Zalgiris Kaunas get an important win in Vitoria

Zalgiris Kaunas remained unbeaten in Turkish Airlines Euroleague by pulling out a 71-77 win over Caja Laboral in Vitoria on Friday night. The victory gives Zalgiris a 2-0 record for the first time since 2005, and a tie with E7 Emporio Armani for the first place in Group C, while Caja Laboral remains winless. The Lithuanian champs used a 0-9 run in the third quarter to open up a 14-point lead and never trailed again, but needed some clutch shooting and a defensive stands in the final 30 seconds to secure victory. Tremmell Darden led all scorers with 17 points while Rimantas Kaukenas added 15 in the winning effort. Oliver Lafayette netted 12, Marko Popovic 11 and Darjus Lavrinovic scored 10 points for the victors. Brad Oleson led Laboral with 13 points on 4-of-7 three-point shooting. Andres Nocioni also scored 13 and Maciej Lampe chipped in 12 for Caja Laboral in defeat.