The Lithuanian side dominated its Turkish opponent in Andrea Trinchieri’s first single-game week since taking charge.
Zalgiris made the most of practice time to shock Fenerbahce
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Zalgiris Kaunas decided to change direction when 2023 came to an end, as it ousted Kazys Maksvytis and named former Bayern Munich boss Andrea Trinchieri as his successor. Since that move, the Zalgiris players haven’t had much time to adjust to the Italian coach’s philosophy, with practices coming at a premium due to back-to-back double-round weeks in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Trinchieri got off to the perfect start as Zalgiris downed ALBA Berlin 77-71 at home in his first game in charge, before a three-game road trip saw the Lithuanian side go 1-2. It lost in surprising fashion to LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (93-79), then grabbed an impressive win at Valencia Basket (79-84) before coming undone at FC Barcelona (91-73).
Making the most of this week
Back at Zalgirio Arena after a week that allowed Zalgiris to find some time to get together and practice more, it proved to be a terrific boost for Trinchieri’s men as they had an almost perfect game in a 98-75 win against a title contender in Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul.
Zalgiris started the game in style, punishing the visitors with a 10-0 run right from the off, and it never trailing the rest of the way before reaching a game-high 23 points lead at the end of the contest. The dominance of Zalgiris turned into a 123-74 advantage in PIR, based on much better shooting (60% vs. 34% on field goals) and a better ball circulation (25 assists vs. 13).
Laurynas Birutis, who finished with a career-high PIR of 28, clearly identified why his team was able to display such a dominant performance. “We had a couple of good practices, tough ones. We got some time to implement some new things, new details. So I think we saw the result.”
A satisfied Coach Trinchieri
Having just one game this week was something that provided Zalgiris with some room to recover and improve, as head coach Andrea Trinchieri acknowledged: “I'm very happy for my players, because we had this first small stint of free practices. And they were really super focused, trying to understand what I would propose for this game. And this was the result.
“They gave me their maximum concentration and we played a great game. We played the game with unbelievable energy. We played the game with team offense and team defense; we played the game where all the mistakes we made were down to [using too much] energy and for trying for our best.”
Now, the challenge is to build on many of the things Zalgiris showed against Fenerbahce. “That’s my goal”, Trinchieri assured. “I cannot promise, but this is what I will work on every day.” It certainly looks like good days are ahead for Zalgiris if it can match the level it showed in Round 22.