Zalgiris Kaunas (6-1) ended the week with their third victory. In the Lithuanian Basketball League championship Zalgiris defeated Rytas Vilnius (5-2) by 79-75 (15-21, 27-17, 22-14, 15-23).
The game started with a lob from Sylvain Francisco to Laurynas Birutis, Azuolas Tubelis added 4 points, 6-5. Francisco found Birutis under the basket again and scored from a distance himself, 11-10. However, in the next 5 minutes of the first quarter, only Mantas Rubstavicius and Moses Wright scored 2 points each for Zalgiris, 15-21.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Ignas Brazdeikis, Maodo Lo, and Dustin Sleva opened their scoring accounts, but the opponents increased their lead, 21-31. Francisco returned to the court and immediately scored 4 points, Tubelis made a three-pointer, and Francisco cut the deficit to a minimum with another three-pointer, 31-32. After a Rytas timeout Deividas Sirvydis scored 8 points in a row, and Lo closed the second quarter with a three-pointer, 42-38.
The third quarter opened with a three-pointer by Francisco and his pass to Birutis for a dunk, 47-39. Sirvydis broke through under the basket, Sleva scored from mid-range, and Arnas Butkevicius made free throws for an unsportsmanlike foul, 53-42. Birutis dunked over his opponents, Wright found a cutting Brazdeikis for a layup and scored a three-pointer himself, and the quarter ended with free throws by Edgaras Ulanovas and Tubelis, 64-52.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Lo slipped under the basket (67-52), and Brazdeikis scored 8 points in a row, 75-63. Tubelis connected on a three-pointer from the corner (78-67), and although only Francisco scored a free throw in the final 3 minutes, Zalgiris celebrated another victory, 79-75.
Francisco finished the game with 15 points and 5 assists. Brazdeikis and Tubelis scored 12 points each.
