Photo: Wikimedia Commons
It was a moment of triumph once again in Lithuanian hoops, as BC Siauliai took home the Triobet Baltic Basketball League crown with a 102–76 win. The competition, which started back in October 2015, came down to a two-leg series between Siauliai and Estonian giants Tartu Ulikool/Rock. Teams from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Kazakhstan were among the 17 taking part.
The Lithuanian side emerged victorious for the third consecutive season in front of their home crowd. Siauliai, the top seeds of the playoffs, bounced back from a 74–81 road loss in Game 1, dominating the second leg to defend their championship.
The winning side was led by swingman Rokas Giedraitis, who scored a team-high 23 points and added 7 rebounds after a poor first leg. Giedraitis was loaned to Siauliai by BC Lietuvos rytas, who he joined last year. His performance earned him the Finals MVP award. Egyptian big man Assem Marei dominated the boards with a game-high 15 rebounds, while former Bucknell University star Cameron Ayers added 20 points.
Reinar Hallik, who made four shots from long-range, led the way for TU/Rock. Center Karolis Petrukonis recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. In total, the Estonian team had five players who scored double figures. Despite Petrukonis's strong first half showing, his team was outscored 30–44 in the paint through the four quarters.
The visitors kept it close and even jumped out for brief leads in the first couple minutes before they lost control of the game. Even by halftime, the team managed to keep Siauliai on a tight leash, with the score even at 48–48. But after the break, everything started clicking for the Lithuanian team, and vice versa for TU/Rock.
As the third quarter came to a close, Siauliai mounted their lead up to 20 points. Giedraitis was red-hot in those 10 minutes, hitting all three of his three-point attempts and shooting 5-of-6 overall. The Lithuanian star cooled off in the fourth quarter, but Ayers added two three-pointers in the final minutes to finish off TU/Rock.
The Estonian team swept through the opening rounds of the tournament, and despite stumbling in the semifinals vs. BK Valmiera of Latvia, they entered the Finals without a single loss. TU/Rock needed to keep the game within just seven points to claim the BBL crown, but Siauliai didn't let them get any further in their title pursuit. They join Zalgiris as one of two clubs to achieve a three-peat in BBL competition.
