ESP/LTU - Plaza a perfect fit

KAUNAS (Euroleague) - Joan Plaza and Zalgiris Kaunas are so far proving to be a match made in heaven.

The Spaniard made his name at Real Madrid, winning coach of the year honors after leading the team to ULEB Cup and Spanish league double in the 2006-07 campaign, his first in charge.

Plaza replaced his former coach, Bozidar Maljkovic, and excelled in his first season.

After three seasons at Madrid and three more at Cajasol Sevilla, Plaza decided to leave his homeland and coach this year in a country where basketball is followed with a religious fervor.

In Lithuania, he is coaching Zalgiris Kaunas, a club that has scaled the heights of Europe before.

Zalgiris captured the FIBA EuroLeague title in 1999 when the Final Four was staged in Munich.

Four games into the new Turkish Airlines Euroleague campaign and Plaza has a team that has so far yet to lose in Group C.

On Thursday night, his team won in the raucous atmosphere of the Zalgirio Arena with more than 14,000 fans on hand.

Zalgiris beat EA7 Emporio Armani Milano, 92-87.

"What I'm most happy about is that my players are believing in our new mentality, that they are hungry and ambitious," Plaza said.

"I'm enjoying that our fans are also hungry and once again the gym was full.

"I want to thank our great fans for their help tonight."

To coach a club like Zalgiris is to work in a pressure-cooker of an atmosphere because success is a must.

He knows there is still work to be done.

"We have four wins, but that is not enough to qualify for the next round yet," Plaza said.

"So we have to stay concentrated, we need to be motivated for every game."

If the fans are behind Plaza, though, it's a good sign that everything is moving in the right direction for the coach and the club.

With continued success, who knows?

Plaza may thrust himself into contention for the coaching position with Spain.

FIBA