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Zalgiris want to get even for Athens

Zalgiris played their worst game in the first duel, losing by 35, and that motivates them to get even today, and get the third place

Zalgiris are in a great streak right now. They have four wins, and the last two only confirmed their form. First they shocked everyone by beating Barcelona in an away game, and then they crushed Siauliai in the national championship this weekend.

- Winning in Barcelona gave us a chance to fight for the third place in the group and now we want to use that. We had one crisis before that game in Barcelona, but that game reinvigorated us.

Javtokas played his best game this weekend, scoring 15 with 9 rebounds and 2 blocks. That's very important today because he and Vougioukas will have a lot of work to do with Raduljica in the paint. Pocius played really well, too. He's taking the role of the injured Seibutis and Zalgiris' game shows no decline in that regard.

The way Kalnietis plays the backcourt today will be very important, he's their most important player there. The fact that he played home games much better than the away ones this season is good news.

- We have to show energy and desire today, we didn't have that in Athens and that's why they crushed us. It's hard to even compare these two games because we didn't even show up in Athens - the coach Krapikas announced this duel.

All the talk in Kaunas centers around the return fixture and making up for the embarrassing performance from Athens, where Panathinaikos crushed Zalgiris 91-56. That was definitely the worst game Zalgiris played this season, and it took place exactly when they were in the crisis Krapikas talked about. Things are much better now, and Zalgiris have every right to expect a win.

Panathinaikos beat Stelmet last week, and solved their situation before the last round, getting to the Top 16. This match doesn't mean much to them, maybe only relating to the fight for the third place, but there are a lot of mysteries before the last round, and the question is what will the third place bring. Top 16 will definitely not be simple, and what's sure is that by losing, Panathinaikos would end up in the same group as Olympiakos.

Panathinaikos played their last game on Monday, and things were unexpectedly intense in their arena. PAOK are one of the best teams of the Greek championship in general, but Panathinaikos usually dealt with them easily in the OAKA Arena in the last seasons. Now, they were facing defeat, losing by five in the last 90 seconds. PAOK missed a few free throws in those final moments, and missed the final offense for the win.

- PAOK deserved to win, we used them losing confidence in the final moments - Đorđević said and added:

- A message for the players, not related to this game. Whoever wants to leave, the doors are wide open. The agents shouldn't be calling the players before the key games. If the players don't understand what kind of a club they're playing in, there's no room for them in Panathinaikos.

Even though the game in Kaunas doesn't mean much to them result-wise, Đorđević's public criticism could motivate the players even more today.

- Our opponent are playing well, they invest a lot of energy, especially at home. We have to be ready and I want the players to be focused on both ends of the court in order for us to win - Đorđević said. 

The only one he can't count on is the less relevant Bochoridis.

Panathinaikos dealt with Zalgiris easily in the first game, playing their best match of the season, and crushing the Lithuanians by 35.

- That definitely wasn't the real difference between the teams. Zalgiris are a good team, their win in Barcelona tells a lot. I heard a lot of scenarios, but I want to make it clear, we're not interested in the opponents in the next round, we don't want to avoid anyone, we want the third place - Feldeine stated.

Even though this game isn't too important result-wise, I think the home team will be much more motivated. They are in brilliant form, as the win in Barcelona proved, butt hey will also have the home court advantage and a lot of motivation since they lost easily in Athens. Zalgiris are invincible home except when it comes to games with top level teams. Panthiaikos are not there at the moments. Home team's defense will cause them trouble today and Zalgiris should win this.