{"id":1134,"date":"2014-06-22T13:51:09","date_gmt":"2014-06-22T11:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/esba-basket.com\/liepaja-2014\/?p=1134"},"modified":"2014-06-22T22:55:57","modified_gmt":"2014-06-22T20:55:57","slug":"m4045-a-good-day-for-the-lithuanians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esba-basket.com\/liepaja-2014\/2014\/06\/22\/m4045-a-good-day-for-the-lithuanians\/","title":{"rendered":"M40\/45: A good day for Lithuanians"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having tipped off the action on Saturday, the M40\/45 age category resumed play on Sunday, with Lithuanian teams <\/span>Patvanka <\/b><\/span>and <\/span>Impeka <\/b><\/span>claiming their first wins, while <\/span>Project 44 <\/b><\/span>registered their second victory.<\/span><\/p>\n

After taking the tournament opener on a day earlier, Project 44 <\/b><\/span>improved to a 2-0 record with an 84-65<\/strong> victory against Basketclub <\/b><\/span>from Kaliningrad. Having led the game most of the way, the Moscow team allowed Basketclub<\/b><\/span> to get back in the game in the fourth quarter, but survived the scare and ran away again.<\/p>\n

After a sub-par game on Saturday, three-time Olympic bronze medalist Gintaras Einikis <\/b><\/span>led his team to victory with 27 points, while Sergey Ivanov<\/b><\/span> chipped in with 24 points and 10 rebounds. For Basketclub<\/span><\/b> from Kaliningrad, Eduard<\/b> Leshukov <\/b><\/span>collected 21 points, with Ilya Fichkin <\/b><\/span>scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 boards.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Kraukli <\/b><\/span>were handed already their second defeat, falling short 71-55<\/strong> against the Lithuanian side Impeka <\/b><\/span>from Mazeikiai. Only six points separated the sides midway through the game, but the Lithuanians gained control in the second half.<\/p>\n

Having won the third quarter 25-10, Impeka<\/span> <\/b>established a winning advantage and started the tournament on a positive note. Erikas Uscinas<\/b><\/span> led the winners with 19 points, while Arvydas<\/b> <\/span>Domkus<\/span> <\/b>and Arunas Kleinauskis<\/span> <\/b>scored 13 points apiece.<\/p>\n

Kraukli\u2019s<\/b><\/span> top scorer Viktors Kulackovskis<\/span> <\/b>finished the game with 20 points, while Armands Alksnis <\/b><\/span>added a double-double of 10 points and 15 rebounds despite shooting 4-of-16 from the field.<\/p>\n

In a battle of Lithuanian teams, Patvanka <\/b><\/span>had no trouble against Energetikas<\/b><\/span>, cruising to take a 100-61<\/strong>\u00a0<\/b>victory. Inspired by terrific long-range shooting in the early going, the winners-to-be ran away to a double-digit advantage already in the opening quarter and dominated the rest of the way.<\/p>\n

Darius Lukminas<\/strong><\/span> led the game in scoring with 23 points on 5-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc, while Mindaugas Lukosius<\/strong> <\/span>and Robertas Butkus<\/strong><\/span> chipped in with 15 apiece.<\/p>\n

Arunas Knieta<\/strong><\/span>, who had 15 points, was the leading scorer for Energetikas<\/strong><\/span>, while Sigitas Lenktaitis<\/strong><\/span> collected 14. Dainius Stanaitis<\/strong><\/span> added 12 points and 7 rebounds.<\/p>\n