Vilnius Wolves Twinsbet triumphed in the four-team capital tournament, defeating Riga Rigas Zelli 93:91 (18:29, 28:25, 26:19, 21:18) in the final to claim victory in their first-ever international competition.

The Vilnius team advanced to the finals after overcoming Latvian champion VEF Riga 80:76 in the semi-finals, completing their pre-season series. In preparation for the upcoming season, they also secured wins against Rostock Seawolves (83:56), Pärnu Sadam (110:60), and Klaipėda Neptūnas (96:89 after overtime).

Rigas Zelli started strong, sinking six three-pointers early in the game and extending their lead to 8 points (17:9) midway through the quarter. They later stretched the margin to double digits, 29:18, as the Wolves struggled with their shooting.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Rigas Zelli held a game-high 13-point lead (34:21). However, after a layup by Regimantas Miniotas, the Wolves' coach called a timeout to regroup. Midway through the quarter, the visitors reduced the deficit to single digits (34:26), but Rigas Zelli's sharpshooters responded with four consecutive three-pointers, pushing the lead to 48:35.

Just before halftime, Matas Jogėla and Anthony Cowan hit back-to-back three-pointers, closing the gap to 5 points (43:48). The teams went into halftime with Rigas Zelli leading 54:46.

In the second half, the Wolves came out more aggressive on both ends of the court. A three-pointer by Cowan tied the game, and Kristupas Žemaitis put Vilnius ahead midway through the third quarter. After a dunk by another Wolves player, the visitors extended their lead to 5 points (70:65). However, Rigas Zelli regained a narrow lead by the end of the quarter, going into the final period up 73:72.

Marekas Blaževičius contributed with key offensive rebounds, forcing Rigas Zelli's coach to call a timeout early in the fourth quarter (76:73). The Wolves maintained a slim lead, and midway through the quarter, Jogėla hit a three-pointer and added free throws to stretch the lead to 85:76.

Rigas Zelli mounted a comeback with their long-range shooting, cutting the lead to 90:85 and prompting a timeout from the Wolves. With less than two minutes remaining, the score was tied at 90:90.

Andrew Andrews then hit a crucial three-pointer, and despite Rigas Zelli reducing the deficit with a free throw and 36 seconds left, the Wolves held on. The visitors were unable to score again, and after a defensive foul, the final seconds ran out, securing Vilnius Wolves Twinsbet the win.

During the awards ceremony, Wolves Twinsbet's Andrew Andrews was named MVP of the tournament.

In the final, the Vilnius team was without Tre'Shawn Thurman, who was sidelined due to a shoulder injury.

Wolves Twinsbet scorers: Anthony Cowan (21), Andrew Andrews (18), Matas Jogėla (17), Garrison Brooks (12), Kristupas Žemaitis.

On Thursday, Vilnius Wolves Twinsbet presented their goals and budget for the upcoming season to the media.

The organisation, which is entering its third active year, expects the capital city team to qualify for both the Betsafe-LKL championship and the King Mindaugas Cup finals, while in the BKT EuroCup, the aim is to qualify for the next stage of the tournament - the playoffs.

"We have ambitious goals. We are a club that wants to grow. Last season we didn't make it to the finals, but we were close. Nothing changes - we want to be in the final. The EuroCup is getting stronger, we have very strong and competitive teams in Group A, but we are not lowering our bar and we want to make the play-offs. Sport is interesting because it is not all about budgets. In the KMT Cup, we want to reach the Final Four. We didn't make it either last season or the season before. That's why we want to qualify first and then fight it out in the finals. We have assembled an ambitious and young team. We hope that during the season we can avoid the injuries we had last year. They are hard to avoid in sport, but we want to have a better season," said Donatas Zavackas, the club's sports director.

To reach its targets, Wolves Twinsbet plans to raise a budget of €4.96 million, with an estimated expenditure of €4.88 million.

The bulk of the budget, €3.33 million, is earmarked for team-building, including the salaries of players, coaches and staff.

The administration of the team is budgeted at over €460,000. Almost €1.1 million will be spent on the organisation of the club's events, marketing and merchandising, administration and taxes.

Andrius Žiauberis, the club's director, said he was pleased that the team's budget was becoming more and more sustainable.

"The organisation is moving forward. We are still the only commercial club that can survive without a municipal contribution. I want to welcome the fact that our club budget is becoming more sustainable. We have been growing our competencies and experience, we are gaining a stronger foothold in the market, which has enabled us to attract new partnerships. We want to be a sustainable club, less dependent on investors. Last season showed that a similar amount of money to what we had last year and what we will have now is enough to achieve our goals. We were very close to the final of the national championship, which was prevented by injuries to key players at key times," said one of the Wolves Twinsbet managers.

Wolves Twinsbet will start the new season on 22 September at home against Jonava CBet, and three days later, on 25 September, the team will start the BKT EuroCup against visiting Istanbul Bahcesehir (Turkey).

(Photo by Saulius Čirba)

On Friday afternoon, the plane with Wolves Twinsbet defender Andrew Andrews landed at Vilnius Airport. The American, who played for Badalona Joventut in Spain last season, will undergo a medical check-up later this week, after which he will join his new team and will start preparing for the season.

The 188 cm player, who arrived in Lithuania a week later than the other foreign players due to family circumstances, admitted that he has little information about Lithuania.

"This is my 9th season playing professional basketball. I have had a few encounters with Lithuanian teams over the years. I know for a fact that basketball is an important part of the culture here, people love basketball. So the most I know is that this is a real basketball country," said Andrews.

After a long journey, the basketball player was happy to have finally reached the next stop in his career. The journey from Seattle to Vilnius via Amsterdam took 16 hours.

"It's not hard to arrive, it's the time difference that will be harder to adjust to as I'm from the West Coast. At the moment it is 4 am in my house. You know how it is in these cases. I'm just tired, but I'm happy to be here," said the Wolves Twinsbet rookie at the airport.

When asked what he did during his summer holidays, the player said that he was looking forward to them because he could spend time with his young daughter when he returned home to the States.

"For me, it is one of the most important things in my life," smiled the basketball player.

(Photo: Saulius Čirba)