The Lithuanian side looked out for the count against Milan and then forced the home team into submission
Resilient Zalgiris clawed out victory from the jaws of defeat
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Regular Season
Round 4 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Zalgiris Kaunas completed a memorable week in Italy with a stunning 82-85 comeback win at EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after edging Virtus Segafredo Bologna 68-71 on Tuesday, improving its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague record to 3-1.
So delicious was the taste of double victory that a couple of joyous Zalgiris fans, part of a massive contingent who made the trip to Italy, held a cardboard banner reading “Yesterday Bolognese, today Milanese” in a sweet taunt of the home Milan faithful.
For three quarters, it looked like Milan would hand Zalgiris a heavy defeat as the hosts led 64-37 midway through the third, before an inexplicable meltdown turned the pulsating contest on its head.
Having regained its composure ahead of the fourth quarter, Zalgiris needed no second invitation to start firing on all cylinders on offense in the home straight, while Milan looked bereft of ideas as the visitors kept trapping the home team’s guards with intense half-court pressure.
Dovydas Giedraitis paced Zalgiris with a game-high 21 points, but it was Sylvain Francisco who won the player of the game accolade on the back of 17 points and 6 assists, having dished out one telling pass after another as Zalgiris roared back to claim victory.
It was the second-biggest comeback in the competition’s history and the 27-year-old guard, who joined Zalgiris from Bayern Munich during the off-season, said not losing their heads was the key to the visiting team’s monumental accomplishment in Milan.
“I was patient in going to the paint and splitting their defense, so I am glad we made shots and played tough defense in the end,” a visibly exhausted Francisco said in a post-game courtside interview.
Head coach Andrea Trinchieri was delighted he got one over his Italian compatriot Ettore Messina, whose Milan team dropped to 1-3 after suffering the fourth-quarter collapse.
“A crazy game with a crazy ending,” said Trinchieri. “We were horrible for three quarters and I just kept trying to find the five players who would function together. We didn’t do enough to compete for three quarters and then something happened.”
“We clicked and played with tons of energy. I believe in my players and this is their reward, a double win on the road. I didn’t like the body language in the first half, but we have this thing called resilience.”
Messina was barely able to hold in his anguish after the game, having seen his team throw away a massive lead on home court. “We played two different games tonight,” he stated. “The last 15 minutes were obviously horrible and they deserved their comeback.”
Long-range shooting was the key as Zalgiris drained 12 of 26 from deep while Milan made only 5 of 21, with the home side also finishing the game on 9 turnovers after committing none in the first quarter and just 2 by halftime.
Galvanized by its success, Zalgiris will relish returning home and facing Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in Round 5, while Milan will be desperate to make amends when it entertains Anadolu Efes Istanbul.