Zalgiris makes it to Cup final after downing Vytautas 18

Arch-rivals Zalgiris Kaunas and Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius will face off in the Lithuanian Cup finals in the Siemens Arena in Vilnius after registering big semifinal wins on Saturday. Zalgiris trailed at halftime before pulling away in the second half to down Vytautas Prienai 90-67.

Led by Laimonas Kisielius and Paulius Ivanauskas, Vytautas took the lead in the first half, led by as many as 7 points (27-34), and held a slim 39-40 margin at the break.

Teams traded blows in the third quarter, before Zalgiris ended the quarter with a 12-3 run, then behind Martynas Pocius, Renaldas Seibutis and Edgaras Ulanovas pulled away to 75-60 in the fourth. Another 10-1 run opened 85-61 lead as Pocius finished with 17 points and 6 rebounds, and Ulanovas scored 14 in Zalgiris victory. Kisielius had 26 points, and Ivanauskas hit 5 of 6 triples for 19 points in defeat.

In the second semi, Lietuvos Rytas led from start to finish in thrashing of Neptunas Klaipeda 97-79. Rytas opened the game with an 8-1 lead, and the margin grew by the end of first 10 minutes to 38-21. Neptunas never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way. Rytas held 60-41 at halftime, and after Neptunas closed within 60-48 in the third quarter, Rytas answered with 6 consecutive points in going on a 21-5 spurt, breaking the game wide open and going into the fourth quarter with insurmountable 86-56 margin. Six different players scored in double figures, led by 15 points from Marius Runkauskas and 14 from Arturas Gudaitis.