Zalgiris Kaunas secured their second victory in the Lithuanian Basketball League finals. Coached by Tomas Masiulis, Zalgiris defeated Juventus Utena 100-69 (24-13, 29-17, 23-17, 24-22) on the road. Game 3 of the best-of-five series will be played on Friday at Zalgirio Arena.
Sylvain Francisco opened the scoring, and soon Azuolas Tubelis and Moses Wright took control, each recording two blocks and two powerful dunks to give Zalgiris an early 11-4 lead. Nigel Williams‑Goss, Francisco, and Arnas Butkevicius added points from inside, while Francisco also hit a three-pointer, 17-6. Edgaras Ulanovas converted free throws, and Wright finished the quarter with a nice basket to make it 24-13.
Wright added another basket early in the second quarter, Ulanovas knocked down a three-pointer, and Williams‑Goss attacked the rim, 31-18. Tubelis scored twice off Francisco’s assists, while Francisco added free throws and Williams‑Goss contributed four more points to extend the lead, 41-25. Wright threw down a dunk, Tubelis and Dustin Sleva added points, and Tubelis closed the half strongly with his 14th point, giving Zalgiris a commanding 53-30 lead.
At the start of the third quarter, Tubelis continued his dominance with two more dunks, while Williams‑Goss and Butkevicius added points to push the lead further, 62-38. Tubelis, Wright, and Ulanovas contributed from the free-throw line, while Sleva, Dovydas Giedraitis, and Ulanovas scored to maintain full control at 76-47.
In the fourth quarter, Laurynas Birutis, Deividas Sirvydis and Ignas Brazdeikis opened their scoring, with Sirvydis adding five more points, 89-59. Sleva added a transition basket, Sirvydis hit a three-pointer, Birutis dunked, and Ulanovas scored Zalgiris’ 100th point. Although Juventus scored late, Zalgiris closed out a dominant 100-69 victory to take a strong lead in the finals series.
Tubelis led with 20 points. Wright had 15 points, while Ulanovas finished with 13 points and 9 rebounds.
