SAN CRISTOBAL DE LA LAGUNA (Spain) - Lenovo Tenerife defeated Rytas Vilnius 89-74 and have now won all three matchups against them in the Basketball Champions League, while also winning their last 12 BCL games dating back to last season.

In all three of Tenerife's wins over Rytas, the winning margin has been at least 10 points and they've scored at least 80 points.

Turning point: After being down by as many as 15 points, a 16-4 run by Rytas trimmed their deficit down to 4 points, but Tenerife responded with a quick 7-2 run of their own to close the second quarter up 49-41. Marcelinho Huertas and Giorgi Shermadini were the two catalysts for Tenerife, both scoring in double figures at halftime with 10 and 12 points, respectively.

Tenerife then got off to a hot start in the third quarter, going on a 15-2 run and stretching their lead to as many as 21 points to effectively put the game out of reach.

Game heroes: Sasu Salin did Sasu Salin things and was red hot with three three-pointers in the fourth quarter and finished with 18 points and 2 assists on 6-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc.

Huertas led Tenerife in scoring and finished with 19 points, 7 assists and 2 steals on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point.

Stats don't lie: Tenerife shot the ball at a more efficient clip than Rytas, going 53.6 percent from the field compared to 39.3 percent. Tenerife also knocked down seven more three-pointers and shot 50 percent (14-of-28) from behind the arc.

Bottom line: Tenerife begin the 2022-23 season 1-0 in Group H, on their quest to repeat as back-to-back champions, and the Spanish club will travel to face Peristeri bwin (1-0) on Tuesday October 18. Their 12-game winning streak is the second-longest streak in BCL history, behind Monaco who had 14.

Rytas begin the season 0-1 in the group and were led in defeat by Marcus Foster who finished with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. The Lithuanian club will travel to face Bnei Ofek Dist Herzliya (0-1) on Tuesday October 18.

They said:

"We knew coming in that it was going to be tough playing the defending champions. I think we let them get comfortable too early and a good team like that, you can't let them get comfortable. I think they were tougher than us tonight and that's why they won." - Marcus Foster, Rytas Vilnius

"We gave the home team confidence to start the game so easy. It's unacceptable at this level and we know that. I think overall, we didn't take away anything from them. The best shooters, they were shooting, the best drivers, they were driving. The way we showed up today is not enough to win these kinds of big games." - Giedrius Zibenas, head coach Rytas Vilnius

"The team made very good first minutes with good defense, playing well on offense. We found the first clear advantages. ... Then the key of the game finally was the beginning of the third quarter. ... With Sasu Salin great from the three-point line, we controlled the end result and finally, we are very happy because 15 points is a very good difference and the most important thing, we have the first win in this short competition." - Txus Vidoretta, head coach Lenovo Tenerife