Beko (@FBBasketbol) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBBasketbol/status/1710385089467523080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Panathinaikos Athens 78-88 Olympiacos Piraeus](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/euroleague-live-blog-panathinaikos-bc-vs-olympiacos-bc/)

Olympiacos Piraeus started the 2023-24 season with a huge victory as the Reds prevailed 78-88 in overtime at the home of Greek rival Panathinaikos Athens. Olympiacos fought back from 10 points down and a back-and-forth game went to OT, where the Reds scored 12 straight points to grab the win.

Alec Peters had a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Thomas Walkup had 17 points and 5 assists. Nikola Milutinov also poured in 15 points to go with 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Kostas Sloukas led all scorers with 20 points against his old team, and Juancho Hernangomez chipped in 13 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

<center>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Final Score! W!!! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OlympiacosBC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OlympiacosBC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreOlympiacos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreOlympiacos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFight</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAOOLY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAOOLY</a> <a href="https://t.co/dISmROljWM">pic.twitter.com/dISmROljWM</a></p>&mdash; OLYMPIACOS BC (@Olympiacos_BC) <a href="https://twitter.com/Olympiacos_BC/status/1710389303967101064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Valencia Basket 70-65 AS Monaco
](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/live-blog-valencia-basket-vs-as-monaco-basket/)Valencia Basket got its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season off to the perfect start with a gutsy 70-65 home win over AS Monaco after forward Chris Jones served up a stellar fourth-quarter performance which forced the visitors into submission. Jones scored 9 of his 14 points in the final period of the game and Semi Ojeleye paced Valencia with 19, cancelling out a valiant solo effort by Mike James, who led all scorers with 21 points.

<center>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="in" dir="ltr">𝙁𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙩𝙖 😍<br><br>🏆 J1 <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a><a href="https://twitter.com/valenciabasket?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@valenciabasket</a> 70<br>🆚 <a href="https://twitter.com/ASMonaco_Basket?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ASMonaco_Basket</a> 65<br>🤝 <a href="https://twitter.com/bthetravelbrand?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@bthetravelbrand</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ig5d8U1G5D">pic.twitter.com/Ig5d8U1G5D</a></p>&mdash; Valencia Basket Club (@valenciabasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/valenciabasket/status/1710396623031787532?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 77-79 Real Madrid](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/live-blog-baskonia-vitoria-gasteiz-vs-real-madrid-baloncesto/)

Reigning champ Real Madrid started its season with a gutsy road win, 77-79, at Baskonia in a thrilling game which went down to the final shot. Real was missing several players, including top rebounders Walter Tavares and Gabriel Deck, and the hosts used its physical advantage to lead most of the way, including a 75-69 lead midway through the final period.

But Real refused to accept defeat and relied upon a barrage of three-point shooting – converting 15 of its 39 three-point attempts – to repeatedly come back and eventually win the game as its defense held firm in the final possessions.

<center>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">👌 ¡Victoria en nuestro estreno en la <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a>! 👌<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HalaMadrid?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HalaMadrid</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/UnicajaBanco?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UnicajaBanco</a> <a href="https://t.co/zt0cG2UiJr">pic.twitter.com/zt0cG2UiJr</a></p>&mdash; Real Madrid Basket (@RMBaloncesto) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMBaloncesto/status/1710391010512003202?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The second night of action in the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season continues with four games on offer.

Game Center: Two overtimes among four thrillers to end Round 1!

Valencia Basket v AS Monaco (2023-10-06T18:30:00.000Z)

The defending champions Real Madrid visit last season's top-scoring home team, Baskonia, to close the opening round of the new season.

Champion Real Madrid to put Baskonia to the test on Friday

Oddly enough, Real Madrid and Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz never faced each other in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague until late in the 2015-16 season. Since then, however, they have crossed paths twice each season. Baskonia is 5-3 at home against Los Blancos. And even though Real won its 11th EuroLeague crown last season, it lost both of its games against Baskonia.

It has been a very different off-season for both teams. Real only made one roster change, bringing back elite playmaker [Facu Campazzo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/facundo-campazzo/005928/). Baskonia had some key departures but as always, managed to find new players with EuroLeague experience looking to stand out in the competition.

### Showtime at the Buesa Arena fortress

Baskonia was rock-solid at home last season, winning 14 of 17 games at Buesa Arena as the competition's top-scoring home team at 96.1 points per night. No other team reached even 90 points per game at home last season. Baskonia had scored 114 points in a home game against Telindus Oostende in February 2002, a club record that stood for more than 20 years. Last season, however, Baskonia scored 114 points or more four times, peaking at 120 against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.

We head to the Basque Country for an all-Spanish affair between two familiar-foes. Los Blancos' Fabien Causeur, Adam Hanga and Vincent Poirier return to face their former club, whilst Baskonia's Dani Diez is set to reunite with his former employers.

Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz vs Real Madrid - Round 16 - Highlights

Head coach Joan Penarroya looked for players who buy into that philosophy to keep the team's run-and-gun basketball going. [Codi Miller-McIntyre](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/codi-miller-mcintyre/009048/) and [Niccolo Mannion](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/niccolo-mannion/011064/) arrived to share point guard duties. They need to make sure that the find good shots for [Markus Howard](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/markus-howard/011948/) -- already fully established as one of the competition's top guns going into his second season -- as well as three-point threat [Vanja Marinkovic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/vanja-marinkovic/004761/) and newcomer [Rokas Rogkavopoulos](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/nikolaos-rogkavopoulos/011085/).

For the whole system to work, Baskonia needs fast big men who can run the floor. It managed to keep fan-favorite [Tadas Sedekerskis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/tadas-sedekerskis/007230/), [Maik Kotsar](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/maik-kotsar/004603/) and [Matt Costello](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/matthew-costello/010444/), who should get even better with an extra year of experience in Vitoria. [Chima Moneke](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/chima-moneke/012201/) has star potential and [Khalifa Diop](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/khalifa-diop/008072/) can run the floor really well and finish above the rim. Showtime should continue at Buesa Arena.

### Real: If it ain't broke, don't fix it

Loa Blancos are on a mission to win a second consecutive EuroLeague title. Despite being the competition's most successful club ever, with 11 crowns, Real last defended a continental title succesfully in 1968. Real was conservative in the off-season market, keeping head coach Chus Mateo and a majority of players who lifted the trophy last season, signing only point guard Facu Campazzo while releasing Nigel Williams-Goss.

Campazzo, starting his third stint with Real, helped the team win its last two EuroLeague titles, in 2015 and 2018. He brings loads of intensity on defense and his pass-first mentality on offense. Coach Mateo can count on two playmakers, Campazzo and [Sergio Rodriguez](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/sergio-rodriguez/cvm/), who are able to change the game with their assists and clutch shots. Of course, [Sergio Llull](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/sergio-llull/tgb/) remains a top-class option when the game is on the line, of course. Last season's championship game proved that yet again.

Sergio Llull with a high-arching shot over Fall to put Real up with 3 seconds to go.

7DAYS Magic Moment of the Night: Llull wins it!

[Walter Tavares](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/walter-tavares/005791/), the three-time EuroLeague Best Defender, missed a game this weekend while [Eli Ndiaye](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/eli-ndiaye/009213/) (personal) and [Gabriel Deck](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/gabriel-deck/009005/) (thigh) may also be out on Friday, so Real could very well be short-handed in the paint. That should make center [Vincent Poirier](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/vincent-poirier/004887/) one of the key players against his former team, joining [Mario Hezonja](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/mario-hezonja/003108/), [Guerschon Yabusele](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/guerschon-yabusele/010357/) and [Dzanan Musa](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/dzanan-musa/006540/). Adjusting to Baskonia's fun-to-watch style will be a key for Real, whose continuity is a plus. After all, Los Blancos know what it take to win together, and have proven it over and over again.

Playing in his first game since being injured last January, Keenan Evans returned to star form to lead a Zalgiris comeback.

Keenan Evans inspired Zalgiris comeback on his return from injury

[Keenan Evans](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/keenan-evans/011218/) pulled off an extraordinary performance to inspire Zalgiris Kaunas to [a 79-82 victory over Virtus Segafredo Bologna](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/virtus-segafredo-bologna-zalgiris-kaunas/E2023/5/) on the road at Paladozza on Thursday night. Evans returned to Turkish Airlines EuroLeague in style nine months after picking up [a season-ending injury](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/zalgiris-evans-suffers-torn-achilles/) back in January. The Zalgiris guard worked hard to ready his comeback and hit the ground running with a fourth-quarter fireworks display in Italy to open the 2023-24 campaign.

Evans scored 7 of his team's 15 points in the first quarter and 11 of his 25 points in the last one to clinch the road victory. He sank some crucial baskets, including a huge three-pointer with 43 seconds left on the clock to make it 74-80 for the visitors. After his team's triumph in Italy, Zalgiris head coach Kazys Maksvytis hailed Evans's work ethic and expressed his joy for his player's performance at Virtus.

Keenan Evans (25 points) Highlights vs. VIRTUS SEGAFREDO BOLOGNA, 10/05/2023

Keenan Evans inspired Zalgiris comeback in his return from injury

"I am very happy for Keenan," Kazys Maksvytis told the post-game press conference. "He had a sad end of season last year. From the first day \[after he got injured\] he was a professional. He was trying to come back. I think he's still not at 100%, but he still scored 25 points. He deserved to come back like this and I'm very happy for him."

Evans showed a glimpse of what he can achieve in the competition with some sublime performances last year, when he averaged 15.9 points before suffering a serious Achilles injury in the first minute of the duel between Zalgiris and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in Round 17. Evans could not help Zalgiris for the remainder of the campaign, but he made a strong comeback with a statement performance at Virtus. 

Taking into account that Maksvytis's remarks about Evans still needing time in order to be at his best make sense, Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans may expect a breakthrough season by the Zalgiris guard after suffering a bout of bad luck in 2022-23.

Virtus Segafredo Bologna v Zalgiris Kaunas (2023-10-05T18:30:00.000Z)

After a year away from the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, two-time champion head coach Pablo Laso returned to guide his new team, FC Bayern Munich, to a comeback opening-game victory.

In his EuroLeague return, Laso flipped Bayern's script at halftime

The news made major headlines in the summer and carried into the preseason: [Pablo Laso](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/teams/fc-bayern-munich/mun/laso-pablo/?season=E2023) would be returning to the sidelines and coaching at FC Bayern Munich.

Sure enough, on Thursday, the two-time Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion worked his magic in leading Bayern to a season-opening victory.

Laso used his experience to settle down his new team at halftime and Bayern locked up [an 80-68 win](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/fc-bayern-munich-alba-berlin/E2023/3/) over national rival ALBA Berlin to start the season.

"We played a very solid second half. The third quarter was very good. We stayed focused and didn't make a lot of mistakes," Laso said of his first EuroLeague game with Bayern. "Happy for the victory. This is just the start of it."

The southern German side trailed by 11 points late in the first half and was down by 8 points at halftime. The 55-year-old playcaller utilized nearly the entire 15-minute intermission to talk to his team.

"I told the guys it's impossible to win if you give the ball to the other team. We had stupid turnovers and they were hurting us. The third quarter we controlled that and played much better," said Laso, who guided Real Madrid to the 2015 and 2018 EuroLeague titles.

"The EuroLeague is exciting – every game. That's why every game matters… Being one year out of it, you have that feeling that you have been missing something."

Bayern reacted by holding ALBA to just 24 points in the second half. 

"What I tried to communicate is to play normal," Laso explained. "I don't think we played a great second half, but we were solid. We didn't turn the ball over, we were rebounding, we were contesting shots, we were passing the ball around. That was the difference between the first and second half."

Bayern's French guard Sylvain Francisco said Laso told the team at halftime to increase the aggressiveness.

"The coach was on us at halftime and he said we have to push the tempo and really be more aggressive on defense," said Francisco, who scored 17 points to pace Bayern.

Laso was quite excited about his first EuroLeague game for Bayern, which came after he sat out the 2022-23 season following 11 seasons at the helm of Real. 

"The EuroLeague is exciting – every game. That's why every game matters," Laso said. "Being one year out of it, you have that feeling that you have been missing something. But at the same time you are excited. You are excited because you are with a new team, new faces. And you always have a challenge in front of you."

FC Bayern Munich v ALBA Berlin (2023-10-05T18:30:00.000Z)

Euroleague Basketball honored four players who guided Germany to its first FIBA Basketball World Cup title this past summer: the FC Bayern Munich trio of Isaac Bonga, Andreas Obst and Niels Giffey, and ALBA Berlin big man Johannes Thiemann. 

Bayern, ALBA world champions honored before German derby

Euroleague Basketball took the opportunity of the German derby between FC Bayern Munich and ALBA Berlin to honor four players who guided Germany to its first FIBA Basketball World Cup title this past summer. 

The ceremony took place ahead of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game in Munich and honored the Bayern trio of Isaac Bonga, Andreas Obst and Niels Giffey and Berlin center Johannes Thiemann. 

The world champions were presented with golden customized basketballs reading: "Congratulations! World Champions 2023". The ceremony also featured customized LED animations as well as a Jumbotron image, together with a blackout with a spotlight on the players on the court.

Bayern's CEO Marko Pesic, himself a former German international and the son of former German national team head coach Svetislav Pesic, represented the home club at the ceremony. And ALBA Berlin's CEO Marco Baldi was present on behalf of the guest team.

Representing Euroleague Basketball was Euroleague Basketball Ambassador Patrick Femerling, who played 12 years for the German national team including two World Cups and the 2008 Olympics.

 

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Honoring the 𝓦𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓶𝓹𝓼 from <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBBasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FCBBasketball</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/albaberlin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@albaberlin</a> 🏆 <a href="https://t.co/Ap8cu0TZ8o">pic.twitter.com/Ap8cu0TZ8o</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1710008986034901086?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 



"I am looking forward to seeing the other World Cup heroes," Thiemann told the ALBA website ahead of the game.

German Basketball Federation President Ingo Weiss was also at the game, and he brought with him the Naismith Trophy, which was on display for fans at the foyer of BMW Park before the game. 

Germany this summer went undefeated at the 2023 FIBA World Cup for their first world championship. After beating Japan, Australia and Finland in the first round and Georgia and Slovenia in the second round, Herbert's team defeated Latvia in the quarterfinals and then knocked off United States in the semifinals. 

In the final, Germany beat Serbia 83-77 for the country's second World Cup podium finish following third place in 2002. 

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent massa neque, tempor eget tincidunt volutpat, pellentesque vel dui. Donec ultrices maximus purus, at consectetur nisi interdum commodo. Integer feugiat magna pellentesque, consequat mauris eu, vulputate massa. Mauris sit amet porttitor tellus, in euismod tortor. Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Aenean ut eros ornare, porta nisl at, efficitur felis. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Morbi varius faucibus ex vitae volutpat. Etiam odio lorem, auctor ut ex vitae, tempus gravida nibh. Cras eleifend dictum urna, ac faucibus lorem sodales eget. Vestibulum facilisis imperdiet porta. Integer porta aliquet fringilla. Vivamus pellentesque id justo non aliquet. Vivamus placerat sed velit a tristique.

Game Videos

Game News

Before the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season started in Germany, there was a tribute to the four recent world champions on ALBA Berlin and FC Bayern Munich.

Zalgiris displayed die-hard mentality to stun Virtus

Heading into their Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Round 1 game at Virtus Segafredo Bologna, Zalgiris Kaunas's players were well aware that they had to put up a ton of fight on the road in their bid to overcome an experienced side. Zalgiris started strong and took a 2-10 lead 5 minutes into the first half, but Virtus reacted, turned the game around and even secured a 15-point lead midway through the second quarter. This is when Zalgiris showed glimpses of its die-hard spirit and managed to get within 42-37 at halftime.

In his short halftime comments, Zalgiris head coach Kazys Maksvytis asked his players to match their opponents' energy in the second half, while his Virtus counterpart Luca Banchi warned that his players are up against one of the best defenses in the competition. They were both right and despite Virtus securing another 15-point cushion following a Tornike Shengelia three-pointer with 2 minutes to go in the third quarter, Zalgiris didn't give up and did what it knows best. Its defense became again its main weapon in the last quarter, when it outscored Virtus 24-14 to clinch a narrow victory.

Virtus Segafredo Bologna-Zalgiris Kaunas | Round 1 | Highlights

Discussing the key to Zalgiris’s win in the post-game press conference, Maksvytis referred to his team’s cohesion and pointed to the fact that in the second half, he put his faith in the players who formed part of the team last season to bounce back.

"We won against a strong team," Maksvytis stressed. "They are a very physical and experienced team. It’s hard to play here in front of their fans. We have many things to improve. In the second half, we played with the guys from last year, using more trusted players. We fought till the end and deserved to win."

Nine of the 12 players on the Zalgiris roster for this game played under Maksvytis last season and three of them were crucial in the fourth quarter when the visitors completed their impressive comeback. When it mattered most, Keenan Evans scored 11 points, Rolands Smits had 6 and captain Edgaras Ulanovas added another 3. Most importantly, Zalgiris’s old guard scored some huge baskets in crunch time to inspire their team to a come-from-behind victory.

The Lithuanian champs' never-say-die spirit was on display yet again on opening night in Italy. 