VILNIUS (Lithuania) - In six seasons, Rytas Vilnius had never played in the Quarter-Finals of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL. On Wednesday, they lived a history-making night, in front of 8,037 fans.
Giving their all in front of a buzzing red-and-black crowd in the Lithuanian capital, Giedrius Zibenas' team made a significant step towards their long-awaited dream: making it to the BCL Final Four in Badalona.
It wasn't easy, though. ERA Nymburk showed why they totally aren't comfortable opponents, fighting until the very end. However, Rytas brought home Game 1 with the 77-70 victory to go up 1-0 in the series.
Turning Point
Following a solid start by the hosts, the Czech champions fought back and went on a 14-3 run to go up by seven points (27-20) after two minutes of action in the second quarter, pushed by Ondrej Sehnal's first three-pointer.
Nymburk went to the locker rooms still up 42-41, but once the second half started, the hosts changed attitude, getting back up front with both Arturas Gudaitis and Speedy Smith taking over.
Despite back-and-forth plays in a low-scored (12-9) fourth and ultimate quarter, Rytas maintained their composure, driven by Jerrick Harding, and could celebrate in front of their beloved fans on the stands of Rytas Arena.
Player of the Game
Since his debut for Rytas at the beginning of the season, everybody realized how crucial Jerrick Harding would have been for the Lithuanians. Nymburk are aware of it, since they enjoyed having him on their side in the past.
After scoring 10 of his final 19 points in the first half, the American guard had a clutch three-pointer with 1:27 minutes to go, securing Rytas' victory. He shot 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, grabbed 2 rebounds, and had 1 steal.
Stats don't lie
It was a balanced encounter stats-wise, as neither of the two teams completely dominated the other on the floor.
However, Rytas made the best of Nymburk's 10 turnovers, outscoring the opponents 13-4 in points off lost balls.
Bottom line
Following a 40-minute battle in Rytas Arena, everybody's attention will now shift to Czechia, where Nymburk will try to tie the series on April 7 at 18:30 CET. In order to do so, they will have to step up defensively even more.
Jerrick Harding wasn't the only one creating damage for Nymburk's defense: Arturas Gudaitis (12 points and 6 rebounds) and Speedy Smith (13 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds) had important performances too for the red-and-black Lithuanians.
Nobody really stood apart individually for Oren Amiel's team, but everybody contributed except for the 2007-born Thomas Stanko. Martin Kriz, Tony Perkins, Jaromir Bohacik, and David Bohm each had 10 points in Vilnius.
They said
"I have to say the atmosphere was amazing. It’s really impressive and I’ve experienced some nice places in my career. For sure this is one of the most impressive ones. It makes me want to come back here." - ERA Nymburk head coach Oren Amiel
"It was a crazy game. We tip our hat to Nymburk, they’re already solid team. It was kind of a little weird out there, because I’m playing my team against my old team. I was there for two years in Nymburk when I first started in Europe. Against the coach that was my coach at the time... But I’m just happy that we got this win tonight. We knew they are a tough team going into it." - Jerrick Harding, Rytas Vilnius
"He is amazing, man! When I first got here, to see him in the first practice, the type of dog that he is, I knew from then he would be really, really big for us in really big games, and that’s exactly what he did tonight. We’re lucky to have him on our team and that’s just what he does. He might not shoot throughout the game, but you know he’s gonna give energy every time on the defensive end." - Harding, praising teammate Martynas Paliukenas