Zalgiris finishes EuroLeague season in a green-and-white Zalgirio Arena 27
EuroLeague Playoffs Game 3 happened to be the last game of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague 2022-2023 season for Zalgiris Kaunas, as they lost 66-77 to FC Barcelona, which swept the series 3-0.
Zalgiris gathered another sold-out crowd, as Zalgirio Arena was painted green-and-white by more than 15 000 spectators.
Tomas Satoransky and Jan Vesely led the way for Barca with 14 points apiece, followed by Mike Tobey with 13 and Rokas Jokubaitis with 11.
Zalgiris’ leading scorers were Edgaras Ulanovas with 13 points and Laurynas Birutis with 12.
The first quarter did not go how either side would have liked, at least to start with, as Zalgiris had 3 points after 7 minutes and Barca had 8 turnovers inside the opening 10 minutes. Yet, while Barca had a 3-13 lead after just over 7 minutes, a late resurgence by Zalgiris saw it close the first quarter with a 7-0 run, 10-13.
There was not much to separate the two teams in the second, with Zalgiris having shaken off its first-quarter nerves, but Barca was able to go into the halftime break leading 26-29.
Satoransky got Barca going with all 7 of his side’s points after the break, 30-37, then it was the turn of Tobey to step up later in the quarter with 3 made triples, which swelled the lead to 45-61.
Zalgiris refused to go away in the fourth quarter and even cut the gap to 55-61, but 4 straight points by Vesely and a triple by Alex Abrines allowed Barca to breathe easy again, 55-68. In the closing stages, Jokubaitis rose up to down his former team and rubber stamp Barca’s spot in the 2023 Final Four.
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