Jonas Valanciunas said the hostile Belgrade atmosphere was simply part of the game and something he ignored, while adding that further tests may be needed after he twice suffered bleeding from a nose injury in his EuroLeague return.

Zalgiris Kaunas starting center Jonas Valanciunas was pleased to mark his EuroLeague return with a victory after the Lithuanian champions beat Crvena Zvezda 83-77 on the road.

Player of the Game


Jonas Valančiūnas

PTS
13

FGS
6-9

REB
8

AST
2

Playing his first EuroLeague game in 15 years, Valanciunas finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, and two assists in 21.5 minutes, posting a game-high 24 PIR.

“The most important thing is the win,” Valanciunas told Lukas Malinauskas of BasketNews after Round 1. “It was difficult, we struggled. Both we and they played well. It was a good game.”

“It’s nice that in this kind of atmosphere, in such a difficult game, we managed to get the win. We move on, we can’t celebrate too much. Of course, the win feels good, but it’s only one of many.”

Valanciunas also acknowledged the hostile atmosphere in Belgrade, where Zalgiris faced plenty of whistles from the home crowd.

“I’m not saying anything, I don’t want to praise anyone, but you can hear where you’re playing,” he said. “It’s all good, it’s part of the game. There will be whistles; you don’t pay attention to things like that, and you just play.”

Valanciunas suffers nose injury

The 34-year-old also dealt with a painful nose injury during the game.

Early in the second quarter, Valanciunas took a hit from Jordan Nwora around the nose area. He began bleeding and was forced to leave the court.

His nose started bleeding again in the fourth quarter, forcing him to return to the bench for treatment.

“I’m not going to diagnose anything myself,” Valanciunas said. “Maybe they’ll do further tests, and we’ll see.”

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