Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius (19–16) earned a hugely important victory and kept their hopes of securing third place alive. Alessandro Magro’s squad edged past CBet Jovana(19–16) at home with a 91–87 win (22:30, 28:14, 14:23, 26:20), handing the visitors their third consecutive loss.
With just one round remaining in the Betsafe-LKL regular season, the battle for third place remains wide open – 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevėžys also holds a 19–16 record.
However, the Wolves do not fully control their own destiny. If a three-way tie remains after the final round, the standings would be decided by head-to-head results. In that case, Panevėžys (5–3) would claim the highest position, followed by Jonava (4–4), with the Wolves trailing behind (3–5). That scenario would set up a quarterfinal series rematch against today’s opponent.
Next week, all three teams will play at home: Wolves Twinsbet will host M Basket-Delamode Mažeikiai, CBet will take on Neptūnas Klaipėda, and 7bet-Lietkabelis will face Uniclub Bet-Juventus Utena.
The game began promisingly for the visitors, who knocked down several three-pointers in a row and quickly built a double-digit lead (17:7). That cold shower woke up the Wolves, who clawed back to within a single shot (18:21), but CBet finished the first quarter strong – 30:22.
In the second quarter, the home team quickly took control and went on a 10–0 run (32:30). For a while, the teams traded baskets, but the Wolves held a slight edge. They hit the halftime break having scored 50 points and holding a narrow lead – 50:44.
After the break, Jonava’s players kept chipping away at the lead, but they only managed to draw level late in the third quarter, when Bohdan Blyzniuk tied the game at 62–62 with a pair of free throws. Before the decisive final stretch, his compatriot Vitalii Zotov gave Jonava a narrow edge – 67–64.
In the fourth quarter, the Wolves surged ahead, sparked by a pair of three-pointers from Andrew Andrews (81:75). Blyzniuk kept Jonava’s hopes alive with some spectacular defensive efforts – with just over a minute to go, the visitors closed the gap to three with a clutch triple – 86:83. However, Erikas Venskus committed two fouls, and Anthony Cowan calmly sank both free throws before setting up an alley-oop for Marek Blaževič (90:83).
Jonava still didn’t give up: Blyzniuk scored a quick two in transition, Cowan was called for traveling, and the Ukrainian nailed two more from the line (90:87). That set the stage for a nerve-racking finish, but Matas Jogėla sank one of two free throws – enough to ensure the Vilnius club didn’t let the win slip away.
Captain Regimantas Miniotas led the team with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and a 27 efficiency rating.
Double-doubles were recorded by Cowan (10 pts, 11 ast, 19 efficiency) and M. Blaževičius (13 pts, 10 reb, 18 efficiency), while the top scorer was Jogėla with 16 points and a 15 efficiency rating.
The Vilnius team was without Jeffery Taylor, who missed the game due to a strained tendon.
“Wolves Twinsbet”: Matas Jogėla 16, Regimantas Miniotas, Andrew Andrews and Marek Blaževič – 13 each, Tre’Shawn Thurman and Anthony Cowan – 10 each, Garrison Brooks 7, Kristupas Žemaitis 6, Arnoldas Kulboka 3. Justinas Marcinkevičius and Daniel Baslyk did not play (coach's decision).
“CBet”: Bohdan Blyzniuk 22, Brandon Childress 18, Dominic Brewton 12.
Coach comments
(Photo by Alfredas Pliadžis)