  Host Zalgiris is the champion of Kaunas International Junior Tournament and will be headed to the Nike International Junior Tournament finals during Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four weekend in Istanbul this May. Zalgiris dominated BC Khimki Moscow Region 107-60 in front of 3,000 fans in Sunday’s title game as Justas Tamulis scored 21 points. Tomas Dimsa, who was named tournament MVP after the game, added 20, while All-Tournament team member Marius Grigonas tallied 15 points and 16 assists. Lukas Lekavicius added 17 points and Rokas Gustys had 13 for the winners. Stanislav Ilnitsky, was also selected to the All-Tournament team, paced Khimki with 12 points and Serdar Annaev added 10 in defeat.
Zalgiris spread the scoring to open the first quarter, combining Dimsa free throws, a Gustys layup and a Grigonis dunk to take the early 6-0 advantage. Khimki called a timeout to regain its bearings and clawed back to 6-5 after play resumed. The tide swung back in Zalgiris's favor before long, however, as a scoring spree for the hosts took them 11 points clear after the first 10 minutes. To top things off, Grigonis hit a three on the buzzer and showed that he had a mean shot to add to his dunks, layups and put backs. Tamulis took over scoring duties in the second, popping off a two-pointer, free throw and a three in a series only interrupted by a Ilnitsky layup for Khimki. Zalgiris again picked up the pace halfway through the quarter, coupling a high-scoring run with dominance of the offensive boards. The game went into halftime 49-32 with Zalgiris firmly in control.
The disparity in the score line increased further in the second half. The third quarter had Zalgiris putting down a game-high 32 points, whilst Khimki could barely manage double figures. Zalgiris rounded off game with a Dimsa showtime dunk from Grigonis's 15th assist, followed by a Paulius Satkus free throw.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Euroleague.net
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