Zalgiris was able to defeat Lietkabelis in Game 1 of the Lithuanian league semifinals, winning at home 85-75 to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
The side of Tomas Masiulis came into this game motivated to continue their winning streak in the playoffs against a team that has given them trouble in the past, the side of Lietkabelis led by Nenad Canak. In this best-of-five series, the home side alternates each game, leaving game two to take place in Panevezys.
Early on Azuolas Tubelis and Moses Wright played strong on the inside with Sylvain Francisco and Maodo Lo adding threes of their own, while Jamel Morris and Kristian Kullamae took initiative early on to keep the visitors in the game as the hosts had a 21-20 lead at the end of the first quarter.
A mini-run by Francisco of six points allowed Zalgiris to pull away slightly but Nikola Radicevicius started responding with his own barrage from long distance as it was 42-40 for Zalgiris at the half thanks to a Tubelis basket at the end of the first half.
Last attack tactic – just give it to Azuolas Tubelis. 🤯
— BC Zalgiris Kaunas (@bczalgiris) May 26, 2026
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A Kullamae three early in the third put Lietkabelis ahead 50-47, but Zalgiris responded with an impressive 11-0 run to go back up 58-50 thanks to the sharpshooting of Dustin Sleva. The bench of Lietkabelis showed up as Gabrielius Maldunas cut the deficit to 63-58 entering the final period.
Finally, Laurynas Birutis and Francisco stepped up on offense early in the fourth quarter as Morris and Lietkabelis had their least efficient period of the game scoring only 17 points in the quarter thanks to the stifling defense of the hosts who ultimately cruised to victory as Lietkabelis could never really come back into the flow of things.
Sylvain Francisco channeling his inner Kyrie. 😮💨
— BC Zalgiris Kaunas (@bczalgiris) May 26, 2026
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Sylvain Francisco played the most productive and efficient game for Zalgiris, scoring 20 points with six assists while Moses Wright added 15 more with eight rebounds. Jamel Morris led his team in scoring 15 points but shot a poor 5-14 from the field while Kristian Kullamae added 14, also struggling from the field going 6-16. Paulius Danusevicius recorded a double-double for Lietkabelis, scoring 13 points, grabbing 12 rebounds. Game 2 of the series is scheduled for Thursday night.
