Kevin Pangos to Zalgiris - Welcome to Euroleague

[OZZY]

Thanks to JStock and ZN for the links and enthusiasm!

well it sure looks like how KP hits from the 3 has a lot to do with how Zalgiris does in the EuroLeague...

5/6 = Win!

At least against mid and lower tier EuroLeague teams.

Have to say that Kevin is certainly repaying his coaches confidence in him and making us happy at the sane time.

[ZagNative]

Kevin's Zalgris team beats Milan in Euroleague play today, with Zalgris leading over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 78-70. Kevin with 6 points, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 2 rebounds, leaving Zalgris #11 in the 16-team league standings.

Box Score

[OZZY]

Thanks ZN,

Not a bad score line for Kevin, and great hustle shown on the Motum basket!

[Mojo13]

Kevin's Zalgris team beats Milan in Euroleague play today, with Zalgris leading over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 78-70. Kevin with 6 points, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 2 rebounds, leaving Zalgris #11 in the 16-team league standings.

#11 of 16 yes, but also one game out of 8th spot and the playoffs. Some may not know this, but it is a huge improvement on last year and above expectations for Zalgiris.
Zalgiris is running with the league's second lowest budget of about 8M euros. Compare that to league highest CSKA with about 35M euros and the team they just beat (Milan) with about 19M. Fairly successful season so far for Zalgiris. KP is a huge piece of that.

Budgets with taxes according to beasketnews.lt

CSKA Moscow – €35M
Real Madrid – €27M
Fenerbahce – €23M
Barcelona – €21M
Darussafaka Dogus – €20M
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan – €19M
Anadolu Efes – €18M
Panathinaikos – €14M
Olympiacos – €12.5M
Galatasaray – €12M
Baskonia – €11.5M
Maccabi – €11M
Unics Kazan – €10.5M
Brose Bamberg – €8.5M
Zalgiris – €8M
Crvena Zvezda – €5M

[sittingon50]

Thanks for that background, Mojo.

[Jstock12]

While we're only 11 out of 16, but this is a really good & exciting season for Zalgiris. There really were no unwinnable games for us so far. We were competitive in every single game against top European clubs (CSKA included), so it's quite exciting, because if we were just a little bit more lucky in some of the games, we could easily be in the top5 right now. No team has blown us out so far either. Fun year for Lithuanian Euroleague fans :-)

[ZagNative]

Zalgris after a minute into the second quarter against a very tough CSKA Moscow team trails 22-26. Kevin with 8 points so far, with one assist and a turnover. Come on, Zalgris!

Box Score

[ZagNative]

Wow! Incredible game for Kevin, with21 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 4 TOs in a 79-74 win over CSKA Moscow! Kevin must be so jacked! CSKA Moscow was the leader of Euroleague with 14-4 and Zalgris was 13th with 6-12 until this win, which moves them up a spot to #12. That is just so neat for Kevin!

Post-game press conference starting soon on Youtube: (Edited to add: the stream stopped midway through the broadcast. Darn! I wanted to hear from Kevin...)

[ZagNative]

Eurobasket report of the game

EuroLeague: Kevin Pangos carries Zalgiris past CSKA in Kaunas - Jan 24, 2017

Zalgiris - CSKA 79:74

Zalgiris surprised CSKA in Kaunas tonight. Kevin Pangos (188-PG-93, college: Gonzaga) scored 21 points to lead the Lithuanian powerhouse to the 7th victory in EuroLeague regular season.

The teams went neck and neck throughout the first period. CSKA and Zalgiris were tied at 20 after ten minutes. The visitors pulled ahead in the second frame. CSKA established a 45:38 halftime advantage. But the hosts turned things around in the second half. Zalgiris pulled within just 4 points at the final intermission 57:61. Zalgiris held CSKA to just 13 points in the fourth term and celebrated a well-deserved victory.

Augusto Lima (207-C-91) provided 12 points, while Paulius Jankunas (205-PF-84) tossed in 11 points for the hosts. James Augustine (208-F-84, college: Illinois) responded with 15 points and 7 rebounds for CSKA. Nando De Colo (196-SG-87) and Cory Higgins (195-G-89, college: Colorado) deposited 11 points apiece in the loss.

Zalgiris: Kevin Pangos 21, Augusto Lima 12, Paulius Jankunas 11
CSKA: James Augustine 15, Nando De Colo 11, Cory Higgins 11

[Jstock12]

Big game from Kevin. He made some really big shots. Wasn't scared of the moment. Kudos!

[ZagNative]

[B]Eurohoops Report: "Zalgiris emerges triumphant over “Goliath” CSKA Moscow!"[/B]

Zalgiris prevailed over CSKA Moscow 79-74 in Kaunas, marking a very important win of prestige against a much stronger opponent! The Lithuanians improved to 7-12 in the standings, while CSKA fell to 14-5.

Kevin Pangos shined with 21 points and important contribution in the final minutes of the game for the winners. Augusto Lima had 12 points and captain Paulius Jankunas added 11.

Sarunas Jasikevicius’ team put the visitors to the test from early on. Pangos executed from the 3-point line to give his team a 5-point advantage, 12-7 at 4′, then grabbed another one with Jankunas, 18-13. At the end of the period, the score was even, at 20 points.

James Augustine (15 points) was crucial for Dimitris Itoudis’ team in the second period and was the one to keep his team ahead 38-45 at halftime.

Zalgiris trimmed the short deficit and even got the lead of the game (50-47) in the beginning of the second half with a shot by Leo Westermann. The two teams were head to head throughout the third period, yet CSKA grabbed a short lead at the end, 57-61.

With Vorontsevich (9 points), the Russians expanded, yet with 4 minutes to go, the Lithuanian team tied the score again at 70 points.

[ZagNative]

[ZagNative]

[Jstock12]

Just to add to this, Zalgiris-CSKA games are always special for Lithuanians since the 1980s. Winning those feels great.

In the mid-1980s, the finals between BC Žalgiris Kaunas and CSKA Moscow (Central Sports Club of Army) served as a major inspiration for Lithuanian national revival that contributed to the emergence of the Sąjūdis national movement and re-establishment of state independence. Especially when they played in Kaunas Sports Hall.

[ZagNative]

Wow. That's neat!

Just to add to this, Zalgiris-CSKA games are always special for Lithuanians since the 1980s. Winning those feels great.

In the mid-1980s, the finals between BC Žalgiris Kaunas and CSKA Moscow (Central Sports Club of Army) served as a major inspiration for Lithuanian national revival that contributed to the emergence of the Sąjūdis national movement and re-establishment of state independence. Especially when they played in Kaunas Sports Hall.

First win over CSKA Moscow in 18 games! The crowd in this video looks out of its mind with joy!