U18 Zalgiris Kaunas ended the NextGen EuroLeague Finals on a high note, gaining its first victory and tying a club scoring record with a 115-95 demolition of U18 Crvena Zvezda.
The top performer was Dovydas Jakstonis with a double-double of 20 points and 10 boards, while Nojus Mistautas also poured in 20. Ignas Stombergas netted 15, Maksim Brnovic combined 14 points with 8 assists, and Kristupas Sabeckas scored 13.
Zvezda was led by Aleksej Nedeljkovic with 25 points, and Novak Pavlovic added 18. Luka Zivojinovic had a double-double of 13 points and 11 boards plus 5 blocks, and Jovan Bikic scored 10.
Two scores from Stombergas led Zalgiris to a fast start, enjoying a 24-17 advantage after ten minutes. The gap grew in the second quarter, with Jakstonis and Sabeckas combining for 21 points in the period for a 54-39 halftime margin.
Nedeljkovic and Pavlovic initially helped narrow the deficit early in the third, but Zalgiris pulled away again behind 10 straight points from Mistautas for a dominant 87-61 lead after three quarters. Stombergas took over the early stages of the fourth to make sure there was no comeback, and Zalgiris cruised home.
