On Sunday evening, the BC Wolves (8/1) of Vilnius became the first team to win against the defending Lithuanian champions in Betsafe-LKL's 31st season.
The Kęstutis Kemzura-coached team defeated Žalgiris Kaunas (8/1) to the score of 75:64 (17:14, 13:19, 22:12, 23:19) on their home court, and are currently spotless while playing in Vilnius since their move to the nation's capital.
The hosts started strong by employing a tough defensive effort right off the jump ball as it took almost six (6) minutes for Žalgiris to register points in the game. After the first quarter, the Wolves were ahead 17:14. However, towards the end of the second quarter, Žalgiris managed to catch up and took a slim advantage heading into the second half - 33:30.
After halftime, the guests kept their pace to keep the score at 40:32, but the Vilnius team ramped up their play in the third quarter 20:5 and finally regained the upper hand - 52:45. Unfortunately, the Wolves lost one of their star players to injury in the third quarter - Rasheed Sulaimon appeared to hurt his leg after slipping on the floor and did not return to the game.
Midway through the fourth quarter, the Wolves extended their lead to double digits (69:59). Zalgiris tried to chip away at the deficit (69:64), but Kristupas Žemaitis and Vaidas Kariniauskas each nailed a three-pointer to ensure the victory for the Vilnius-based club.
In this game, Kaunas played without Tomas Dimša, who suffered a minor groin injury, while Jeffery Taylor was still not able to suit up for the Wolves.
8,522 fans showed up to watch the game at the Avia Solutions Group Arena.
As of this writing, the league's Big Three have lorded over the tournament's standings with identical slates - aside from the BC Wolves and Žalgiris, BC Rytas of Vilnius also has eight wins with one loss.
BC Wolves: Rasheed Sulaimon and Vaidas Kariniauskas (6 rebounds) 15 each, Tre'shawn Thurman 14, Adas Juškevičius 9, Eigirdas Žukauskas 8, Kristupas Žemaitis (9 rebounds) and Djordje Gagič 5 each, Regimantas Miniotas 4. Christian Mekowulu, Arnas Beručka, and Vitalijs Kozys all went scoreless.
Zalgiris: Nazareth Mitrou-Long 15, Laurynas Birutis 11, Brady Manek 9.