Rytas starts campaign with win over Fenerbahce

Two-time continental champion U18 Rytas Vilinius tipped off its Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Kaunas campaign with a convincing 85-102 victory over U18 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. Azoulas Tubelis poured in 31 points to go with 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 6 fouls drawn for a performance index rating of 46 to lead Rytas to the Group B win. Andreas Kalogiros had 20 points and 9 rebounds and Augustas Marciulionis added 17 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists for Rytas, which won the ANGT titles in 2012 and 2018. In the 2012 ANGT Championship Game in Istanbul, Rytas defeated Fenerbahce. This year’s edition of the Turkish powerhouse was led by David Mutaf with 19 points with Berkay Yilmaz scoring 16 points and Yigit Onan adding 15 points in the loss.

The game was even 8-8 when Tubelis scored seven straight points in a 5-11 run for a 13-19 lead. Jokubas Rubinas nailed a three-pointer and Rytas was up 20-24. Fenerbahce finished the first quarter with a 7-3 spurt to lead 27-26 after 10 minutes. Tubelis picked up eight points as Rytas started the second half on a 0-12 surge for a 27-38 lead. Mutaf hit a three-pointer to finally get Fenerbahce on the board with 5 minutes left in the second quarter. Yilmaz added a three-point play and Onan nailed a long ball as the deficit was down to 38-45. But Ryas led 42-51 at the break. Kalogiros’s three-point play early in the third quarter increased the lead to 14 points - 42-56. Mutaf drained back-to-back triples and the deficit was down to 50-58. After Rubinas and Edgaras Preibys countered with treys at the other end, Fenerbahce pulled within 62-70. Rytas regained control of the game with a 2-11 run with three-balls from both Rubinas and Marciulionis to lead 64-83 after 30 minutes. Yilmaz scored seven points in trying to get Fenerbahce back into the game, trailing 76-87. But Rytas reeled off a 5-13 spurt to lead 81-100.