Valančiūnas dominates again as Žalgiris hold off Juventus

Jonas Valančiūnas once again proved difficult to contain as Kaunas Žalgiris defeated Utena Juventus 82-77 in a demanding preseason game.

Juventus took control late in the first quarter, opening a 23-13 lead. Žalgiris then went nearly six minutes without allowing a point and produced a 16-0 run to seize the initiative at 29-23. The home side led 45-33 at halftime.

Valančiūnas supplied 14 points in the opening half, nearly one-third of Žalgiris’ total at that stage. He finished with 14 points on 6-of-12 two-point shooting, nine rebounds and 20 efficiency points in 21 minutes. With the center on the court, Žalgiris outscored Juventus by 24 points.

Juventus refused to fade. The visitors pulled level and then moved ahead 56-55 before Žalgiris stabilized the game and rebuilt a double-digit advantage midway through the fourth quarter.

The teams met in last season’s Lithuanian Basketball League final. This was Žalgiris’ second preseason game and Juventus’ third. Žalgiris had previously beaten Riga Zelli 97-85, while Juventus had defeated Baku Sabah 89-84 and Jonava Hipocredit 93-69. Žalgiris will play Sabah next on Sunday. Several players returning from national-team duty, including Ąžuolas Tubelis, Marek Blaževičius and Maodo Lo, are due to join the team on Friday.