Rytas, Zalgiris, Lietkabelis and CBet victorious in Betsafe-LKL playoffs openers

The 2022 Betsafe-LKL playoffs began with TOP4 regular season teams taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series. Regular season winners Rytas Vilnius struggled in the first half but managed to beat Dzukija Alytus 76-63 as the regular season MVP Ivan Buva posted 21 points plus 7 rebounds. Tanner Leissner added 15 points.

Zalgiris Kaunas survived Klaipėdos Neptūnas comeback to win 92-88 and take the upper hand in the series. Defending champions led by 18 points in the third quarter, but Neptunas bounced back and trailed only 87-89 in the final minute. However, Zalgiris barely escaped victorious. Karolis Lukošiūnas made 7 three-pointers and scored career-high 23 points.

Uniclub Casino – Juventus Utena made it very tough, but Lietkabelis Panevėžys prevailed in the overtime. Despite having a double-digit lead for some time, Lietkabelis almost let the game slip away from their grasp. In the end, Nenad Čanak squad got a close 102-101 win led by Gediminas Orelik who scored 21 points. Kaspars Berzins helped with 16.

Martynas Varnas scored a career-high 31 points, but it was not enough as CBet Jonava beat Šiauliai-7bet in a dramatic fashion 82-79. Šiauliai team had a 16 point lead in the third quarter and were still leading by 9 points at the middle of the fourth, but Jonava club entered the final minutes with a 13-2 run to get away with a dramatic victory.