Patvanka improved to a 3-0 record in the M40/45 group after winning a 76-73 thriller against the local side Kraukli, despite struggling heavily in the first half of play.
The Lithuanians trailed for the entirety of the first half, but managed to turn it around in the third quarter. Having won the period 18-9, Patvanka jumped out ahead to a 58-52 advantage.
However, Kraukli came back and had a chance to tie the game with the last shot of if the game, but Mihail Zvezdov’s attempt didn’t reach the target. Zvezdov finished the game as the top scorer, having scored 33 points.
For Patvanka, Darius Lukminas nailed 7-of-14 from downtown for a total of 27 points, while Irmunas Juskys added 12.
Meanwhile, Project-44 also kept a clean record thrashing Energetikas. Led by Sergey Ivanov, the team from Moscow routed the Lithuanians 86-44 after getting off to a 20-4 start in the opening period.
Ivanov had 26 points and 14 rebounds for Projekt-44, with Vladimir Gaikovich and Oleg Chikish adding 14 and 13 points respectively.
Two players finished the game in double figures for Energetikas, as Sigitas Lenktaitis and Dainius Stanaitis collected 16 points each, with the latter also grabbing 17 boards.
In the last group game of the day, Impeka cruised to an easy victory against Basketclub from Kaliningrad, coming out on top 88-43. Good shooting from outside allowed the Mazeikiai side to pull away in the first frame.
Having established a double-digit gap, the Lithuanians never looked back and cruised to an easy win, which now puts them at 2-1 in the standings.
Aivaras Jokubaitis finished the game with a massive double-double of 35 points and 17 rebounds, Erikas Uscinas scored 15 points, grabbed eight boards and dished out five assists, while Giedrius Petrulevicius chipped in with 13 points and 16 boards.
For Basketclub, Ilya Fichkin had a team-high 17 points and 10 rebounds, with Oleg Gorskii scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
