Zalgiris’ preseason closed out with a win over Tofas 11

For the past week, Zalgiris has been working hard in Turkey, where they’ve competed in the Gloria Cup tournament. In the team’s final preseason run, Zalgiris defeated Tofas Bursa 100-95 (19-25, 32-25, 22-31, 27-14).

It was a high-scoring affair from the get-go, as both teams had no trouble finding ways to the basket. Nevertheless, it was the team from Turkey with the early lead, as the managed to sneak ahead by 6 after the opening period. Three-pointers were the way to go in the second, as Zalgiris managed to overtake their opponents with accurate long-range bombs from Arturas Milaknis, Zach LeDay and Thomas Walkup.

The scoring didn’t slow down after the break either, as Tofas kept on piling the points and came close to a double-digit lead before the final quarter, leading 73-81. That is when the defense finally managed to pick up and stop the high-paced opponents. As Arturas Milaknis kept on knocking down treys, Zalgiris quickly overturned the 8-point deficit and found themselves in pole position with five points to spare.

Zach LeDay showed up again with 25 points and 8 rebounds to his name. Arturas Milaknis was scorching hot from beyond the arc, knocking down 7 three-pointers for a total of 24 points. Nigel Hayes had 14 points, as Thomas Walkup filled out the statsheet as usual, putting up 10 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Martinas Geben ended the game with 9 points, as Rokas Jokubatis finished with 6 points and 5 assists.