Rytas Vilnius opened their FIBA Intercontinental Cup campaign in Group A with a convincing 107:89 victory over Basketball Africa League champions RSSB Tigers at Beijing National Indoor Stadium.
Artūras Gudaitis won the opening tip, and Cassius Winston immediately drilled a three-pointer off an assist from Kay Bruhnke (3:0). The opponents responded with a triple from Teafale Lenard Jr., and Antino Jackson Jr. capitalized on a steal to put RSSB Tigers ahead (3:5). Tyler Bey added a free throw (3:6), but Gudaitis blocked a shot by Craig Randall II, allowing Gytis Radzevičius to answer with a three-pointer and a dunk (8:8). Winston and Jonathan Galloway then traded baskets (10:10), and Michael Devoe leveled the score once more (12:12), before Randall II buried another three (12:15). Late in the opening frame, Ricky Lindo Jr., Augustas Marčiulionis, and Gytis Masiulis hit free throws to put Vilnius back in front (18:15), but a basket by Nisre Zouzoua and a buzzer-beating putback by Jackson Jr. gave the Rwandan club an 18:19 edge.
Lindo Jr. regained the lead from the charity stripe to start the second quarter (20:19), but Zouzoua answered with back-to-back triples (22:27). Although Bruhnke struck from beyond the arc off a Matas Jogėla assist (25:27), the opponents went on a run: Ntore Habimana drove to the rim, Randall II converted a three off a steal, and Lenard Jr. stretched the deficit to ten (26:36). The Vilnius offense soon came alive: Ignas Urbonas sank a three-pointer off a feed from Devoe (29:36), and after Randall II countered from deep (29:39), Masiulis blocked Bey and scored on the other end (32:39). Shortly after, Bruhnke and Masiulis each drained shots from downtown (38:39), before Masiulis took the lead back with a layup and free throws (42:39). Marčiulionis then beat the buzzer following a steal to give Vilnius a 46:39 advantage heading into halftime.
Vilnius took complete control immediately after the break: Bruhnke finished inside, Radzevičius knocked down a three courtesy of Martynas Paliukėnas (49:39), Marčiulionis added a basket, and Bruhnke punctuated a fast break with a slam off a steal (53:39). Baskets from Lindo Jr. and Devoe further extended the gap (58:39), Winston made a free throw (59:41), and Gudaitis converted a great pass inside to secure the team’s first 20-point cushion (61:41). When Osborn Shema hit a three (63:44), Marčiulionis responded with five straight points (66:44), followed by a dunk (68:46) and a layup from Lindo Jr. (70:47). Randall II and Axel Mpoyo cut the deficit to 70:55, but Devoe, Marčiulionis, and Bruhnke capped the third quarter with a barrage of three-pointers to make it 79:59.
In the fourth quarter, after Habimana scored several quick points (80:65), Bruhnke countered with a three, a transition dunk, and two free throws (87:65), followed by a triple from Jogėla (90:68). The opponents responded with dunks from Bey and Galloway (90:72), but Urbonas buried a three off a Devoe pass (94:72), Gudaitis scored under the basket (96:75), and Urbonas rocked the rim on a fast break (99:79). In the closing minutes, Winston’s free throws pushed the score past the century mark (101:84), Devoe added another three (104:84), Paliukėnas hit from the line, and Winston drove inside for the team’s final basket (107:84). A late three-pointer by the opponents made little difference, as Rytas Vilnius closed out an authoritative win.