Rytas Vilnius broke the six-year Citadele King Mindaugas Cup (Citadele KMT) final curse in impressive style.
Giedrius Žibėnas’ men crushed Lietkabelis Panevėžys 106-89 (29:20, 27:17, 26:22, 24:30) and will play in the tournament final for the first time since 2020.
In the G. Žibėnas era, this is the first Citadele KMT final for the Vilnius team. Previously, the capital’s club faltered three times in the semifinals and twice in the quarterfinals.
On Sunday, Rytas will face Žalgiris Kaunas for the trophy. Meanwhile, Lietkabelis faces a battle for bronze against Neptūnas Klaipėda. The Panevėžys basketballers have only failed to win a medal once—in the very first edition of the tournament in 2016.
Ignas Sargiūnas had an amazing match, recording 29 points (3/5 2PT, 7/9 3PT, 2/2 FT), 6 rebounds, and a performance index rating of 31.
The American guard duo also looked solid—Jerrick Harding (17 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 22 PIR) and Jordan Walker (22 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast, 23 PIR).
G. Žibėnas played without Jacob Wiley and Simonas Lukošius.
Jamel Morris (16 pts) was the top scorer for the losing side. However, the most efficient player was not him, but Justas Furmanavičius (13 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 20 PIR).
The suspense in the semifinal did not last long. Already in the first quarter, I. Sargiūnas was rampaging on the court; his teammates were also sinking long-range shots, and the Vilnius side felt comfortable after ten minutes—29:20.
In the second quarter, Rytas’ lead was already in double digits, but the Panevėžys side was still holding on. However, in the final twenty seconds, I. Sargiūnas provided two highlights—long-range shots that fired up the capital’s fans just before the break—56:37.
The picture on the court didn’t change much in the third quarter. Rytas, coming out with more energy, was already enjoying themselves (66:38). Although Lietkabelis found the strength to reduce the deficit (57:75), the Vilnius team carried a more-than-solid lead into the final stretch—82:59.
As time ticked away mercilessly, it didn’t look like Lietkabelis could pull off a miracle. After handling the formalities, Rytas ultimately advanced confidently into the tournament final.
Rytas: Ignas Sargiūnas 29, Jordan Walker 22, Jerrick Harding 17, Gytis Masiulis 13, Artūras Gudaitis and Kay Bruhnke 7 each.
Lietkabelis: Jamel Morris 16, Justas Furmanavičius, Kristian Kullamae, Danielius Lavrinovičius, and Gabrielius Maldūnas 13 each, Paulius Danusevičius 11.