Zalgiris’ youth defeat Italians 0
Sunday saw the start of the Euroleague Nike International Junior Tournament in Rome, Italy. Zalgiris’ youngsters, born in 1992 or younger, started their journey in this years tournament with a 80:65 victory against Montepaschi Siena.
Edgaras Ulanovas and Dovydas Redikas had 15 each, Rolandas Jakstas added 13 points and 11 boards, Augustinas Jankaitis also had a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Tauras Jogela added 10 for Zalgiris. Diego Monaldi had 23 for the Italians; Sabbatino added 13, while Sgobba had 10 of his own.
With 5 of the 8 first points coming from Dovydas Redikas, the Lithuanians quickly built an 8:4 advantage after letting Montepaschi open the scoring. The first quarter turned out to be an all-scoring affair for Zalgiris, as they finished it with 31:20 on the scoreboar.
After a successful beginning of the second period, the side from Kaunas had twice as much point as the Italians at 40:20, but Siena went on 10:0, with 6 points from Diego Monaldi (30:40). Edgaras Ulanovas scored 5 straight points at the end of the quarter to give Zalgiris a 47:36 lead heading into halftime.
The Lithuanians maintained the 10-13 point advantage at the start of the second half, but Montepaschi stepped up on defense and got within 2 (57:55)after Giorgio Sgobbai collected 6 unanswered points. This was all to no avail, as Dovydas Redikas and Tomas Lekunas both hit a triple each – 64:55. It seemed as if it was Ulanovas alone against the whole Siena side in the beginning of the fourth period – the forward nailed 6 straight free throws and smashed a dunk to give Zalgiris a 73:69 lead. Tauras Jogela added 4 straight of his own and sealed an opening-night victory for Zalgiris.
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