Zalgiris Falls to Khimky in Preseason Friendly

Lithuanian powerhouse B.C. Zalgiris Kaunas (Lithuania-LKL) took to the court and played a friendly tune-up game against BC Khimky Moscow Region (Russia-VTB) this weekend. More and more teams have been participating in preseason friendly matches to get their bearings straight for the upcoming 2016-17 season. It was a chance for both clubs to test out their newly signed players for the season and for their respective coaching staffs to calibrate rotations and plays.

It was a tough game, but in the end Earl Rowland led Khimky with 16 points to pull out the win over Zalgiris 69-74. There was little sign of off-season rust on both ends of the floor for both teams and they came out with a lot of energy from the opening whistle. It did not take long for Khimky to find their stroke from beyond the three-point arc and the guests surged ahead 9-20.

Zalgiris found their footing in the second period and closed the first half down by 10 points, 13-23. The gap narrowed even further in the second half. With the scores meeting at 36-36 and again at 41-41. In the fourth period, Khimky used smart fouls to keep control of the game and preserve their advantage. The hosts had no choice, but to accept Khimky’s win.

Augusto Lima led Zalgiris with 14 points, while Arturas Milaknis added 13. Earl Rowland paced Khimky with 16 points and Nobel Boungou-Colo chipped in 13.