2018-19Regular SeasonRound 23
Zalgiris Kaunas 84
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica 76
February 22, 2019 CET: 19:00
Local time: 20:00 ZALGIRIO ARENA

Zalgiris takes crucial win over Buducnost

Zalgiris Kaunas ended a three-game losing streak against a stubborn Buducnost VOLI Podgorica side on Friday by 84-76 at home to keep its playoff hopes alive. The victory, just its second in eight games, lifted Zalgiris to 9-14 on the season, while Buducnost dropped to 6-17. The home crowd got behind Zalgiris to get the home team over the line at the end of a back-and-forth affair. The game started slowly but the temperature was turned all the way up in Zalgirio Arena as the game turned into a shootout between Norris Cole and Brandon Davies, who starred for their respective sides. Cole finished with 26 points and Davies with 21. In a complete performance from Davies, he also had 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals for the winners. Thomas Walkup added 14 points and 6 assists, while Marius Grigonis scored 16 and Edgaras Ulanovas 12. For the hosts, Cole was the standout but Edwin Jackson's 12 points helped them in the early going and Devin Williams chipped in with 10 in his EuroLeague debut in after having been signed last week.

Davies scored the last 4 points in an early 8-0 run to 13-7 lead, but Edwin Jackson's triple eventually tied it up, 16-16. Rokas Jokubaitis and Norris Cole hit free throws before Thomas Walkup raced the length of the court for a buzzer-beating runner to put Zalgiris up 20-18 after 10 minutes. Williams helped Buducnost take the lead early in the second quarter, but Grigonis struck from deep to take it back, 25-23, for Zalgiris. Davies took over from there, feeding Arturas Milaknis for a triple before detonating a dunk for a 34-25 difference. Milaknis dunked off a feed by Leo Westermann to raise it to double-digits, but Nemanja Gordic's triple on the buzzer closed the halftime gap to 39-36. Ulanovas pushed Zalgiris ahead 51-44 from deep soon after the break, but Cole took over from there with a 16-point shooting show over 8 minutes that left Buducnost in charge 60-62 after 30 minutes. Cole's next shot from deep still had Buducnost in front, 66-67, with 7:30 to play, which is when Walkup's triple started a 10-1 takeover run in which Davies scored 4 points and assisted Ulanovas on another basket. Coty Clarke got Buducnost within 80-74 late, but Grigonis scored 4 points in a row to seal the deal.

Key contributor

Thomas Walkup started at point guard in the absence of usual starter Nate Walters and he had a night to remember in front of the home crowd, contributing career highs of 14 points and 6 assists. His lead-changing three-pointer in the fourth quarter made it 69-67, after which Zalgiris did not trail again.

Hot streak

After a five-point first half, Norris Cole came alive and was all but unstoppable as Buducnost took over the lead in the third quarter. Cole drilled 16 points in 8 minutes, the last of which was a three-pointer to finish it with Buducnost in front 60-62.

Youngest ever

History was made when Fedor Zugic of Buducnost entered the game with 42.1 seconds left to the youngest player to appear in a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game this century, at 15 years and 157 days.

Next games

In Round 24, Zalgiris will travel to the north of Spain to play KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz on Thursday in a pivotal game for both teams in the playoffs race. Buducnost welcomes FC Bayern Munich to the Moraca Sports Centre in Montenegro on Friday.

Brandon Davies - Zalgiris Kaunas - EB18
Friday, February 22, 2019
Euroleague.net
Referees: HIERREZUELO, DANIEL; PASTUSIAK, PIOTR; ROSSI, MICHELE
Attendance: 14571
By Quarter1234
Zalgiris Kaunas20192124
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica18182614
End of Quarter1234
Zalgiris Kaunas20396084
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica18366276
Zalgiris Kaunas
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 DAVIES, BRANDON 32:08 21 8/13   5/8 1 7 8 5 2   2   2 6 34
2 THOMPSON, DEON 4:52       0/2   1 1     1     1 1 -2
7 WALKUP, THOMAS 25:52 14 4/5 1/2 3/4   4 4 6   3   1 3 4 18
9 WESTERMANN, LEO 14:14 1 0/1 0/1 1/2 1   1 3 1 1       2 4
10 ULECKAS, LUKAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 VENSKUS, ERIKAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
13 JANKUNAS, PAULIUS 11:05 3 1/2   1/2 1 1 2 1   1     2 1 2
21 MILAKNIS, ARTURAS 21:27 7 2/3 1/4     1 1     1     3 1 1
30 WHITE, AARON 31:55 8 2/2 0/1 4/4 1 3 4   1 2     1 3 12
31 JOKUBAITIS, ROKAS 1:04 2     2/2                 1 1 2
40 GRIGONIS, MARIUS 29:31 16 4/8 1/2 5/5   1 1 5 1 1   2 3 5 17
92 ULANOVAS, EDGARAS 27:52 12 3/6 1/3 3/3 2 3 5 2 1 1     1 3 16
Team             2 2     1         1
Totals 200:00 84 24/40 4/13 24/32 6 23 29 22 6 12 2 3 17 27 105
        60% 30.8% 75%
Head coach: JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 JACKSON, EDWIN 21:40 12 3/4 1/3 3/3 1   1 1   1     3 4 11
3 COLE, NORRIS 33:58 26 5/11 4/7 4/4   2 2 2   4     3 7 21
5 CLARK, EARL 30:43 9 3/4 1/4   2 6 8 2 2 2 2   4 1 14
6 BAROVIC, FILIP 11:03 4 2/3           1 3 2     4 1 2
7 CLARKE, COTY 24:55 4 2/6 0/1   2 1 3 1   4   1 3 1 -4
9 STAROVLAH, MILIC DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
10 GORDIC, NEMANJA 20:20 7 1/2 1/2 2/2   1 1 1   1     2 1 5
31 BELL, JAMES 21:28 2 1/1 0/1     3 3   2       4 1 3
34 NIKOLIC, DANILO 9:17 2 1/1 0/1               1   1   1
41 WILLIAMS, DEVIN 25:54 10 4/8   2/2 1 7 8 2   1   1 4 1 11
44 ZUGIC, FEDOR 0:42                              
Team           1   1               1
Totals 200:00 76 22/40 7/19 11/11 7 20 27 10 7 15 3 2 28 17 65
        55% 36.8% 100%
Head coach: REPESA, JASMIN

Head Coaches

JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS
Zalgiris Kaunas
"The most important thing at this point is it's a win. When you are missing wins and missing players, it seems like the next one is difficult to come around. We got the monkey off our shoulders, but now we have to improve our basketball. We cannot continue playing like this. We are a much better team than we are showing right now, so let's hope a couple days off and a win will help us to really start showing our true face in the next weeks. [In the fourth quarter] I think we found mismatches. I think we made a lot less mental mistakes. We changed the defense on Cole, tried to be more aggressive on him. And that's it. The players pulled it out."
REPESA, JASMIN
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica
"Before the game talking with my team, I told them that they are really privileged to play in Kaunas because on tradition and on atmosphere, it’s one of the best in the world and you know, this atmosphere, you have to give everything that you are able to give. Congratulations to the home team, they won really deservingly,100 percent. I cannot be unhappy with the game, but it’s a pity the way we played two parts. In the last quarter and the second quarter, the start of the second quarter, we lost a little bit of the rhythm of the game, turning the ball over a little bit more than usual. And at this level, when you make these kinds of mistakes, it’s very difficult to win. We fought until the end and unfortunately we didn't win the game, but we have to continue and I think we are on the right way. We have a new player who only practiced once with us yesterday. He has to learn the system and everything will be better."

Players

DAVIES, BRANDON
Zalgiris Kaunas
"It was a hard-fought win. They battled us all game long, but we needed that win and really wanted it. I think we showed how much we wanted it by our effort, so it's a big win for us. My son was born at one this morning and I spent some time with him, but I wanted to get that win for my team and for him, as well."