Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius missed a great opportunity to take a significant step toward their goal – the playoffs. With four games remaining in the BKT EuroCup group stage, Vilnius team (7-7) played one of their worst games of the season and lost to Trefl Sopot from Poland, who had not yet won a game in the tournament – 74:97 (25:29, 26:24, 8:23, 15:21).
In the Group A standings, the Vilnius team remains in the top six, holding a one-game lead over their closest pursuer, Budućnost Podgorica.
Although the guests opened the game with 6 points, the Wolves responded with a run that not only tied the game but also gave them the lead – 8:6. Despite the hosts leading by 4 points a few times, the Sopot team managed to erase that deficit. With just over a minute left in the first quarter, the Polish club took the lead again and ended the first quarter leading 29:25.
A couple of minutes into the second quarter, Alessandro Magro called for a timeout as Trefl's players faced little resistance in attack – 36:32. After the timeout, the situation on the court didn't change. To make matters worse, the guests extended their lead to 8 points (40:32). Halfway through the quarter, Žan Tabak called a timeout, as two long-range shots from the Wolves reduced the deficit to just 3 points – 44:41. Going into the second half, Sopot led 53:51.
After the halftime break, Wolves Twinsbet remained in the role of the chasing team. Moreover, midway through the quarter, the guests built a double-digit lead – 69:57. A timeout did not help the Vilnius team's performance. Later, Darious Moten finished off a fast break for Trefl, pushing the visitors' lead to 17 points – 74:57.
At the start of the final quarter, two Trefl big-mans, Mikolaj Witlinski and Geoffrey Groselle, were forced to leave the game due to foul limits. However, the gap remained unchanged, as the Vilnius players' shots continued to miss. With 5 minutes remaining, Trefl led 85:67. Soon after, technical fouls were given to Anthony Cowan and Tre'Shawn Thurman. After the free throws, the guests were ahead by a 20-point margin – 87:67. They increased their lead further by the final buzzer – 97:74.
Vaidas Kariniauskas missed the game due to a foot injury.
"Wolves Twinsbet": Anthony Cowan 17 (8 assists), Marek Blaževič 14 (8 rebounds), Tre'Shawn Thurman 11, Jeffery Taylor and Andrew Andrews 9 each, Arnoldas Kulboka 6, Garrison Brooks and Matas Jogėla 4 each. Kristupas Žemaitis, Regimantas Miniotas, Justinas Marcinkevičius, and Daniel Baslyk did not score.
"Trefl": Jaroslaw Zyskowski 20, Darious Moten 19, Nick Johnson 16.
Coaches comments
The next BKT EuroCup game for "Wolves Twinsbet" will be on January 14th in Istanbul, Turkey, against "Beşiktaş."
(Photo by Rokas Lukoševičius)