Euroleague draw sends Zalgiris to Group A 0

This Thursday in Barcelona, Spain the 2014-15 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Regular Season draw was held. Zalgiris got a spot in Group A.

In a group of six teams Zalgiris will meet Real Madrid, Anadolu Efes Istanbul, Nizhny Novgorod, Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari. The last team in Group A will be known after the Euroleague qualifying round.

Zalgiris general manager Paulius Motiejunas participated in the draw ceremony and said that no matter what teams they will have to play against – Zalgiris has one goal to be in Top 16.

“We found out the opponents and now we wait for everyone in Zalgiris arena. Last season we won against Real Madrid. Once again we will play against Anadolu Efes with which we split victories last year. Also we will have the opportunity to play against new teams of the Euroleague – Nizhny Novgorod and Dinamo Banco di Sardegna. Of course there is one more spot in our group and we will wait till the end of qualifying tournament to get to know the last team of the group. With the support of our fans we have to play with everyone and try to achieve our main goal – Top 16”, said Motiejunas.

Zalgiris head coach Gintaras Krapikas watched the Euroleague draw in Palanga, where he is working with Lithuanian national team.

“Finally we know the teams that we will face next season. On the other hand their rosters are quite unknown for this part of the year. But we will watch attentively for any changes and try to prepare theoretically and after that we will try to analyze the teams. Talking about the draw, there is not much difference what you get from the first two seeds: CSKA with Maccabi or Real with Anadolu Efes – these teams are without a doubt very strong. It also will depend on what kind of players the newcomer Euroleague teams will have on their roster. Our first and main goal is to play in Top 16 round, so we will have to outrun at least two teams in the group. Of course, we will watch the Euroleague qualifying round to get to know our last opponent”, said Krapikas.

Teams that will play in the qualifying round: Unics Kazan (Russia), Stelmet Zielona Góra (Poland), Hapoel Jerusalem (Israel), CEZ Nymburk (Czech Republic), ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne (France), Telenet Oostende (Belgium), VEF Riga (Latvia) and Strasbourg (France).