Zalgiris Kaunas with a strong Francisco wins against the leader, Valencia and Neal Sako lead to end 2025
Tuesday evening marked a historic moment for Hapoel Tel-Aviv, playing their first EuroLeague game at the Menora Mivtachim Arena. The fans created a festive atmosphere that energized the home team early in the game. However, Zalgiris Kaunas had other plans after their home loss (85-92) against Panathinaikos Athens.
Carried by their crowd, the Israelis dominated the first quarter and led 25-18. But this difficult start for the Lithuanians was followed by two quarters where their defense literally suffocated one of the competition’s best offenses.
A suffocating defense makes the difference
Zalgiris limited Hapoel to just 15 points in the second quarter and 13 in the third, building a comfortable 10-point lead (53-63) before the final period. Coach Tomas Masiulis explained to EuroLeague TV: « I think we played pretty good defense in the second and third quarters compared to what we decided before the game. »
With Vasilije Micic injured, Hapoel relied on their leading scorer Elijah Bryant. But the 30-year-old guard, who finished with 14 points, only scored 5 points in the first three quarters. Masiulis’ game plan worked perfectly, neutralizing Bryant for 30 minutes.
Moses Wright provided the offensive spark with two consecutive dunks in the third quarter, allowing Zalgiris to extend their lead during a 2-13 run. Nigel Williams-Goss came up clutch with 10 of his 17 points scored in the final quarter.
With THAT buzzer beater, Sylvain Francisco has made at least one three in 𝟮𝟴 games out of 𝟮𝟵. 🎯🔥 pic.twitter.com/j021WpvH0w
— BC Zalgiris Kaunas (@bczalgiris) December 30, 2025
Francisco delivers again
After his weakest performance of the season against Panathinaikos, Sylvain Francisco was instrumental with 8 assists, while Azuolas Tubelis set the tone by grabbing 8 rebounds. Zalgiris dominated the boards (40 rebounds to 21), prompting coach Dimitris Itoudis to admit that the visitors had « outworked » his team in intensity.
According to Nigel Williams-Goss, his team’s consistency led to success (80-93): « Just playing for 40 minutes. There have been many times this year where we played very well for 20 minutes, 25 minutes, then let 15 minutes slip away. Our challenge was to put together those complete 40 minutes and we did it against a very good team today. I’m super proud of this win. »
Valencia, promoted and… leaders heading into 2026
With this fourth road victory of the season, Zalgiris will open the next double game week with a trip to Virtus Bologna, confident after this performance in Tel Aviv. In the standings, the Lithuanians are seventh with 11 wins and 8 losses to conclude 2025 and the first half of the season. Hapoel Tel-Aviv gives up the leader spot to another promoted team, Valencia (13 wins and 6 losses). Neal Sako (6’11 », 26 years old) & co came back from an 11-point first-quarter deficit to win 86-73 against Partizan Belgrade.
Commentaires