Azovmash bump Zalgiris out of VTB Final Four 0
Zalgiris lost a decisive game in the VTB United League despite holding all of the cards in their hands before the game against Azovmash. The visitors from Ukraine spoiled the mood for the Kaunas side, pushing the Lithuanians out of the league’s Final Four spot with an 86-75 (26-22, 23-25, 18-22, 19-6) victory, which was already the second time that Azovmash upset Zalgiris this season.
You can check out the moments from the game in our photo gallery. “It’s not normal to play so bad on defense late in the game. We also committed 21 turnovers – that means the opponents had 21 more chances to score. They also got extra opportunities, having grabbed 14 offensive rebounds,” Zalgiris coach Ilias Zouros explained the reasons of the defeat.
Zalgiris’ big man Travis Watson led the Greens in scoring with 12 points, while Arturas Milaknis and Marcus Brown were the only two other players in double-digits, both with 10 points. Mantas Kalnietis scored 9 points as the trio of Martynas Pocius, Paulius Jankunas and DeJuan Collins added 7 points each.
Former Lietuvos Rytas player Frederick House led his current team Azovmash with a game-high of 21 points. Demetrius Alexander scored 17 points, Christopher Owens had 12 points, adding 8 boards, while Maxim Pustozvonov finished the game with 11 points for the Ukrainians.
“We had to show our character and that’s exactly what we did today. I have watched Zalgiris play in Euroleague and told my players that it all starts with defense against them. Our goal was to stop their shooters , especially the Lithuanians,” said Azovmash’s coach Rolandas Jarutis.
“I think this victory is the most pleasing one for me during the three months I’m working as a coach. I don’t consider myself to be a coach yet though – I still need more knowledge and victories. I’m still a player and I’m still helping during practice. We have many injuries, so we don’t have enough players,” Jarutis added.
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