By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Lietuvos Rytas broke the resistance of Neptunas Klaipeda in the fourth quarter and won 88-82 in a do-or-die Game 5 of Lithuanian League semifinals. Rytas won the series 3-2 and advanced to the Finals where they’ll meet arch-rival Zalgiris Kaunas.
Although Rytas had a slight advantage after the first ten minutes (27-22), the guests slowly came back and had a one-point lead (61-60) at the start of the last period. The hosts opened the fourth quarter with seven straight points without an answer from Neptunas. That gave them a six-point advantage (67-61) and enough space, as they kept the difference around that margin and closed the game the right way.
Mindaugas Girdziunas led the victors with 20 points while Rokas Giedraitis added 18 in addition to Loukas Mavrokefalidis’ 14 points. On the other side, Brandon Fields scored game-high 21 points and Renaldas Seibutis helped with 15.