In the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL), sponsored by Betsson, Rytas Vilnius (2-1) earned a hard-fought victory, holding off Šiauliai (3-3) 95:88 (21:27, 27:15, 28:24, 19:22) on the road.
Rytas Vilnius was without Kay Bruhnke, while Šiauliai missed Cedric Henderson and Efton Reid.
Tauras Jogėla helped the hosts jump out to an early lead (6:1), and Simas Jarumbauskas expanded the margin before Gytis Radzevičius found his scoring touch to wipe out the deficit and put Vilnius ahead at 11:10. Matas Jogėla and Artūras Gudaitis worked to cement control (15:12), but Jarumbauskas answered quickly from beyond the arc (15:15). Finishing the opening frame stronger, Šiauliai carried a 27:21 lead into the second period.
Oskaras Pleikys and Cassius Winston began chipping away at the gap, Michael Devoe added a basket inside, and Radzevičius sank a triple to edge Vilnius back in front, 31:29. Rytas Vilnius seized the tempo and grew increasingly confident, stretching the score to 36:31. Ricky Lindo and Radzevičius each connected from deep (46:37), though Šiauliai trimmed the margin to 42:48 by halftime.
Coming out of the break, Vilnius shifted into high gear: Gudaitis and Winston ignited a scoring surge, followed by contributions from Lindo and Gytis Masiulis to break the game open at 66:48. Šiauliai mounted an immediate counter-attack: Selim Fofana buried a three and added back-to-back layups, and a basket by Martynas Pacevičius prompted Nedas Pacevičius to call a timeout at 60:68. Still, the hosts were unable to reclaim the lead, trailing 66:76 heading into the final frame.
Tauras Jogėla kept the pressure on by cutting the gap to 73:76, but Vilnius steadied the ship once again. Clinical execution from the free throw line restored breathing room (84:75) as Gudaitis made repeated trips to the stripe, though a Mike Caffey three-pointer briefly threatened the Vilnius lead (81:88). Late misses from downtown by Karolis Lukošiūnas and Martynas Pacevičius sealed the outcome, allowing Rytas Vilnius to close out the victory.