By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Despite winning against BAXI Manresa 96-95, Rytas Vilnius can’t celebrate. The Lithuanians had to win by 13 points or more in order to advance for the first time to the Quarter-Finals, so last year’s runner-up will join the rest of the qualified teams.
Marcus Foster, who before today scored 24.4% of Rytas’ 1157 points in the BCL this season (282pts), the highest % among all players of the 16 teams still competing, gave his all with 27 points and 11/17 from the field, but he wasn’t enough.
Martynas Echodas, who came off the bench, had a solid game under the basket with 12 points and 5 rebounds, while Foster’s backcourt teammate Elvar Fridrikkson added 14 points and 4 assists.
The Jerrick Harding-Devin Robinson duo was crucial for Manresa to keep the Catalan team alive. The former had 23 with 4/6 from beyond the arc and 5/5 at the line after dropping 41 points in the ACB, while the latter went close to a double-double with 22 points and 8 rebounds.
Dani Perez, who failed to score in his previous four games in the BCL despite playing 10+ minutes in each of those games, had 11 and 4 assists in the decisive matchup against the Lithuanians.
Rytas Vilnius had one of the bravest performances of the whole season, with also 37 points from the bench and 40 in the paint. They were also way better than BAXI Manresa shooting two (58.82% vs 44.68%).
While Telekom Baskets Bonn completed Group J unbeaten following their last victory of the Round of 16 against Bahcesehir, BAXI Manresa also advanced to the Quarter-Finals. Rytas Vilnius stays at the 3rd place with a 3-3 record, just like the Catalans.
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League