“It wasn’t the best of games this season. We have very important games ahead of us, but some of the guys are injured. We aren’t a team who can play very well without three key players. I tried to get everyone involved tonight as we have a big game against Utena on Friday,” said Roberts Stelmahers, the Latvian coach of Perlas.
Brad Newley was the star of the night for Lietuvos Rytas with 18 points, while the triplet of Kenan Bajramovic, Jonas Valanciunas and Steponas Babrauskas all finished the night with 10 points each for the victors.
“Perlas is a young team and they always bring a lot of energy to the game. We had to adjust to that. I’m happy that we succeeded to do so, despite rushing at times. We’re going to play five games in the next twelve days so it’s important for the players to get some rest,” Lietuvos Rytas’ coach Aleksandr Trifunovic spoke after the game.
Arvydas Siksnius showed that increased playing time can boost his game, as the on-loan swingman scored 17 points for Perlas. The energetic guard Laurynas Samenas and a the big man Giedrius Staniulis both collected 12 points as Vilmantas Dilys added 8 points.
