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A direct battle for Euroleague Top 16

Žalgiris have to reduce the number of turnovers, their 19,3 per game make them the worst team in the Euroleague. Efes are very motivated after the painful home defeat against Bamberg and a potential win here would secure their Top 16 spot

Brose's win in Istanbul last week made things much more difficult in the group B. Real are "untouchable" at the top and the rest of the teams can go through and crash out of Top 16. The French Strasbourg are in the word position as their chances are purely theoretical  and the remaining four teams will have a tough battle between themselves. This round should give many answers since we will see two clashes between direct contenders in Kaunas and Milan. In case of a win by Žalgiris here and Bamberg in Milan tomorrow, the situation would reach the boiling point as four teams would go into the last round with a score of 4-5. 

Žalgiris could have been in a much better position but they suffered a painful defeat in France last week. A shot with two seconds to go put them on the verge of victory but Campbell's buzzer-beater 3-pointer brought the win for the French team. Žalgiris definitely might miss this win in the final outcome.


- Strasbourg played a very strong defense and they really wanted to win. It wasn't simple for us. We made far too many mistakes and you can't win like that. Turnovers and offensive rebounds cost us the win in a game which we controlled most of the time - said Žalgiris's coach Štomergas and Milaknis added:


- It is hard to say anything now, it was a cruel finish. We made too many mistakes in the second half, we're the first team in the Euroleague in terms of turnovers. I don't know what's happening to us.


Žalgiris had 20 turnovers and this makes the job of winning a Euroleague away game very difficult. The club from Kaunas are indeed the first team in the Euroleague in terms of turnovers with 19,3 balls per game , and they're followed by Partizan, Strasbourg with 28 balls less, or 3 per game. This is a huge difference that is hard to make up for as Žalgiris does no have the quality that they had in previous season and they will have to significantly reduce this number in the decisive games.


The situation is lost, the decision will probably be made in the final game in Germany. Considering how even the situation is, there are lots of combinations going on, but a win in Germany would definitely put them through. If they manage to beat Efes today, they will tie the score with the Turks but one should bear in mind that they were defeated in Istanbul by 11 points.


- A serious team is coming to Kaunas. Before the season started, everyone regarded Efes as one of the favorites to win the group. However, their results were no constant and this gives us a chance at home. It will be an important game for both teams and w know we have what it takes to win - said Štombergas whose team will certainly be without Vene (3 points in the Euroleague) and might be without Čižauskas (2.2 points).


- Under Štombergas, our game has become faster. If they play with heavy centers, Barać and Erden, we will try playing fast transitions in order to outrun them. They are getting Gonlum back after the injury. We've seen the video, we know how to use their weaknesses - added Klimavičius.


Efes's suicide game last week put their Euroleague chances at risk, but they still control their own fate. The goal was to take the second place in the group but if they lose in Kaunas today, not only will they play against Real in the last round to get the second spot, they will be playing to go through at all. Therefore, they've put themselves in a very tricky position with 3 defeats from last 4 rounds.f


- This is the most important game of the season for us for tow reasons - we can secure a Top 16 spot and because it will give us morale and confidence. I am sure this game will be tough. It is always difficult to play against Žalgiris in Lithuania. We want to get back to Istanbul with a Top 16 ticket - said power forward Duško Savanović whose 3-pointer in the last 2 games against Bamberg and Gazaintep is 0/7.


Efes have somehow recovered from their debacle against Bamberg who scored 53 points in the second half. They beat Gazaintep away with some difficulty, limiting their rivals to only 20 points in the second half.


- We have two games after which we get no chance to fix things. We have to win today to get to Top 16. We have a tough game ahead of us. Last week, after creating an advantage over Bamberg we thought it was over and then we lost the game. We got our lesson there and we will be more careful now - said coach Oktay Mahmuti, who should have all players at his disposal.


In their first head-to-head, they allowed 27 points in the first half (27-27) but were superb in the remaining  3 and left Žalgiris at 61 points. The key is to stop their point guard Dentmon whose three-point efficiency is surreal 23/43 or 53,4%. In the first H2H, they limited him to 5/11 field goal and 7 turnovers. This should be the basis for success today, too.

Under Štombergas, Žalgiris have different ideas and concepts than under the defensively minded Greek Zouros that was their coach in the first part of the season. But even this Žalgiris can play superb defense, and how couldn't they with Javtokas in the line-up and even with Lavrinovič. The defense suffers the most when Šaras plays as his flamboyant style results in many lost balls and he is poor in defense. However, he doesn't get much playing time and this is a game that will go down to the wire. Their first head-to-head ended 72-61 with 27-27 in the first quarter which means there were 79 points in the next 3 periods. This Žalgiris played a 155-point game against Strasbourg last week with a last-moment 3-pointer. If we can rely on something it's Efes's defense when they're motivated. And this will be the case today after their debacle against Bamberg last week when they conceded 53 points in the second half. The importance of today's game is huge. Žalgiris and Bamberg have 3 wins, Efes and Armani have 4. If Efes were to lose this one and have 0-2 against Bamberg while the Germans are playing against Žalgiris at home while Efes are hosting the Real Madrid machine... A defeat here would endanger Efes's Top 16 position and this would be a real debacle in the easiest Euroleague group. Therefore, I expect maximum aggression in every attack in every possession. Head on from the start as there is no room for compromise. In Gordon, Efese have a man to guard Dentmo, Vasileiadis will get Pocius, Erden will have huge clashes in the paint with Javtokas and Lavrinovič and I can't really see this one turning into a basketball rhapsody.