After winning two of its last three to push back towards the playoff places, Zalgiris (5-6) will look to pile more misery on an ALBA side (1-9) which has lost six straight.
Israel Gonzalez, ALBA: 'They always play with high commitment'
Seasons
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 12 of 34
Regular Season
ALBA BerlinBER
6462
Zalgiris KaunasZAL
Overview
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The hosts will hope to have reinforcements after missing six players through injury in last week’s loss at Maccabi, where 22 points from Gabriele Procida was a highlight in a heavy defeat. Zalgiris has rediscovered its winning feeling primarily through its defense, allowing just 73 and 70 points, respectively, in recent wins over Bayern and Milan. That latter game also saw a fantastic performance from veteran forward Edgaras Ulanovas, who led by example with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, and he will try to give Zalgiris the energy it needs to win on the road on Tuesday.
Israel Gonzalez, ALBA head coach
"Zalgiris Kaunas is in good shape at the moment and is generally one of the most physical teams in the EuroLeague. No matter who is on the court for Zalgiris, they always play with high commitment and intensity. They also have a clearly structured offense, in which Evans, Ulanovas and Smits are the mainstays."
Kazys Maksvytis, Zalgiris head coach
"ALBA is not your typical opponent. A lot of young players, players playing in several positions, moving the ball around a lot, sometimes making combinations without ball touching the floor. They are a dangerous team, even though they are not at the top of the standings. They shoot a lot of three-pointers, they run a fast-paced offense. We need to play solid, take away the cheap points and not get caught up in the points race."
Justin Bean, ALBA player
"Zalgiris Kaunas is coming with a lot of momentum off of a great win against Milan, so we know we will have to be ready to match their physicality. Even though our team is battling some injuries, our mindset is still to compete and do our best to win games, especially being at home."
Dovydas Giedraitis, Zalgiris player
"We’ve been doing well in practices all season, but we just need to take that into the games. Last week we managed to do that. We hope to continue on the same path. ALBA is very interesting team. They move without the ball a lot, there is a lot of cutting in their offensive game. There are a lot of unorthodox decisions, so we need to stay alert in defense. The most important thing is for us to impose our own style of play."