VICI-Aistes shock defending champions (photos)

A last second shot by Ausra Bimbaite culminated a thriller in Kaunas, where VICI-Aistes opened their regular Euroleague season. A team from Lithuania downed Sparta&K Moscow region 81-79.

• You can find pictures from the game in our photo gallery.

Four time Euroleague champions were sent to early knockdown, when VICI-Aistes built a 17 point lead midway through second quarter – 34-17. Kaunas’ team was shooting lights out from distance, hitting first 7 of 9 three point shot attemtps.

The lead was safe in the beginning of fourth quarter (72-56), when guests started a comeback. With Epifanya Prints, who scored 22 points, beating her defenders one on one, Russians evened the score – 76-76, and after Irina Osipova’s two pointer with a foul, they got in front – 79-76.

Bimbaite then scored a three pointer with 30 seconds to play, and after an useccessful possession by Russians Kaunas’ team had 6 seconds for a last shot.

Bimbaite was fouled, but with team not in foul zone yet, VICI-Aistes had to inbound with 3 seconds left. Bimbaite drove under the basket and scored a buzzer-beater.

“I knew I had to go inside and try to shot or draw a foul. I made a shot and I am very happy about that”, Bimbaite, who scored 26 points, said after the game.

“Its tough to lose everytime, but I want to congratulate other team. It’s easy to say, what we didn’t do, but this time they simply were tougher that us”, Pokey Chatman, the coach of Sparta&K, said after the game.

Defending champions were without Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird, but it didn’t make a victory any less sweet for VICI-Aistes.

“I checked the odds before the game and saw, that we were not expected to win by no means. But we believed we could win. I said that one centimeter will make the difference, and it did”, coach Mantas Sernius said.