How the green-and-whites created a miracle: Zalgiris’ historic run to the TOP-8 in 2019 0

Zalgiris Kaunas, currently in pursuit of another play-off berth with victories in vital Euroleague battles in recent weeks, welcomes the final week of the Euroleague regular season. It will determine whether the green-and-whites will qualify for the TOP-8 stage.

Zalgiris has already experienced a similar roller coaster ride at the end of the EuroLeague regular season in the 2018-2019 season, when the team jumped on the playoff train after an incredible run to end the regular season. This special Zalgiris TV report takes a look back at how Zalgiris punched their ticket to the TOP-8.

Back then, Zalgiris, coached by Sarunas Jasikevicius, was 3 wins behind 8th place with 6 games to play before the start of the playoffs. The Zalgiris TV report recalls how the Zalgiris played a 6-game stretch that saw them miraculously jump into the Euroleague playoffs.

In the 25th round, Zalgiris defeated Gran Canaria Las Palmas by 34 points, with 8 points from Rokas Jokubaitis, who was just making his first steps in the men’s team.

In the 26th round, Zalgiris had to make amends to Bayern Munich for their first-round defeat. In Kaunas, Zalgiris needed a win by more than 4 points. Despite the advantage, the game turned into a thriller, with Zalgiris surviving and celebrating the victory in the end.

The legendary phrase “It’s possible” was also born after this match, when Dejan Radonjic, then Bayern’s head coach, had a moment in a press conference to question Zalgiris’ chances of making the play-offs.

We later moved on to the game in Tel Aviv against Maccabi, the crushing victory against Darussafaka in Istanbul, the drama in Piraeus and, of course, the cherry on top of the cake, the victory on the road against Real Madrid.

The full video on Zalgiris’ historic march to the end of the EuroLeague regular season is now available on Zalgiris’ YouTube channel.