UFC champ Rose Namajunas inspired Zalgiris 0

Zalgiris Kaunas showed great resilience and resistance in Round 24 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season. Despite trailing most of the way, Zalgiris brought its three-game losing streak to an end by downing Baskonia Vitoria 79-75 in front of yet another sellout crowd at Zalgirio Arena.

Zalgiris had a VIP guest in the locker room that may have given the team the resilience and fighting spirit to get its 13th win of the season, as two-time UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Rose Namajunas inspired Zalgiris with a pre-game speech moments before the team left the locker room. Namajunas was born in Milwaukee, USA to Lithuanian parents. She regularly visits Lithuania and is one of its national sports icons.

Namajunas asked the team to repeat her words before players gathered together for their usual pre-game chant:

“I choose to be grateful. I choose to be resourceful. I choose to be loving and motivated. I choose to be happy and healthy. I choose to face my fears. I choose to believe in myself. I have everything I need for the moment that I’m in. I love and accept myself. I have faith in God’s plan. I release loss. I release bitterness. I release regret. I release regret. I am in control of myself. I am divinely guided in all I do. I manifest my goals into reality. I radiate peace to those around me and spirit supplies me with the right people to achieve my dreams. I’m a champion. Thank you.”

The game was a back-and-forth battle and saw as many as 18 lead changes. Maik Kotsar gave Baskonia its last lead of the game, 73-75, with less than three minutes remaining. Zalgiris managed to hold Baskonia scoreless for the remainder of the game. Rolands Smits sank a left-handed hook and Kevarrius Hayes came out with the play of the night, blocking Tadas Sedekerskis’s dunk attempt. Then, Arnas Butkevicius and Tomas Dimsa were ice cold from the foul line, allowing Zalgiris to return to winning ways.

Team captain Edgaras Ulanovas thanked Namajunas for her speech after the game. He finished the game with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and a game-high PIR of 26.

“We really fought together until the last moment. We improved a lot offensively by sharing the ball, and [we] played with a little more patience. I believe this is what we need to do even more in this situation, when we don’t have point guards and are missing some players,” he said after the game. “Rolands [Smits] was amazing, also Iggy [Ignas Brazdeikis] at moments, Kevarrius [Hayes] made a huge block at the end. It is all about small things, not all the time about scoring.”