Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius failed to secure revenge in Germany. The Lithuanian capital's team suffered a second defeat to Ratiopharm Ulm in the EuroCup ("BKT EuroCup") group stage, losing 91:114 (16:32, 29:24, 17:32, 29:26). With this result, the Wolves remain in sixth place in the standings.
The Wolves now hold a record of 6 wins and 6 losses, while Ulm's team has secured 8 victories in 12 games.
Although the visitors scored the first points, Ulm quickly took control, leading 7:2 after two dunks by Karim Jallow. Midway through the first quarter, Alessandro Magro was forced to call a timeout when the deficit grew to double digits (16:6). However, the Wolves' situation did not improve after the break. To make matters worse, the coach received a technical foul for protesting to the referees about two uncalled fouls. After the first 10 minutes, the home team led by a substantial margin, 32:16.
At the start of the second quarter, the situation on the court remained unchanged, with Ulm extending their lead to 25 points (45:20). However, Arnoldas Kulboka and Anthony Cowan each hit a three-pointer, prompting Ulm's coach to call a timeout (45:26). Before halftime, the Wolves staged a 10-point scoring run to reduce the deficit to 45:56.
The Vilnius team began the second half with energy, cutting the deficit to just 8 points (59:51). However, their offense started to struggle again, allowing "Ratiopharm" to pull away rapidly. Within just a few minutes, the gap widened significantly. With 6 minutes played, the lead ballooned to 28 points (81:53). Towards the end of the quarter, a scuffle broke out between players following a foul on Matas Jogėla, resulting in technical fouls for Marek Blaževič and Isaiah Roby. Heading into the final quarter, Ulm led comfortably at 88:62.
The final 10 minutes became a mere formality. The highlight of the quarter was Justin Marcinkevičius making his EuroCup debut and scoring his first points.
The Wolves were again without forward Jeffery Taylor, who is still sidelined due to a lingering back injury.
"Wolves Twinsbet": Anthony Cowan – 15, Marek Blaževič – 14, Tre’Shawn Thurman and Arnoldas Kulboka – 12 each, Andrew Andrews and Matas Jogėla – 9 each, Vaidas Kariniauskas – 6, Garrison Brooks – 4, Kristupas Žemaitis and Daniel Baslyk – 3 each, Regimantas Miniotas and Justinas Marcinkevičius – 2 each.
"Ratiopharm": Marcio Santos – 20, Alfonso Plummer – 15, Nelson Weidemann – 14 points.
Coaches' comments
The next EuroCup game for Wolves Twinsbet will take place on January 3 at home against Joventut Badalona (Spain).
(Photo by Rokas Lukoševičius)