Gargždai 101, Nevežis-Optibet Kėdainiai 86
Gargždai beat Nevežis-Optibet Kėdainiai 101 to 86 in the King Mindaugas Cup on Wednesday evening. The visitors took control early and never let the hosts back into the contest. It was a straightforward night for the away side, who have been rolling through the competition lately.
By then, Kėdainiai had already lost five in a row — 76:80 against Žalgiris Kaunas, 76:81 to Tauragė, 62:89 against Neptūnas, 77:94 to Juventus Utena, and 65:85 with Jonava. They sat top of the table with eight games played and five wins, but the momentum had shifted. And here's the thing: form matters more than position when you're on a slide.
Gargždai arrived on the back of five straight victories. They beat Tauragė 102:82, saw off Jurbarcas 79:75, edged Rytas 105:102, beat Neptūnas 87:78, and saw out Šiauliai 90:79. To be fair, they were always the better side tonight, but their recent run gave them confidence before the whistle blew.
Our call was for the away team to win, and we had 53 per cent confidence. It came in — not by a landslide, but comfortably enough. Gargždai scored 15 more points than Kėdainiai and didn't need a miracle to seal it.
The result leaves Kėdainiai still first on the standings, though three defeats from eight games is no comfort when you're chasing consistency. Gargždai move further into contention, riding a wave of five wins in a row. The table doesn't lie, and neither did tonight's visitors.
