«Zalgiris» Kaunas, Lithuania vs. «Khimki» Khimki, Russia

In a fantastic struggle in Kaunas, the Lithuanian champion Zalgiris snatched victory from the Russian Khimki, the reigning champion of VTB United League - 95:94.

During the first minutes of the match Zalgiris had a significant advantage in the three-second zone of their opponent. Alexey Zhukanenko could cope neither with Robertas Javtokas nor with Paulius Jankunas. However Moscow Region team was good at making accurate three-point shots. In the first quarter, Thomas Kelati scored four distance shots out of four (one of them - with a foul) and 17 points in the first quarter.

In the second quarter after an accurate shot by Khimki captain Vitaliy Fridzon the team for the first time gained 5 point advantage - 33:28. However, 15 000 of spectators in Zalgiris arena together with the legendary Arvydas Sabonis, seemed to be very determined - 64:65.

The tempestuous Kaunas sports palace was far from being quiet. Nevertheless, Monya managed to keep calm and concentration in this atmosphere - after his another three-pointer the advantage of «yellow-blue» for the first time in the match reached «+8» points. And later, thanks to efficient action by Kelati the score became - 83:74.

Was that the end? Nowise! Why, it’s Kaunas and the crowded hall «Zalgiris arena», forcing their favorites to play only to win!
26 seconds before the final siren DeJuan Collins - also from the free-throw line - brought Zalgiris ahead (93:92).

In the response attack Zoran Planinic, who played greatly during the match, still managed to regain the advantage - 94:93. But Sonny Weems slotted a fantastic ball in during the last few seconds of the game. Khimki had only 3 seconds for the last attack. Distant shot by Planinic did not reach the basket ... Sing, Kaunas!

95:94 – fantastic victory of Zalgiris! The most productive in Zhalgiris became Sonny Weems (25 points), Marko Popovic (19 points) and Mantas Kalnietis (14). In Khimki - Kelati - 31 points, Planinic 14 points.

- First of all, I want to congratulate Zalgiris team, coach Aleksandar Trifunovic and owner Vladimir Romanov with the win, - said Khimki head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis. - This game had to be liked by everybody in Kaunas except me. I don’t want to make excuses, but our roster isn’t the strongest at the moment. I am happy how my players were fighting and we were close to win the game. We were in control for most of the time, but Zalgiris never gave up like they did in the start of the season. They were confident, concentrated and won on the last possession. We chose not to foul and I think it wasn’t bad decision, it was just unlucky decision.

- It was a great game, -said Zalgiris head coach Aleksandar Trifunovic. - Definitely everybody who watched had to enjoy it. Three-point shots, dunks, drama – it had everything. However I wasn’t glad how my team played, because we allowed Khimki to control the game and we left Kelati open too many times. But despite that the heart of our players and their wish to win have to be congratulated. We made 10 turnovers in the first half and we finished with 14 – it was one of the key moments. Was the dunk of Sonny Weems a planned way to finish the game? With the smile I can ask you «can you plan such play?». Our idea was to hold the ball and go to the basket with 7 seconds on the clock, not to leave time for Khimki and Sonny managed to end the game in the way I didn’t see for a long time. It was amazing and a great gift for incredible crowd we had in Zalgiris Arena tonight.