The French guard produced yet another stellar performance as he registered an impressive double-double
Sylvain Francisco remains on fire to propel Zalgiris past Baskonia
Отчеты о матчах
3 Минутное чтение
Regular Season
Round 13 of 38
Regular Season
Zalgiris KaunasZAL
8267
Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-GasteizKBA
Overview
w
l
l
l
w
l
w
l
l
w
Zalgiris Kaunas returned to winning ways in the EuroLeague with an ultimately comfortable 82-67 home victory against Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, as the Lithuanian side put behind a tough 100-99 loss at Real Madrid in the previous round and improved to 8-5.
Sylvain Francisco, the competition’s October MVP, once again took center stage, racking up 23 points and 11 rebounds as Zalgiris put together a 20-2 run in the fourth quarter to blow away Baskonia, which dropped to 4-9 after leading for the lion’s share of the contest.
For Francisco, it was merely business as usual after he amassed a season-high 33 points and 11 assists at Real, but Zalgiris looked disjointed for much of the game after trailing 12-24 late in the first quarter and picking a single offensive board in the first half.
However, Zalgiris shored up the leaks in the second half, allowing the visitors only 25 points while nailing an impressive 14 of 23 from downtown through the contest.
“We are super happy as we set the tone and after three straight losses away, we won and it’s amazing. We let in less than 70 points tonight as we converted good defense into offense and I am really happy with the guys,” a delighted Francisco said in his post-game comments after Zalgiris ran riot in the fourth quarter.
“That’s my quarter and |I know where I can be efficient for my team too,” he said. “It’s a super important win and it’s really good to have it.”
Head coach Tomas Masiulis acknowledged the run of defeats had taken their toll on Zalgiris as the home team looked out of sorts for much of the first half before it got going in the second and steamrolled Baskonia.
“We were nervous after three straight losses and gave too much away in the first half, but we are happy to go into the [international] break with a victory,” he said. “Now we can rest a little beat without the ball for three or four days and then it’s back to work.”
Ignas Brazdeikis also played a key role in the outcome, contributing with 13 points, 2 rebounds and a steal to complement the efforts of Francisco and Azuolas Tubelis, who stood out among the support cast as he netted 15 points to go with 7 boards.
Brazdeikis, who made 3-of-4 three-point attempts, stressed that ramping up the fourth-quarter defense was crucial.
“I think we really picked up the defensive intensity in the fourth quarter, went for loose balls and the rebounds we needed. We competed hard and that made the difference,” he said. “Francisco is such a talented player, he affects the game in so many ways and we are hoping he can continue that.”
The home team’s impressive shooting from downtown compensated for a mere 16 of 40 from inside, as Zalgiris also dished out 19 assists against 11 turnovers and restricted Baskonia to just 6 of 27 from long range and forced 16 turnovers.
