Trips to face Virtus have become something the Lithuanian club relishes
Zalgiris feels right at home in Bologna
There must be something about playing in Bologna that Zalgiris Kaunas particularly likes. Ever since Virtus Segafredo Bologna returned to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague in the 2022-23 season, Zalgiris has gone 3-0 in the Italian city.
On Tuesday night, Andrea Trinchieri’s squad eked a 68-71 win against Virtus to improve to 2-1 on the season and compound Luca Banchi’s men to a third straight defeat. Back in Round 1 last year, Zalgiris – then led by Kazys Maksvytis – also won by three points, 79-82, while the club’s first trip to Bologna in almost 15 years in Round 18 of the 2022-23 campaign resulted in a 10-point triumph, 77-87.
Simply put, Zalgiris has Virtus’ number. Although it was a close fight at various points in the game, Zalgiris always had an extra surge that would put it back in front. In the final minutes before halftime, Zalgiris went on a 14-2 run to take a 30-44 lead into the break. Then, in the final stages of the contest, Alen Smailagic stepped up with some big offensive rebounds and scored seven of his team’s last nine points en route to the win.
With Valencia Basket not in this season’s EuroLeague, there is only one other team that Zalgiris could go 3-0 against on the road over the last three years – EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. And who do Zalgiris face on Thursday in the second game of this double-round week? Milan.
It wasn’t the best performance by Trinchieri’s men on Tuesday night, but they found a way to get the victory, which is the most important thing.
“We won the game five times and we lost the game four times,” Trinchieri told the EuroLeague TV cameras after the game. “At the end, we didn’t close it, but we go home with a great win: a road win, team win. First half was amazing, second half was a grimy game. A lot of contacts, we lost a little bit our flow, but I’m very proud of our players.”
Zalgiris will now be hoping to cause another surprise when it travels to Milan. Admittedly we are just three rounds into the season but Zalgiris currently sits fifth in the standings, something its fans will be dreaming is still the case come Round 34.