Zalgiris keeps the Baltic crown in Kaunas 0
The Baltic League (BBL) trophy will remain in Kaunas for another year, as Zalgiris defended the title, which they had won last year as well. The Lithuanian club needed the last minutes of the game to break away from VEF Riga, but still came out victorious 75-67 (20-14, 20-21, 13-20, 22-12).
The beginning of the game could not have promised the intense ending, as Zalgiris reached a double-digit lead at 18-8 already in the first quarter. However, VEF showed that the upset against Lietuvos Rytas yesterday was not accidental and turned up in the intensity on defense to get back into the gold-medal game and even gain a four-point advantage at 57-53.
That was the breaking point of the game as Paulius Jankunas sparked an 18-7 spurt, which saw Zalgiris take a seven point lead. This proved enough in the end, as the Latvians failed to connect on their free-throws, which could have kept them in the game for even longer.
This was the first final that included a non-Lithuanian team, as Zalgiris and Lietuvos Rytas had met in the six previous finals and had three trophies each. Zalgiris triumph in Kaunas saw them take a one title lead in the trophy race of the two biggest Lithuanian rivals.
Tadas Klimavicius was the chosen as the MVP of the BBL Final Four scoring 15 points after a good performance in the semifinal against Ventspils as well. Paulius Jankunas had 12 points and Marcus Brown added 9 of his own for Zalgiris.
The American point guard of VEF, Trevon Hughes, led the Latvians with 16 points, Kristaps Janicenoks scored 12 while Tyler Cain ended the game in double-digits having chipped in with 10 points.
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