Zalgiris Kaunas ended their preseason preparations on a high note. In a packed Copper Box arena in London, Tomo Masiulis’s team defeated Tautvydas Sabonis’s coached London Lions 68-63 (21-23, 19-14, 17-13, 11-13).
Playing like at home with a huge crowd support, Zalgiris scored their first 4 points through Laurynas Birutis (4-4), Nigel Williams-Goss added a two-pointer with a foul, and Sylvain Francisco broke through, 9-4. Between Deividas Sirvydis’s two accurate three-pointers, Edgaras Ulanovas made a free throw and Moses Wright added a two-pointer after a spin move, 18-13. Ulanovas made 1 of 2 free throws again, Wright dunked (21-17), but the Lions ended the quarter more successfully, 21-23.
Williams-Goss made only 1 of 3 free throws, but Birutis’s two-pointer and Azuolas Tubelis’s 3 free throws put Zalgiris back in front, 27-23. Francisco scored 5 points, Wright added 4, 36-30. The second quarter ended with accurate free throws by Ulanovas and Ignas Brazdeikis, 40-37.
At the start of the third quarter, Birutis made a free throw, Williams-Goss broke through under the basket, and Dustin Sleva beat the opponents’ defense both from close range and from the three-point zone, 48-45. Francisco connected on a three-pointer and later made a breakthrough with a foul, 54-48. At the end of the quarter, Mantas Rubstavičius made a step-back three-pointer, and Wright stopped the Lions with a powerful block, 57-50.
Wright scored after a pass from Ulanovas, and the Zalgiris captain himself added a free throw, 60-52. Sleva and Francisco increased the lead to 10 points, 64-54. Wright fought well for the ball, but missed four free throws in a row, allowing the opponents to close the gap to 64-63. However, in the final seconds, Sirvydis and Ulanovas secured the victory for Zalgiris with accurate free throws, 68-63.
Francisco led Zalgiris with 15 points, while Wright had a complete boxscore of 10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 4 blocks.