Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius has taken the final step toward a historic achievement for the young club, securing a spot in the BKT EuroCup playoffs for the first time.
In their last group stage game, the Lithuanian capital's squad delivered an impressive performance in front of their home crowd, defeating Podgorica's "Budučnost" 91-82 (26:25, 28:16, 19:14, 18:27) and locking in fourth place in the group.
Wolves benefited from favorable results in other matchups, as Ulm's "Ratiopharm" suffered a defeat while Istanbul's "Beşiktaş" secured a win. These outcomes played in the Vilnius team's favor, making them the biggest winners among the four teams battling for the final three playoff spots.
Andrija Slavkovic needed just 5 seconds to get Buducnost going with a layup. Jogela and Taylor each struck from downtown in a 10-0 run that Blazevic capped with a layup. Slavkovic scored again and Kenan Kamenjas fired in a pair of off-balance jump hooks. Taylor and Jogela each connected from beyond the arc. Kamenas joined the three-point shootout to bring the visitors within 17-11.
McKinley Wright followed a floater with a one-handed jumper. Jogela made his third triple and Taylor's tip-in boosted the hosts' lead to 22-15. Sulaimon nailed a three-pointer and added a turnaround jumper in a 0-6 run that got the visitors within 22-21. Regimantas Miniotas and Ferrell traded layups before Blazevic buried a close jumper for a 26-25 Wolves edge after 10 minutes.
Ferrell scored in penetration early in the second quarter. Kristupas Zemaitis answered with a driving layup, which Andrews followed with a three-pointer that caused Buducnost to call timeout at 31-27. Nikola Tanaskovic stepped up for the visitors, and Ferrell erased Thurman's jump hook with a wild driving layup. Sulaimon found space for a driving layup that Taylor bettered with a triple to make it 37-32.
Ferrell rescued Buducnost with a three-point play, and Alen Omic added a layup, but Cowan kept the hosts in charge, 41-37. Jogela hit a couple of triples, one from each corner, and got help from Thurman and Taylor to make it a double-digit game, 51-37. An unstoppable Jogela insisted from beyond the arc, but Kamenjas and Sulaimon got the visitors within 54-41 at halftime.
Jogela scored around the basket right after the break. Wright answered with a leaning jumper, which Blazevic matched with a put-back basket for a 58-43 Wolves lead. Blazevic got help from Cowan and Taylor to help the hosts break the game open, 64-44.
A Buducnost timeout did not fix the visitors' scoring problems. Blazevic hit a jump hook, and Cowan's free throws increased the margin. Sulaimon tried to change things for Buducnost, and Ferrell added a layup to bring the visitors within 70-48. Andrews and Fletcher Magee traded triples before Tanaskovic gave Buducnost hope, 73-55, at the end of the third quarter.
Tanaskovic took over with a power layup early in the fourth quarter, and Ferrell's three-pointer brought the visitors as close as 73-60. Thurman buried a three-pointer, and Ferrell answered with a layup in transition before Andrews made it 78-62. Omic scored again, and Magee's off-balance triple promoted a Wolves timeout at 80-67.
Garrison Brooks made a jumper, and Cowan sank a fallaway shot to keep the Wolves out of trouble, 84-67. Juwan Morgan stepped up with a tip-in that Thurman matched with a put-back basket that sealed the outcome, 87-69. Wolves fans in Vilnius celebrated a special win, while Buducnost had to wait for other results to find out if its EuroCup season came to an end.
Matas Jogela led the winners with 20 points. Yogi Ferrell paced Buducnost with 20 points.
Wolves Twinsbet: Matas Jogėla 20, Jeffery Taylor 15, Anthony Cowan 13 (6 assists), Andrew Andrews, Marek Blaževičius, and Tre’Shawn Thurman 10 each, Garrison Brooks 6, Arnoldas Kulboka 3, Regimantas Miniotas and Kristupas Žemaitis 2 each. Justinas Marcinkevičius and Vaidas Kariniauskas did not play due to the coach’s decision.
Budučnost: Yogi Ferrell 20, Rasheed Sulaimon 14 points.
Coaches’ comments:
The Round of 16 game will be played on March 4-5, with the schedulle to be announced soon.
(Photo by Rokas Lukoševičius)