Continuing the Euroleague "One Team" program project, the first session between Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius and Lithuanian deaf children took place at the capital's "GG1" esports club.
During the event, participants were introduced to the NBA2K esports environment and tested their skills on the virtual basketball court, playing one of the world’s most popular sports video games.
At the beginning of the meeting, the children were introduced to the relationship between basketball and esports, with an emphasis on the importance of warming up in sports. Through esports, the goal was to teach the children essential basketball elements and the basics of healthy living.
The first session also featured Wolves Twinsbet club and "One Team" project ambassadors Darjuš and Kšištof Lavrinovič. They not only interacted with the children but also played a friendly game against each other, bringing joy to the event.
"This is not just an opportunity to have fun, and compete, but also to communicate with each other. It's nice to see that the kids enjoy the game. Everything feels like a real court," shared the Lavrinovič brothers after the game.
The competition on the virtual court can not only be a fun way to spend time but also an excellent training opportunity to improve basketball tactics and communication skills.
"It’s great to see the children’s real emotions. They feel like they’re on a real basketball court, enjoying their accurate shots, and having fun. You can see they understand basketball well, they control the players, pass the ball, and use screens," said the ambassadors, clearly impressed.
This was the first of four planned live sessions as part of the Euroleague "One Team" program, in cooperation with the Lithuanian Deaf Sports Union.
In upcoming sessions in February, the children participating in the project will compete in an internal tournament.
"Today's kids live in this virtual reality world. This is a great opportunity to apply the latest technologies to educate them about esports. This is the future," said the Lavrinovičiai brothers confidently.
At the end of last year, Wolves Twinsbet club also introduced its esports team, Wolves Esports, which will represent the club not only in Lithuania’s national competitions but also in various European tournaments and leagues.
(Photo by Elvis Žaldaris)
Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul picked up a massively important victory in the fight for the playoffs as it defeated Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius 79-77 at home after a nightmare start to the second half. Besiktas survived going scoreless for more than 7 minutes in the third quarter and falling behind by 11 points to win down the stretch and snap a three-game losing streak for an 8-7 record.
Jonah Mathews poured in 27 points for the hosts, Berk Ugurlu added 20 points and Kelan Martin and Dustin Sleva both chipped in 10 points. Wolves have now dropped five of the last seven games for a 7-8 record. The one good thing for the Lithuanian side is it still owns the tiebreaker over Besiktas thanks to its 93-78 home win in Round 6. Anthony Cowan scored 22 points in the loss.
Besiktas went up 5-2 to start the game but Regimantas Miniotas scored Wolves’ first 7 points and it was 5-9. Ugurlu knocked down two triples at the other end in a 14-4 run to put Besiktas up 19-13. The scoring in the final 4 minutes was almost exclusively from the free-throw line, with Wolves Twinsbet trailing 23-22 after 10 minutes.
Wolves Twinsbet held Besiktas scoreless for the first 3 minutes of the second quarter and took a 23-26 lead. Mathews responded with five straight points to put Besiktas back up 28-26, starting a stretch of four lead changes. Miniotas added two free throws and a three-point play as Wolves Twinsbet led multiple times by three points. The score was deadlocked 40-40 at the break.
Jeffery Taylor opened the second half with a score for the guests, but it was the only points for either team for nearly the first 5 minutes of the third quarter. Cowan had five points in the 0-11 run to give Wolves the lead 40-51. Besiktas finally scored at the 2:26 minute mark after 10 missed shots and 2 turnovers. Yigit Arlan’s triple finally got Besiktas on the board and Ugurlu added a three-point play to get within 50-56. And the guests were leading 52-59 after 30 minutes.
The Besiktas push continued in the final frame, with Conor Morgan hitting a triple to make it 57-61. Martin converted a three-point play and Ugurlu added another three-pointer to get the hosts within 63-66 with 5 minutes to play. An unsportsmanlike foul on Cowan resulted in two Sleva free throws and a Mathews jumper to put Besiktas back in front 67-66. Mathews just kept going with a jumper and three-point play and the home side led 73-67 with 97 seconds to go. And that was enough for the win. Sleva finished the game off for good with two free throws with 3.6 seconds to go.
The most valuable player for the visiting team was A. Cowan, who drew an impressive 11 fouls from the opponents. He tallied 22 points and 7 assists.
Wolves Twinsbet: Anthony Cowan 22, Regimantas Miniotas 14, Arnoldas Kulboka 11, Marek Blaževič 10 (10 rebounds), Tre'Shawn Thurman 7 (8 rebounds), Andrew Andrews 4, Matas Jogėla 3, Jeffery Taylor, Garrison Brooks, and Kristupas Žemaitis 2 each. Vaidas Kariniauskas and Daniel Baslyk did not play (coach's decision).
For Besiktas, Jonah Matthews scored 27, Berk Ugurlu 20, Dustin Sleva and Kelan Martin added 10 points each.
Wolves Twinsbet's next EuroCup game will be on January 22 at home against Dreamland Gran Canaria.
(Photo by Rokas Lukoševičius)
On Saturday evening, a dramatic game took place in the Lithuanian Basketball League ("Betsafe-LKL") in Jonava, where Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius (11-3) eventually secured the victory. Anthony Cowan's shot sealed the win 94-91 (24:25, 27:25, 20:27, 23:14), condemning CBet Joanva (7-8).
The capital team extended their winning streak to nine consecutive wins.
From the start, both teams played a high-tempo game. However, CBet tried to pull ahead (36:30), but Matas Jogėla and Arnoldas Kulboka reduced the deficit, and thanks to the efforts of the foreign players, the teams were separated by just one point – 42:43.
Wolves Twinsbet regained the lead (49:47), but after the first half, they only held a narrow advantage – 51:50.
After the break, Bohdan Blyzniuk scored important points for the hosts, and Erikas Venskus also contributed, putting CBet ahead 65-63. The home team pushed to take control (75-69), and at the start of the final quarter, they built a record lead of 79-71.
However, the advantage began to fade as Anthony Cowan and Marek Blaževič scored, bringing the score to 82-81, and Wolves Twinsbet regained the lead.
With just under four and a half minutes remaining, the visitors were ahead by a single point (89-88), but Dominic Brewton had other plans, converting two consecutive plays to put CBet back on top 91-89. Both teams' offenses started to stall until Cowan broke the deadlock with a crucial shot, tying the game at 91-91.
With one minute left, Blyzniuk missed the shot, and Andrew Andrews also failed to convert. Ultimately, Cowan had the final word, hitting a game-winning shot that dashed CBet's hopes, bringing the score to 94-91. With just 3.6 seconds left, Childress was unlucky with his shot, and the game ended.
Cowan's 26 points marked his highest-scoring performance of the season in the Betsafe-LKL.
The guests played without the injured Vaidas Kariniauskas.
Wolves Twinsbet: Anthony Cowan 26 (6 assists), Matas Jogėla 18 (4/4 3pt), Marek Blaževič 14, Andrew Andrews 10, Regimantas Miniotas 8, Jeffery Taylor 5, Garrison Brooks, Kristupas Žemaitis, and Arnoldas Kulboka 4 each, Tre'Shawn Thurman 1. Daniel Baslyk and Justinas Marcinkevičius did not play (coach's decision).
CBet: Erikas Venskus 20, Bohdan Blyzniuk 15 (9 rebounds), Brandon Childress 14.
(Photo by Rokas Lukoševičius/LKL)
The Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius club continues its participation in the EuroLeague's "One Team" program, collaborating with the Lithuanian Deaf Sports Committee (LKSK) to increase the interest of the deaf community in basketball, promote an active lifestyle, and enhance social inclusion and integration into society through basketball and esports.
The project involves activities with children and young people aged 10-21 with hearing impairments, both in basketball training sessions and computer classes.
In the basketball training cycle, the Lavrinovič brothers, Darjuš and Kšištof, alongside "Wolves Twinsbet" guard Kristupas Žemaitis, join the participants. They lead the sessions, teaching basketball skills through various engaging games, and share their experiences and advice, answering all questions after the training.
"It's a lot of fun. It's really nice to come, socialize, and spend time with the kids at the school. It's a new experience for me. This is my second time here, and I really enjoy the positive energy. It's great to see so many kids eager to learn, they understand everything well, perform the exercises correctly and enjoy doing it while competing with each other. There are smiles on their faces. It's been a really great hour," shared Žemaitis about the training experience.
In the third training cycle session, surprising all participants of the project, the club president Rimantas Kaukėnas joined the activities.
"This reminds us how lucky we are that we can play basketball fully, that we can enjoy this sport, that we can spend time together with our families, and not only compete but also contribute to those in need, those who perhaps haven’t been given the same opportunities as we have. We are lucky to be able to carry out such projects, to participate in such actions and initiatives because it’s hard to understand what life really is, what sport is, and how it brings us together," said one of the "Wolves Twinsbet" leaders.
When asked how he managed to complete all the tasks during the training, Kaukėnas admitted that exercising wasn’t easy.
"I got tired. It knocked me down, but it was a lot of fun. It was great to practice," smiled the club president. "Their emotions are so genuine, open, and sincere, something you can’t fake. It’s incredibly fun and very pleasant. I would recommend everyone to participate in such events and organize similar activities."
The "One Team" program is designed so that every child, regardless of their abilities or disability, feels included and important. First and foremost, through team games and collaboration exercises, the children learn to work together, trust each other, and build friendships. This helps reduce the social exclusion they might feel due to their disability.
The program is a social responsibility initiative organized by the EuroLeague since 2012. Its goal is to help communities and address social issues through basketball. The program is unique in that it brings together all EuroLeague and EuroCup clubs, which participate and create their local projects aimed at solving community problems.
Continuing the Euroleague "One Team" program project, the first session between Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius and Lithuanian deaf children took place at the capital's "GG1" esports club.
During the event, participants were introduced to the NBA2K esports environment and tested their skills on the virtual basketball court, playing one of the world’s most popular sports video games.
At the beginning of the meeting, the children were introduced to the relationship between basketball and esports, with an emphasis on the importance of warming up in sports. Through esports, the goal was to teach the children essential basketball elements and the basics of healthy living.
The first session also featured Wolves Twinsbet club and "One Team" project ambassadors Darjuš and Kšištof Lavrinovič. They not only interacted with the children but also played a friendly game against each other, bringing joy to the event.
"This is not just an opportunity to have fun, and compete, but also to communicate with each other. It's nice to see that the kids enjoy the game. Everything feels like a real court," shared the Lavrinovič brothers after the game.
The competition on the virtual court can not only be a fun way to spend time but also an excellent training opportunity to improve basketball tactics and communication skills.
"It’s great to see the children’s real emotions. They feel like they’re on a real basketball court, enjoying their accurate shots, and having fun. You can see they understand basketball well, they control the players, pass the ball, and use screens," said the ambassadors, clearly impressed.
This was the first of four planned live sessions as part of the Euroleague "One Team" program, in cooperation with the Lithuanian Deaf Sports Union.
In upcoming sessions in February, the children participating in the project will compete in an internal tournament.
"Today's kids live in this virtual reality world. This is a great opportunity to apply the latest technologies to educate them about esports. This is the future," said the Lavrinovičiai brothers confidently.
At the end of last year, Wolves Twinsbet club also introduced its esports team, Wolves Esports, which will represent the club not only in Lithuania’s national competitions but also in various European tournaments and leagues.
(Photo by Elvis Žaldaris)