Group A: Rytas set new BCL season-high; Legia climb up to #2

MIES (Switzerland) - Sometimes you might be dominant when pushed by your home crowd, being basically impossible to beat in your own place. On the other hand, you might cause problems on the road.

This sums up how two Group A teams on Wednesday in the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, eventually manage to come out on top. Let's find out more about their positive outcomes.

Rytas Vilnius 116-90 MLP Academics Heidelberg

When they try to convince you that playing at home doesn't really make a difference, show them Rytas Vilnius. Following their 116-90 win against MLP Academics Heidelberg, they're unbeaten at home this season in the BCL.

Moreover, they have won 16 of their last 19 league home games, turning Twinsbet Arena into an insurmountable fortress. After losing 92-83 in Germany, they now have the head-to-head advantage over Heidelberg.

With 116 points scored, they have set the new season-high for all teams in a single game in the BCL.

More reasons to celebrate: the much needed comeback of Jerrick Harding happened, as he inspired his team with an amazing 30-point night, shooting almost perfectly from three (5-of-6) in just 21:59 minutes of action.

The American guard, who injured himself after a rough landing in the team's opening win in Season X against Legia Warszawa, wasn't the only one stepping up for Giedrius Zibenas' team.

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"It was a big win. We definitely needed it. The guys talked a lot in the locker room about revenge because we lost there. It was tough to watch the TV because I was out injured but big energy tonight, I'm proud of my guys. It was a little bit ugly, I think we could have been a lot sharper at times but i would say I'm happy with the win."

Rytas' captain Gytis Radzevicius, for example, was everywhere and finished with 9 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists - they were a +24 teams with him on the floor.

Arturas Gudaitis flirted with a double-double at 15 points and 9 rebounds as well.

Overall, the red-and-black Lithuanian powerhouse completely dominated the encounter, shooting 16-of-27 (59.3%) from three while also outrebounding the opponents 47-19. They prevailed 25-8 in second-chance points.

While Rytas improved to 3-1 in Group A, Heidelberg stayed at the bottom with a 1-3 record despite the nice effort provided by Michael Weathers at 23 points (8-of-12 from the field) and 4 assists.

"We struggled a little but with fatigue, missing guys, but we know Rytas are very good when it comes to tagging up, sending five guys to rebounds. You know they're bigger, they're physical and we tried to find that way where we could not give so many offensive rebounds and today it was, I mean, total rebounds was 47 and 19 and that pretty much tells everything," Heidelberg head coach Danny Jansson said.

Promitheas Patras Vikos Cola 69-85 Legia Warszawa

While one team in Group A dominated their game at home, another one had no problems getting a comfortable road victory. We are talking about Legia, which won 85-69 against Promitheas Patras Vikos Cola in Greece.

Thanks to their first-ever back-to-back wins in the BCL, the Polish side not only tied at 2-2 in the standings with the black-and-orange side, but also reversed the differential after losing 68-64 back in Poland on October 15.

Contending for a spot with home-court advantage in the Play-Ins, this might end up being a factor.

We already saw glimpses of his talent and decision-making at FIBA EuroBasket 2025 with Poland, and Andrzej Pluta has been confirming those in Season X. On Wednesday, he had a winning effort of 17 points and 6 assists.

In a tough shooting night (3-of-9 FG, 9 points) for Jayvon Graves, other teammates stepped up: Race Thompson (15 points and 5 rebounds), Shane Hunter (14 points and 9 rebounds), and Carl Ponsar (8 points and 9 rebounds).

Before this game, only Unicaja (22.3) were averaging more points scored from turnovers per game than Promitheas (22.0) in the BCL this season. However, the Greeks were outscored 22-17 in this category by Legia. The Polish side were also better in sharing the ball, out-assisting the hosts 19-12.

Athanasios Bazinas (23 points) and Promitheas' American backcourt, composed of Rob Gray (20 points) and Kendale McCullum (11 points), weren't enough to grab the home victory against Legia.