Jankunas: “It’s really great being back on court” 0

On Thursday evening, Zalgiris held their first practice in Bayern Munich’s home, the Audi Dome. Lithuanian champions will be hoping for an inspiring performance and an important victory in the twelfth EuroLeague round.

Having just returned to the active list, Paulius Jankunas shared his thoughts on the upcoming challenge on Friday night.

“It’s really great being back on court. Honestly, I really missed it. I missed my teammates, I missed the practices. I can see that some of the guys missed me, too. Maybe some more than the others. I can’t say I’m at a hundred percent, but bit by bit I’ll be getting back to playing my game. Hopefully, everything will be fine.”

Jankunas missed his last four EuroLeague games and the squad’s other big man had to take on a heavier load. According to the captain, despite the smaller rotation, the Kaunas bigs handled it flawlessly.

“Despite everything, they did really well. Brandon always plays well. Antanas has really picked up his game and has used the increased minutes to the fullest both against Olympiakos and the other teams. I think they did great!”

Bayern is Zalgiris’ neighbor in the EuroLeague standings, as both teams share a 5-6 record. Jankunas reiterated on coach Jasikevicius’ comments and described the Germans as a very physical team

“As coach said, Bayern is a team that is built to defend well and switch on that end. They play physical basketball and they don’t give away anything for free. We’ll always have to give your best, because they can easily knock you out of your rhythm. It’ll be tough and there’s going to be a lot of physicality.”