Akropolis Cup: Zalgiris beats Lokomotiv Kuban, 65-49

B.C. Zalgiris Kaunas took to the court with pride as they defeated Lokomotiv Kuban 65-49, claiming the Kaunas Akropolis Cup trophy. The friendly tournament was held to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Zalgiris and the event culminated in a poetic ending with the hosts coming out as the victors. Turkish club Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul took home third place after defeating Panathinaikos Athens 89-71.

The visiting Russian team got off to a reasonable start in the game, and were in the driver’s seat after the first period with 10-23 lead. Zalgiris turned the tables on Lokomotiv Kuban in the second quarter, as they tightened up on defense and limited their opponents to just nine points in the period. Zalgiris blew by their opponents to take a slight 33-32 advantage heading into the halftime break. Lokomotiv Kuban could not string together any solid plays and Zalgiris’ defense had stifled and limited them to just seven points in the third frame. In the end, the home team gave it their all in the fourth and final period sparking a 21-10 run to claim the win. The team’s unselfish play ended with no player scoreless on their end. Arturas Gudaitis and James Anderson scored 10 points apiece, while Robertas Javtokas added nine points of his own. Lokomotiv Kuban’s top scorer was Derrick Brown who finished with 11 points. Richard Hendrix scored eight points and grabbed 13 boards.