Zalgiris Kaunas reached the final of the ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT qualifier in Kaunas for the third straight time by knocking off INSEP Paris 60-76 to take first place in Group A. Martynas Echodas collected 20 points and 15 rebounds while Martynas Varnas poured in 17 points as Zalgiris improved to 3-0 and have never lost an ANGT qualifying game at Zalgirio Arena in two previous tournaments in 2012 and 2014. Laurynas Birutis added 11 points and three blocks while Laurynas Beliauskas chipped in 14 points and four assists for Zalgiris, which won the ANGT title in 2003 and 2007. The 2010 champion INSEP got 16 points from Timothe Vergiat and 14 points, six rebounds and four blocks from Jonathan Jeanne but it was not enough in dropping to 2-1 for second place. Stephane Gombauld was held to just five points on six shots.

Bathiste Tchouaffe’s jumper to open the game was matched by Beliauskas’s jumper and then Echodas’s hook was matched by Jeanne’s lefty score to make it 4-4. INSEP struggled offensively after that with Echodas flying down the lane for a dunk and then dunking on the break after two Varnas free throws for a 4-10 lead. Jeanne’s dunk snapped the nearly four-minute scoreless stretch but Zalgiris continued to push ahead with a Birutis three-point play and another Echodas score in going ahead 7-16. Jules Rambaut was able to knock down a jumper but Varnas scored again to give the home side a 9-18 lead after 10 minutes while INSEP made just 4-of-16 shots from the field. Varnas opened the scoring in the second quarter and Gytis Masiulis made it 11-22. INSEP finally scored with some regularity with Tchouaffe hitting a layup and a three-point play and Gregory Bengaber grabbing a steal and breakaway dunk to trim the margin to 18-24 – and a Zalgiris time out. Echodas came out of the talk with a putback dunk to start an 0-8 run for an 18-30 lead. Vergiat stopped the run with a three-ball but Birutis made two free throws and Beliauskas knocked down a triple as the lead grew to 21-35. Echodas again hit a putback – this time after his own shot was blocked – and while he missed the bonus free throw, Mykolas Dieninis put back the offensive rebound for a 23-39 advantage. Vergiat was able to get three points back with a long ball but Varnas nailed a trey of his own just before the half-time buzzer for a 26-42 Zalgiris lead.

Rambaut hit a jumper to start the second half and Poirier and Arthur Lebouef scored to trim the deficit to 32-44. But INSEP could not come up with enough stops on defense, committing a lot of fouls as Dieninis, Beliauskas and Masiulis all made two free throws to increase the Zalgiris advantage to 36-52. The French side finally slowed the hosts as Jeanne threw down two dunks and Gombauld scored on the break to pull within 42-52, causing a Zalgiris time out. Dieninis rose above the INSEP defense for a big dunk but Jeanne came back at other end for a tip-dunk to make it 44-54. Vergiat followed with a three-pointer to bring INSEP to within 47-54 with a minute left in the third quarter – the first time the game was in single digits since midway through the second period. Echodas and Varnas both made two free throws as Zalgiris led 48-58 after 30 minutes. Birutis struck first in the fourth quarter but Vergiat nailed a three-ball to trim the deficit to 52-60. Jeanne had it down to 54-62 but Varnas hit a free throw and then Dieninis stole the ball and hit a layup with Olivier Cortale being hit with an unsportsmanlike foul. Dieninis missed the bonus free throw but Echodas came up with a putback dunk to push the cushion back out to 54-67 with six minutes left. Tchouaffe trimmed the gap to 11 points but Beliauskas knocked down a three-ball and two free throws to make it 56-72 with three minutes to play. INSEP would not get closer than 14 points the rest of the way.