Juventus reached the semifinals in their first season in the top-flight
Juventus won the best-of-three series 2-0 and will meet Lietuvos Rytas in the next round of the playoffs.
The hosts were exceptional from downtown in the first half, hitting 8-of-13 from beyond the arch, but Juventus had a clear advantage in two-point shot percentage as they missed only 2 shots from 18 from inside the three-point line in the first two periods.
Neptunas had a couple attempts to run away with the game, but as soon as their lead got near to double-digits Juventus came back with authority and worked their way into the game.
With 15 seconds on the clock veteran forward Virginijus Praskevicius missed two free-throws and didn't manage to increase the visitor lead. Even though Neptunas had chance to tie or win the game, Modestas Kumpys', who had an 11 point game, drive towards the hoop resulted in a turnover.
"We started to prepare for the season with less than three weeks remaining until the first game. If someone would have said that we would end up fifth at the end of the season as the campaign started, it would have been really unbelievable. We always want to win at home, but looking back on where we finished and what teams we left behind us, I would rate this season 10 out of 10," said Neptunas coach Paulius Juodis, who led the team to heights that nobody expected them to reach.
Julius Zurna drained 15 points for the home team, Robertas Bitinas added 11 while Simas Galdikas and Tomas Vilkius both netted 9 points.
Juventus' Zydrunas Urbonas had a game-high 12 points, Arunas Vasiliauskas scored 9 whilst Virginijus Praskevicius and Tomas Gaidamavicius, who also had 6 assists, both shared 8 points each in the score-sheet.
