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SEB BALTIC LEAGUE
Baltic League, Final Four, Final: April 25, 2009
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 Lietuvos Rytas won the Baltic League for the third time in four seasons by downing arch rival Zalgiris Kaunas 97-74 in the title game on Saturday in Tartu, Estonia. Chuck Eidson was the Final Four MVP after exploding for a final-game record 41 points plus 8 rebounds and 8 assists to lead L. Rytas to its second major crown of the season. The club won the Eurocup title earlier in April. Zalgiris was the hot team early and led by 10 in the opening quarter before Eidson answered with 9 points to help L. Rytas to a 26-25 lead after 10 minutes. The scoreboard showed 52-49 at halftime, but L. Rytas put the game out of reach in the third quarter, when Eidson scored 9 and dished 3 assists as his team outscored Zalgiris 22-9. Mindaugas Lukauskis added 14 points and Marijonas Petravicius scored 13 for the winners. Dainius Salenga paced Zalgiris with 26 points, Paulius Jankunas had 11 and Eurelijus Zukauskas 10. Tartu Rock won the third-place game against ASK Riga 68-77 behind 20 points and 8 rebounds from Tanoka Beard. MORE |
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| Record |
Team |
Game 1 |
| 1 |
Final, Lietuvos Rytas (1) |
97 |
| 0 |
Final, Zalgiris Kaunas (2) |
74 |
| 1 |
3rd place game, ASK Riga (4) |
68 |
| 0 |
3rd place game, TÜ/Rock (6) |
77 |
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SEB Baltic League Champion 2008-09: Lietuvos Rytas
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| Record |
Team |
Game 1 |
| 1 |
Lietuvos Rytas (1) |
85 |
| 0 |
ASK Riga (4) |
76 |
| 1 |
Zalgiris Kaunas (2) |
83 |
| 0 |
TÜ/Rock (6) |
74 |
| Playoffs, best of 3 games |
| Record |
Team |
Game 1 |
Game 2 |
Game 3 |
| 1 |
Kalev/Cramo (3) |
70 |
84 |
68 |
| 2 |
Rock (6) |
76 |
56 |
71 |
| 2 |
ASK Riga (4) |
75 |
61 |
83 |
| 1 |
Siauliai (5) |
76 |
44 |
70 |
| Final Four games |
| Semifinal |
Lietuvos Rytas vs. ASK Riga |
85-76 |
April 24 |
| Semifinal |
Zalgiris vs. TÜ/Rock |
83-74 |
April 24 |
| 3rd Place |
ASK Riga vs. TÜ/Rock |
68-77 |
April 25 |
| Final |
Lietuvos Rytas vs. Zalgiris |
97-74 |
April 25 |
| Playoffs games |
| Game 1 |
Kalev/Cramo vs. Rock |
70-76 |
March 24 |
| Game 1 |
ASK Riga vs. Siauliai |
75-76 |
March 24 |
| Game 2 |
Rock vs. Kalev/Cramo |
56-84 |
March 28 |
| Game 2 |
Siauliai vs. ASK Riga |
44-61 |
March 28 |
| Game 3 |
Kalev/Cramo vs. Rock |
68-71 |
April 1 |
| Game 3 |
ASK Riga vs. Siauliai |
83-70 |
April 1 |
LAST GAME GAME 18
March 11-14, 2009 |
| Day |
Match |
Result |
| Mar. 11 |
ASK Riga vs. Valmiera |
85-81 |
| Mar. 13 |
Rock vs. Siauliai |
71-81 |
| Mar. 14 |
Barons/LMT vs. Valmiera |
80-76 |
| Mar. 14 |
Nevezis vs. ASK Riga |
64-82 |
| Mar. 14 |
Kalev/Cramo vs. Ventspils |
96-73 |
| Mar. 14 |
Lietuvos Rytas vs. Zalgiris |
75-77 |
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NEXT GAME GAME
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| Day |
Match |
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STANDINGS |
TG |
W |
L |
P+ |
P- |
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| 1 |
Lietuvos Rytas |
18 |
14 |
4 |
1604 |
1438 |
| 2 |
Zalgiris |
18 |
13 |
5 |
1465 |
1329 |
| 3 |
Kalev/Cramo |
18 |
12 |
6 |
1420 |
1331 |
| 4 |
ASK Riga |
18 |
12 |
6 |
1429 |
1369 |
| 5 |
Siauliai |
18 |
10 |
8 |
1435 |
1463 |
| 6 |
Rock |
18 |
8 |
10 |
1398 |
1430 |
| 7 |
Barons/LMT Riga |
18 |
7 |
11 |
1368 |
1385 |
| 8 |
Ventspils |
18 |
7 |
11 |
1336 |
1448 |
| 9 |
Valmiera |
18 |
5 |
13 |
1436 |
1550 |
| 10 |
Nevezis |
18 |
2 |
16 |
1285 |
1433 |
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| The Baltic League starts more competitive than ever, as even when Zalgiris and Lietuvos Rytas are the top candidates to reach the final, teams like ASK Riga, Ventspils, Tartu Rock, Barons/LMT or Siauliai will be ready to provide the upset. Zalgiris will try to defend its title with most of its core players - Marcus Brown, Jonas Maciulis, Paulius Jankunas or Dainius Salenga back for another season. Loren Woods, Ratko Varda and Willie Deane add depth to a strong roster. L. Rytas kept Chuck Eidson, Matt Nielsen, Mindaugas Lukauskis or Marijonas Petravicius, as well as bringing in Milko Bjelica, Donatas Zavackas or Branko Milisavljevic. ASK, that was third last season, signed Corey Brewer to join an interesting backcourt that also features Gatis Jahovics and Sandis Valters. Ventspils has as many as eight newcomers, including playmaker Tyrone Blazerton, while Latvian League champion Barons/LMT kept the players that led the team to its biggest success, including Demetrius Alexander, Armands Skele, Giedrius Gustas or Kaspars Berzins. Tartu Rock landed legendary center Tanoka Beard while Siauliai stays loyal to its philosophy with a core of Lithuanian players like Andrius Slezas, Saulius Kuzminskas or Virgilijus Praskevicius. The Elite Division features 10 teams that will compete in a round-robin regular season. The top 2 teams will reach the Final Four while those teams finishing third to sixth will battle for the remaining spots. |
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| Euroleague / EuroCup teams |
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