Zalgiris defeat Wolves to punch ticket through to Cup Final Four 3

Zalgiris Kaunas players confidently got past the Quarterfinals stage of the Citadele Karaliaus Mindaugas Cup (KMT), as they defeated Wolves Alytus for the second time. Kazys Maksvytis’ men took the resounding 91-72 victory in Zalgirio Arena and advanced to the KMT Final Four which will be held in Siauliai in February.

The green-and-whites headed off to a good start, as they burst ahead by 8 after the opening ten minutes, following it up by another sound quarter that pushed the margin to 15 before the break.

The green-and-whites did not stop there, as Kevarrius Hayes and Isaiah Taylor opened the second half with 4 points apiece, slowly but surely building on the lead in front of the home crowd.

With 19 points between the two sides heading into the final period, all seemed to have been said and done, but the victory was plagued by an injury to point guard Taylor, who was helped off the court by his teammates, and is set to miss three weeks of action.

Taylor ended up being the game’s top scorer, putting up 14 to his name, along with 6 assists and 3 steals. Another newcomer, Achille Polonara chipped in with 14 points, as Laurynas Birutis and Rolands Smits ended up with 13 each. Most of the damage was done by Zalgiris’ bigs, as Hayes picked up a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.