Lithuanian crown returns to Kaunas! 0

Simonas Baranauskas, LithuaniaBasketball.com

Zalgiris brought back the Lithuanian League (LKL) title back to Kaunas after a two year break, as the Greens finished off Lietuvos Rytas 95-69 (29-22, 25-10, 18-22, 23-15) in the sixth game of the finals to take the series 4-1. This was already the club’s thirteenth LKL championship – a rather nice farewell note to Kaunas Sports Hall, which has been the Mecca of Lithuanian basketball for over 70 years.

“I want to congratulate my players and staff with a job well done. I’m proud to work in such a club like Zalgiris,” said Zalgiris’ coach Ilias Zouros after the game in a press-conference.

Tadas Klimavicius led the victors with 18 points, DeJuan Collins and Paulius Jankunas both had 12 points, Arturas Milaknis scored 10 while Mantas Kalnietis and Marcus Brown finished with 9 points each for Zalgiris.

Kenan Bajramovic top-scored for Lietuvos Rytas with 13 points, Darryl Strawberry had 12, Jonas Valanciunas ended the night with 11 points in his account while Martynas Gecevicius and  Simas Jasaitis both added 9 points for the club from Vilnius.

Having taken a double-digit lead already in the first quarter, Zalgiris set the tone for the entire game very early. Aleksandar Capin’s three-pointer made it a 22-point game 54-32 as it was all one-way traffic and Lietuvos Rytas looked hopeless on the court.

In addition to taking the Lithuanian crown, Zalgiris also won the Baltic League and the Lithuanian Cup, beating Lietuvos Rytas seven times with only one loss on the way to the three trophies. A defeat in the LKL finals now means that runners-up Lietuvos Rytas will have to play in the Qualification Round of Euroleague in order to get a place in next year’s campaign.