Rytas roar past Neptunas once more to clinch Finals berth

It will be Rytas challenging Betsafe LKL title-holders Zalgiris for the championship once again after the Dainius Adomaitis-coached Vilnius side dealt Neptunas a knock-out blow in the Semi-Finals.

Having acquired home-court advantage with a win on the road in Klaipeda a few days back, Rytas finished off the matchup with an 83-70 victory in Vilnius on Friday.

The hosts dominated the proceedings from right from the get-go, building a double-digit advantage already in the opening minutes of the game, as the first-quarter disqualification of Simas Galdikas did Neptunas no favors.

Derek Needham registered a game-high 16 points for Rytas, as Arnas Butkevicius and Mindaugas Girdziunas collected 14 points apiece. With 12 points and 7 rebounds, Eimantas Bendzius rounded out the home side's double-digit scorers.

Meanwhile, Osvaldas Olisevicius had 15 points for Neptunas, with Deividas Gailius and Gytis Masiulis adding 10 points each.  

Neptunas will begin the Third-Place series against Lietkabelis already on Monday, with the Finals between Zalgiris and Rytas tipping off a day later, on Tuesday.