Juniors dismantle VEF by 55 points 0

U18 Zalgiris Kaunas moved one step within the Euroleague Basketball adidas Next Generation Tournament Kaunas final by defeating U18 VEF Riga 52-107 to improve to 2-0 in Group A.

Arnas Adomavicius collected 18 points to lead Zalgiris, which extended its ANGT Kaunas winning streak to 22 games dating back to 2012. Rokas Jokubaitis added 16 points and 7 assists for Zalgiris, which will face off against U18 Stellazzurra Rome on Saturday for first place in Group A and a spot in the final. Erikas Venskus picked up 12 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks in the win.

VEF dropped to 0-2 despite Rainers Hermanovskis picking up 16 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.

Zalgiris wasted no time in jumping on VEF as Jokubaitis and Giedruis Bergaudas both knocked down three-pointers for a 2-12 lead. Jokubaitis, Modestas Kancleris and Laurynas Vaistaras all hit from long range in a 0-14 surge for a 6-29 advantage, which was 9-29 after 10 minutes.

VEF came up with a 12-4 run to start the second quarter, trimming the deficit to 21-33. But Zalgiris ran away thanks to the long ball as Adomavicius nailed four straight three-pointers and Jokubaitis was also on target from long range to open a 31-54 gap.

And the home side was up 35-54 at intermission. VEF opened the second half with a 6-2 run to cut the gap to 41-56. But Zalgiris responded with a 0-9 run over nearly 3 minutes to push the advantage to 41-65. And the home side was ahead 49-76 after 30 minutes. Zalgiris put away VEF for good with a 0-10 run to go ahead 51-90.