Lietuvos Rytas received an unpleasant surprise
in Czech Republic, as the Lithuanian side came up short against CEZ, losing 73-80 (19-23, 13-13, 23-22, 18-22) in Nymburk on Sunday.
The loss puts Lietuvos Rytas in a mid-table
scramble in Group B, as the team from Vilnius has a 5-5 record in the VTB
League, while CEZ quietly snuck past the Lithuanians, improving to 6-5 with a
home win.
Tyrese
Rice led the visitors in scoring with 19 points, Renaldas Seibutis had 13 while
Predrag Samardziski and Lawrence Roberts, who also had 10 boards, added 10
points each.
The Lithuanian prospect Jonas Valanciunas
finished the game with nine points and 10 rebounds, but had to leave the court
after spraining his ankle in the fourth quarter.
CEZ relied on Pavel Pumprla and Petr Benda for
most of the team’s scoring, as the two Czechs finished with 18 and 16 points
respectively, while Tre Simmons and Adrian Abrams contributed to the victory
with 12 points each.
