Rudupis couldn’t follow up their win last week against GasTerra Flames with a victory over Aris Thessaloniki, as the
Greek club ended up on top 71-60 (11-14, 13-13, 25-12, 22-21) on Tuesday in
Kaunas.
The Eurocup debutants from Prienai started strong and held the lead for
most of the first half, trailing only in the very beginning of the low-scoring
game.
The former Zalgiris player Dainius Salenga and Saulius Kuzminskas, the new
big man for Rudupis, led the hosts in the first two quarters, helping the
Lithuanian side establish a 27-24 lead at halftime.
Aris started the third quarter strong, going on a 10-2 run and making the
Rudupis coach Virginijus Seskus call a timeout and try to calm the young team
down.
However, a three-point advantage at the half turned into a 10-point deficit
after three quarters, which the Lithuanian team couldn’t overcome.
Adas Juskevicius and Saulius Kuzminskas led Rudupis with 11 points each,
Dainius Salenga scored 10 points and added eight boards, while Gintaras
Kadziulis ended up scoring eight.
Sam Muldrow had a game-high 16 points and four blocks for Aris, Dominic
James scored 14, while Dimitrios Tsaldaris collected 10 points for the Greeks.
