Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius (20–16) closed out the Betsafe-LKL regular season with a solid victory over the league’s bottom-ranked team.
The team coached by Alessandro Magro defeated M Basket-Delamode Mažeikiai 109–85 (26:22, 27:24, 24:15, 32:24) at home, handing the visitors their 21st consecutive loss and bringing their season to an end.
The Wolves secured fourth place in the standings, setting up a quarterfinal matchup against fifth-seeded CBet Jonava. The best-of-three series will begin on Saturday in the capital.
The home side started the game stronger, but couldn’t immediately break away from Mažeikiai. After the opening quarter, Wolves held a narrow 26–22 lead. A similar scenario unfolded in the second quarter, as Wolves Twinsbet appeared poised to pull ahead (38–29), but Marius Kiltinavičius’ squad responded and went into halftime within striking distance at 53–46.
After the break, Wolves Twinsbet began to dominate on the court. A 16–0 run gave them a substantial lead (71–48). Still, M Basket-Delamode didn’t throw in the towel and started to slowly chip away at the deficit. Nevertheless, heading into the final ten minutes, the Wolves were firmly in control – 77–61. In the fourth quarter, the home team maintained full control and never let the win slip away.
Team captain Regimantas Miniotas recorded a solid double-double and came close to a triple-double. He finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and a game-high efficiency rating of 24.
No one could match the scoring of Matas Jogėla, who led all players with 21 points and added a 23 efficiency rating.
For M Basket-Delamode, who wrapped up a difficult season, the standout performer was Amandas Urkis. He tallied 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and a team-high efficiency rating of 17.
Both teams were short-handed in this final regular season game: Wolves Twinsbet were without Jeffery Taylor, Anthony Cowan, and Andrew Andrews, while Vytenis Čižauskas did not suit up for Mažeikiai.
Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius: Matas Jogėla 21, Arnoldas Kulboka 18, Marek Blaževič 14, Kristupas Žemaitis 12, Daniel Baslyk 11, Garrison Brooks and Regimantas Miniotas 10 each, Justinas Marcinkevičius 7, Tre’Shawn Thurman 6.
M Basket-Delamode Mažeikiai: Amandas Urkis 20, Nojus Mineikis 16, Kristupas Leščiauskas 13.
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(Photo by Saulius Čirba)