ITA - Lavrinovic carries Siena to cup triumph

FORLI (LEGA A) - Lithuania's Ksystof Lavrinovic poured 25 points in the second half of the Italian Supercup at the weekend to help Montepaschi Siena take a 73-70 win over Bennet Cantù for their first trophy of the season.

The 32-year-old Lavrinovic is hoping to erase the memory of a disappointing fifth-place finish by the host nation at last month's EuroBasket with a strong season for the Italian powerhouse.

Siena clawed back a 10-point deficit early in the second quarter but still trailed by eight in the final frame.

After being held scoreless in the first half, Lavrinovic took matters in his own hands and scored 14 straight points.

Siena's comeback was completed by his fellow countryman Rimantas Kaukenas who drilled a late three-pointer.

With three seconds to go, Cantù's David Lighty missed a free-throw that could have sent the game to overtime.

With newcomer DJ Summers struggling (while Australia's David Andersen didn't play), Montepaschi won thanks to its established players, as Kaukenas and Lavrinovic worked to great effect with Bo McCalebb, the guard who led F.Y.R. of Macedonia to an upset of Lithuania at the Quarter-Final stage of EuroBasket.

“Our elimination was considered as catastrophic in Lithuania,” said Lavrinovic, whose team failed to stop McCalebb.

“At EuroBasket, I found out the difference of playing with Bo rather than against him. It's much better to play beside him."

For Siena, claiming the Italian Supercup meant made it 11 consecutive Italian trophies.

Simone Pianigiani's team has won all Italian competitions dating back to February 2008: four Italian championships, four Italian Supercups and three Italian Cups.

Lavrinovic, who has featured in all 11 of those triumphs, is keen to keep the winning streak going as he extended his deal with Siena until 2014.

“I feel like I can play 10 more years,” he said after receiving the Supercup MVP trophy.

FIBA