Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius took a significant step toward their first-ever appearance in the Citadele King Mindaugas Cup (Citadele KMT) Final Four. 

Alessandro Magro's team confidently defeated CBet Jonava 95:77 (24:17, 23:18, 22:22, 26:20) on the road, gaining a solid 18-point advantage ahead of the second leg of the quarterfinal series. 

The return game will take place on January 18 in Vilnius, at the "Twinsbet" arena. After the second game, the team with the better point differential will advance to the Citadele KMT Final Four, which will be held on February 15-16 in the same "Twinsbet" arena. 

The game began with 5 quick points from Martynas Arlauskas. Still, in the latter part of the first quarter, Wolves Twinsbet began to build their lead (20:11). After ten minutes, the visitors led 24:17.

In the second quarter, the trio of Andrew Andrews, Garrison Brooks, and Arnoldas Kulboka helped the Wolves quickly extend their lead (38:21). The Jonava team managed to narrow the deficit before the half ended (35:45), but a two-pointer from Anthony Cowan closed the first half at 47:35.

After the break, the Vilnius team came out determined to kill the suspense and doubled their lead in just five minutes (65:39). However, CBet did not give up and responded with a 10-0 run after a timeout (49:65). Moreover, the end of the quarter went better for the hosts, narrowing the gap to 12 points by the final quarter – 57:69.

Early in the fourth quarter, a conflict erupted after a foul by Cowan, but the visitors used the momentum to push ahead (77:59). Jonava players showed resilience and closed the gap again (67:77). Five points from the Vilnius team calmed the situation (82:67). Despite their efforts, Jonava reached the halfway point of the Citadele KMT quarterfinals with an 18-point deficit. 

The victory was spearheaded by Cowan, who recorded a double-double with 27 points and 11 assists, accumulating an efficiency rating of 32. Contributions from Tre'Shawn Thurman (15 points), Andrew Andrews (14 points), and Garrison Brooks (10 points, 11 rebounds, 22 efficiency rating) were also crucial. 

Wolves Twinsbet: Anthony Cowan 27, Tre'Shawn Thurman 15, Andrew Andrews 14, Garrison Brooks 10, Kristupas Žemaitis 10, Regimantas Miniotas 9, Arnoldas Kulboka 6, Marek Blaževič 2, Matas Jogėla 2. Vaidas Kariniauskas did not score, while Daniel Baslyk and Justinas Marcinkevičius did not play (coach's decision).

CBet: Simas Jarumbauskas 16, Erikas Venskus 12, Mihkel Kirves 12.

(Photo by Rokas Lukoševičius / LKL)