Zalgiris wins 2 of 3 friendlies in Klaipeda 0

The players of Zalgiris Kaunas finished practices in training camp, which was held in cities of Palanga and Klaipeda. The two weeks of mostly physical training came to an end with three friendly games played vs. other teams camping in Lithuania’s seaside.

The first opponent was Unics Kazan. The Russian club started preparation much earlier as they are heading for Euroleague qualification games, while Zalgiris was missing Lithuanian national team members Mantas Kalnietis, Paulius Jankunas, Martynas Pocius and Tadas Klimavicius. Marcus Brown was also absent on Thursday. However, the game played on Thursday was a close affair with Unics squeezing the win 72:70.

Zalgiris 70 (21, 17, 11, 21): Milaknis 16 (4/7 3PT, 6 rebounds), Salenga 15 (6 rebounds, 5 assists), Begic 12, Capin 12, Collins 6 (3 assists), Samhan 4 (5 rebounds), Watson 3 (1/8 FT, 9 rebounds), Cukinas 2, Kuzminskas 0, Vene 0.

Unics 72 (24, 13, 18, 17): Lampe 25 (6 rebounds), Lyday 21 (3 steals), McCarty 8, Vranes 7.

The second game was played on Saturday in Klaipeda. This time Zalgiris missed even more players as Travis Watson and Mindaugas Kuzminskas picked up slight injuries in the practice. The guests from Ukraine BC Donetsk did not manage to use it for their advantage and led only for first 15 minutes. The final score was 77:68 in favour of Zalgiris Kaunas.

Zalgiris 77 (16, 23, 12, 26): Collins 23 (16/19 FT, 5 rebounds, 4 assists), Salenga 19 (4 rebounds), Milaknis 14 (4/7 3PT), Begic 11, Cukinas 4, Samhan 4, Capin 2, Vene 0, Zyle 0.

Donetsk 68 (21, 18, 10, 19): Hukic 21, Cvetkovic 17.

Sunday brought meeting vs. Ukrainian champions Azovmash Mariupol. Lithuanian team had a sloppy start, but their offence got going in the second quarter. Since then Zalgiris players did not look back and swept the opponents 91:63.

Zalgiris 91 (16, 29, 22, 24): Collins 26 (3/4 3PT, 6 rebounds, 3 assists), Milaknis 17 (4/9 3PT), Capin 16 (4 assists), Salenga 10, Vene 7 (4 rebounds, 3 assists), Begic 6, Samhan 5, Cukinas 4 (6 rebounds).

Azovmash 63 (17, 17, 12, 17): Skutyelnik 18, Curry 12 (10 rebounds), … House 6, Jarutis 4.