SteemSports Presenter:
SteemSports Editor:
EuroCup top 16 has started this week, and all the remaining teams are eager to finish their groups on top to get a chance at fighting in the quarterfinals. The stakes are high this year as two finalists will get a chance to play in next year's Euroleague, which is both a privilege and a decent way to earn some extra cash for club owners.
Lietuvos Rytas and Zenit Petersburg clashed in the first game in group F. Everyone who loves basketball will agree that this was a superb game with a lot of drama, high quality plays, and highlights. The game ended 98-96 in Zenit's favor and that means that Lietuvos Rytas complicates its chances to qualify for the quarterfinal and the first game. After all, only 6 games will be played in the top 16 and losing home games is not something you want to do.
From the first minute of the game, it was obvious that we will see a high scoring match. Both teams did not hold back in defense, especially when it came to inside the paint plays. E.Mockevicius scored some easy lay-ups early on which were answered by D.Gordon's lay-ups on the other side of the pitch. Gordon, the ex Lietuvos Rytas player who is now part of Zenit team, played a miraculous game, scored 23 points and added 8 boards. It looked like Gordon was showing off to Lietuvos Rytas, sending the message "Look what you have lost, baby." However, Gordon's efforts were not enough alone and Lietuvos Rytas finished the quarter leading by 9, 26-17.
The second quarter started just the same as the first finished with Lietuvos Rytas controlling the paint and scoring easy points from the paint. Mavrokefalidis, Echodas, Mockevicius and other big guys looked really strong, and Lietuvos Rytas increased the lead to 12, 33-21. However, Rytas players could not cope with the pace, and things started going down the drain. Gordon dominated Rytas defense inside the paint and Kuric with Karasev scored some points behind the arc. On the other side of the pitch, Rytas missed some easy shots and did stupid turnovers. Zenit won the quarter 30-15 and headed to the halftime leading 47-41, which was quite unexpected.
The third quarter was based on runs from both teams. Rytas managed cut the lead to 1 point, and Zenit answered with some magical shots from Kuric, which helped to increase the lead back to 8 points. Siemens Arena was full of Lithuanian supporters, and it always felt like Lietuvos Rytas is going to defeat Zenit's resistance. However, Gordon and Kuric did everything to keep Zenit in the driving seat. Kuric scored 30 points on the night, and that is his personal best in EuroCup by a clear mile. The quarter ended 71-63 in Zenit's favor.
Lietuvos Rytas has not seen that many fans coming to its game for ages now, and that clearly added some motivation and powers for a comeback. T.Peterson made 3 three-pointers in the fourth quarter and helped Lietuvos Rytas come back to the game 86-86. Rytas even managed to take the lead 94-93. However, after that Zenit scored 4 points from the free-throw line and Rytas made silly mistakes. With 9 seconds to go, Rytas was behind 96-98 and turned the ball over from the inbound, killing its last chances to win the game. It is a shame that such a wonderful game had to end with a turnover.
Next week, Lietuvos Rytas will travel to Germany to play against Bayern, the favorites to win the EuroCup. It will be a super tough and important game for both teams as they both lost the first match and losing the second is not an option anymore. Zenit will host Torino Fiat in a game which will determine the new group leader.
