A great performance by Jonas Valanciunas in the last quarter helped Lietuvos Rytas to secure a place in the Eurocup quarterfinals.
Valanciunas scored 17 points, including eight in the fourth period, as Lietuvos Rytas beat Benetton 80-74 in Treviso on Tuesday night.
The 17 points tied the career-high for Valanciunas in both Euroleague and Eurocup tournaments. The fifth pick of 2011 NBA Draft also grabbed seven rebounds in a win-or-die game for Lietuvos Rytas.
Renaldas Seibutis led the winners with 20 points as his and Valanciunas duo was a mystery for Benetton on the offensive end.
Seibutis recorded all three of his assists in the last quarter, including two to Valanciunas. But it was Valanciunas who made the assist of the night.
Standing beyond the three-point line, the youngster dished an exceptional bounce pass to Seibutis who was cutting into the paint. The guard hit the lay-up with the foul and Lietuvos Rytas never trailed again after taking a lead at 72-70.
Seibutis and Valanciunas were behind 15 of 23 points scored in the last quarter, either hitting the shots themselves or making assists to teammates.
Valanciunas finished the game with 7-of-9 field goals and 3-of-3 free throws. He also had 3 turnovers in 27 minutes of action. It was the second game in a row and the third time this season for Valanciunas to finish with 17 points in Eurocup
Lietuvos Rytas will face off with Donetsk in the two quarterfinal legs on March 20 and 27. The team with a better combined score over the two games will advance to the Final Four.
