The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague rookie impressed for Zalgiris Kaunas as it grabbed a road win at Buesa Arena.
Manek showed at Baskonia what he brings to Zalgiris
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Regular Season
Round 4 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Brady Manek made his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut in early October when Zalgiris Kaunas faced Virtus Segafredo Bologna on the road, which means that he is just a few weeks into his EuroLeague career. Nevertheless, he has looked right at home among Europe’s elite, with the 25-year-old producing a player-of-the-game performance as Zalgiris beat Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 82-99 at Buesa Arena in Round 4.
The American forward was introduced into the game with 3:22 to go in the first quarter, but he didn’t manage to get his name on the scoreboard until the first few seconds of the second quarter, when he sank his first triple of the game.
Little did everyone inside Buesa Arena know that the Zalgiris forward would go on to score another 3 triples before the break for the visitors. Manek punished Baskonia whenever he was allowed an open look and finished the game with 17 points, scoring a perfect 5-of-5 from behind the arc for a PIR of 27.
“The way we played on offense, we moved the ball, getting downhill, finding the mismatch. I think we did that very well tonight,” Manek said after the game.
Manek made an impact on the glass, too
Despite allowing Chima Moneke to score a career-high 32 points and Marcus Howard to add 26, Zalgiris showed great hustle on defense, with Manek dominating the boards. The EuroLeague rookie registered a game-high 14 rebounds to secure his first double-double in the competition in 28:00 minutes of action.
“The way we played on offense and then on defense, finding the way to get stops and rebounds, not giving them second chances, I think helps us in the end,” added the former University of North Carolina standout.
Zalgiris head coach Kazys Maksvytis asked his players to control the pace of the game and they delivered on the court. Baskonia did attempt a couple of comebacks in the second half, but the visitors stepped up to remain in charge.
“The team showed character and fought until the end,” Maksvytis noted. “I think that we were in control for more or less all of the game. Some moments we lost control and Baskonia came back, but it’s hard to win here. I’m very happy.”
Rolands Smits is another who impressed
Meanwhile, Rolands Smits scored a team-high 21 points, going 2-for-4 on two pointers, 3-for-4 on triples and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Yet, in his post-game interview he stressed that it wasn’t an individual performance – instead some great basketball produced by the team – that clinched the victory for Zalgiris.
“We played as a team,” Smits declared. “We shared the ball very well. We played physical basketball and we got the win. They came back, but then we realized that we need to go harder and stick together as a team.”
Zalgiris didn’t manage to get something from its road game at Real Madrid on Tuesday, but it pulled off a dominant display two days later in Vitoria-Gasteiz. Thursday night’s visitors circulated the ball well, found many open looks and were sublime from behind the arc, going 14-for-21 (66.7% 3FG) on three-pointers.
With its 21 assists in the game against Baskonia, Zalgiris demonstrated that it can achieve great things through team basketball. Many may have underestimated Maksvytis’s side, but Zalgiris has shown that it is once again a legit playoff contender this season.