 Lietuvos Rytas had a good start at the 2009 Euroleague Basketball Nike International Junior Tournament by edging Hemofarm Stada 74-71 in Group A at the Velodrom on Thursday afternoon. L. Rytas now ties with La Caja de Canarias Gran Canaria atop Group A, each with a 1-0 record. Osvaldas Matulionis led the winners with 16 points. Jonas Valanciunas added 8, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks for L. Rytas. Milan Vulic led Hemofarm with 13 points. Danilo Andusic added 12 while Milos Tripkovic had 10. L. Rytas managed to win the game despite scoring just 9 points in the third quarter. It was Hemofarm, however, who struggled immediately after the break, and it went scoreless for more than 4 minutes. Marko Cirkovic stepped up for Hemofarm while Vulic allowed Hemofarm to get a 40-41 margin midway through the third quarter. Vulic, Tripkovic and Luka Igrutinovic struck from downtown to make it a double-digit game, 42-52, as Valanciunas was sitting down with 4 fouls. L. Rytas rallied early in the fourth quarter and a three-pointer by Maciulionis completed his team's comeback, 65-64. Hemofarm still managed to tie it at 68-68. Dovydas Redidak made 4-for-4 free throws for a 72-68 L. Rytas edge Andusic struck from downtown to give Hemofarm some hope at 72-71 but Linas Valatkevicius free decisive foul shots to fix the final score, as a desperation three-point attempt by Tripkovic did not go anywhere.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
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