Rytas beats Lietkabelis to win the first Betsafe-LKL championship in 12 years

Better defense after the break sends Rytas Vilnius to their first Betsafe-LKL championship title since 2010. Becoming the sixth-time Lithuanian champion, Rytas controlled the second half and took down Lietkabelis Panevezys 79-76 to win the final series 4-1.

Guests from Panevezys outscored Rytas 44-35 in the first half, but Kenneth Smith and Ivan Buva made some crucial shots in the final minutes, while Kristupas Žemaitis and Gediminas Orelik missed their final attempts to save Lietkabelis season.

15 points scored by Margiris Normantas provided a huge championship boost for Rytas. Lukas Uleckas added 14 points, Arnas Butkevičius had 12.

Gediminas Orelik ended up with a game-high 16 points. Nikola Radičevič and Gabrielius Maldūnas scored 15 points each.