By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With an impressive showing on offense, Zalgiris Kaunas managed to take once again the lead in the LKL Finals series against the reigning champions of Rytas Vilnius. The team’s captain Edgaras Ulanovas was the green-and-white highest scorer with 18 points.
Without Achille Polonara, who has already ended the season and his adventure with Zalgiris Kaunas, Rolands Smits played a bigger amount of minutes, ending with 11 points and 8 rebounds. The other mid-season addition Isaiah Taylor went close to a double-double with 17 points and 9 assists. Ignas Bradzeikis added 15 points with 4/6 from beyond the arc, all in the 1st quarter.
After a pretty balanced first half (47-42), Zalgiris Kaunas ended the third quarter with a 27-16 run, up by 16 points (74-58) and from then on never lost control of the game, going up 2-1 in the series. On the losing side, the usual Marcus Foster-Elvar Fridriksson duo combined for 13 points each. Coming off the bench, the Colombian center Jaime Echenique ended the game with 12 points.
In the first two games of this LKL Finals series, after respectively beating Lietkabelis and Jonava in the Semifinals, Zalgiris Kaunas and Rytas Vilnius shared victories. The EuroLeague side took the 1-0 lead winning 108-93 at home to open the series, while the eternal enemies tied things up with the 94-71 win in the Lithuanian capital in Game 2.
LKL Finals schedule and results
Zalgiris Kaunas – Rytas Vilnius, G1: 108-93
Rytas Vilnius – Zalgiris Kaunas, G2: 94-71
Zalgiris Kaunas – Rytas Vilnius, G3: 95-80
Rytas Vilnius – Zalgiris Kaunas, G4 (08/06 at 17:30 CET)
PHOTO CREDIT: BC Zalgiris Kaunas