The Army Men have something to be proud about in the main continental club competition: the team has won last 15 games against the Greens. But this list almost doesn’t have the games that went easily. Especially on the floor in Kaunas.
“Zalgiris is a tough team, especially at home,” CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis said. “They recently beat Olympiacos in Kaunas, they dominated and won by 20, showing physical and aggressive game with a lot of contact. Definitely, the point of emphasis for us is Zalgiris’ inside game. They have good bigs like Vougioukas, Jankunas, Ulanovas, Vene, who play down on the block. Also the opponents are pushed by energetic guards like Lekavicius, Hanlon, Seibutis, Pocius. Their gym is really hot, the fans are enthusiastic, so we have to stay calm, to avoid turnovers and bad shot selection. I hope both teams will play spectacular game of basketball.”
The Red-Blues traditionally went to the game after the afternoon practice in USH CSKA by OrenAir charter flight. The away roster misses Pavel Korobkov who continues his rehab after knee surgery as well as Anton Astapkovic and Mikhail Kulagin.
Important numbers
CSKA is the Euroleague’s top-scoring team with an average of 90.0 points per game.
Nando De Colo leads the Euroleague in performance index rating this season with an average of 23.1 per game and in scoring with 19.1 points per game.
De Colo has made multiple three-pointers in each of his last four games and is shooting 9 for 17 from downtown (52.9%) over that stretch. De Colo has made at least 1 three-pointer in 18 of his last 19 Euroleague games.
De Colo has scored in double figures in each of his last 18 Euroleague appearances.
De Colo is the Euroleague’s career leader in free throw accuracy. He’s shooting 92.9 %, having made 223 free throws out of 240 attempts over 60 games for Valencia Basket and CSKA.
Milos Teodosic has made multiple three-pointers in each of his last five games.
Teodosic has made at least 1 three-pointer in 38 of his last 39 Euroleague games.
Teodosic has dished at least 5 assists in each of his last eight Euroleague appearances.
Andrey Vorontsevich has made at least 1 three-pointer in seven straight and 15 of his last 16 Euroleague appearances.
Nikita Kurbanov has made 14 consecutive free throws in Euroleague games.
Victor Khryapa is 2 blocks away from joining the competition’s all-time top 5 in blocked shots. He enters this week’s game with 142 career rejections, Injured Zalgiris big man Robertas Javtokas (144 blocks) sits in fifth place.
Khryapa is 4 assists away from cracking the competition’s career top 20. He enters this game with 474 career assists; Gianluca Basile (478) sits in 20th place.
Past matchups
Wins/losses (since 1999): 18-4
1999-00 – Euroleague. Qualifying Round. Zalgiris – CSKA: 84-76 (-8)
1999-00 – Euroleague. Qualifying Round. CSKA – Zalgiris: 76-64 (+12)
1999-00 – NEBL. Regular Season. Zalgiris – CSKA: 57-60 (+3)
2000-01 – NEBL. Regular Season. CSKA – Zalgiris: 84-71 (+13)
2003-04 – Euroleague. Regular Season. CSKA – Zalgiris: 90-81 (+9)
2003-04 – Euroleague. Regular Season. Zalgiris – CSKA: 75-78 (+3)
2006-07 – Euroleague. Regular Season. Zalgiris – CSKA: 59-78 (+19)
2006-07 – Euroleague. Regular Season. CSKA – Zalgiris: 88-72 (+16)
2007-08 – Euroleague. Regular Season. CSKA – Zalgiris: 78-70 (+8)
2007-08 – Euroleague. Regular Season. Zalgiris – CSKA: 60-88 (+28)
2009-10 – VTB United League. Regular Season. CSKA – Zalgiris: 90-74 (+16)
2009-10 – VTB United League. Regular Season Zalgiris – CSKA: 67-63 (-4)
2009-10 – Euroleague. Top 16. Zalgiris – CSKA: 68-83 (+15)
2009-10 – Euroleague. Top 16. CSKA – Zalgiris: 84-71 (+13)
2011-12 – Euroleague. Regular Season. Zalgiris – CSKA: 74-87 (+13)
2011-12 – Euroleague. Regular Season. CSKA – Zalgiris: 95-82 (+13)
2012-13 – VTB United League. Regular Season. Zalgiris – CSKA: 76-66 (-10)
2012-13 – Euroleague. Top 16. Zalgiris – CSKA: 73-87 (+13)
2012-13 – VTB United League. Regular Season. CSKA – Zalgiris: 68-74 (-6)
2012-13 – Euroleague. Top 16. CSKA – Zalgiris: 70-61 (+9)
2013-14 – Euroleague. Top 16. CSKA – Zalgiris: 77-62 (+15)
2013-14 – Euroleague. Top 16. Zalgiris – CSKA: 86-88 (+2)
Short dossier
Zalgiris Kaunas, Lithuania
Founded: 1944
Colors: green, white
Home court: Zalgirio Arena (15.000 çðèòåëåé)
Director: Paulius Motejunas
Head coach: Sarunas Jasikevicius
Website: www.zalgiris.lt
Trophy case: Euroleague champion (1999), 28-time Lithuanian champion (1946, 1950, 1952-55, 1958, 1991-99, 2001, 2003-05, 2007-08, 2011-15), 4-time Baltic League champion (2005, 2008, 2011, 2012), NEBL champion (1999), 5-time Lithuanian Federation Cup winner (2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2015), Intercontinental Cup winner (1986), 4-time USSR champion (1951, 1985, 1986, 1987), USSR Cup winner (1953)
