MANISA (Türkiye) - Igokea m:tel picked up their first win of the tournament and ended the tournament in eleventh place after overcoming the hosts, Manisa BBSK 78-60, and Galatasaray secured ninth place with a 79-70 win over ERA Nymburk.
Then came the Semi-Finals.
Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg took on Filou Oostende in the first one, with Oostende reaching the Final for the first time after pulling away in the fourth quarter and claiming an 80-73 win.
The second Semi-Final was a less competitive affair.
The champions Rytas Vilnius showed everyone watching in Manisa that they have another level and it was a level that Tofas Bursa couldn't live with. Rytas romped to a 126-59 win.
Let's have a look at the key takeaways from the penultimate day of the 2025 YBCL.
#1 PRIDE IS SOMETHING TO PLAY FOR
The former champs Igokea were clearly determined to bow out on a win and reset the score somewhat ahead of coming back stronger next year.
They shot 52 percent overall on 24 assists against the hosts Manisa, who will have learned a great deal about the levels they will need to strive for next time around.
Nikola Masal led Igokea with 16 points and 5 assists on 70 percent shooting. Shoutout also goes to 15-year-old Marko Grubesic, who is the second-youngest scorer at the YBCL and finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds from the guard position. Remember the name, folks!
Last year's silver-medalists Galatasaray also played like they had something to prove after a frustrating YBCL tournament this time around.
Batu Anlar and Alperen Duruksu had 27 and 23 points respectively, with Duruksu also pulling down 13 rebounds for his double-double.
An honorable mention has to go out to ERA Numburk's twin towers here, Thomas Stanko and Krystof Davidek. Stanko checks out as the tournament's leading scorer with 24.3 points and Davidek as the efficiency rating leader with 33.3 per game.
Both have had two excellent YBCL campaigns over the last two years and we hope to see both in the senior BCL soon.
#2 NEVER UNDERESTIMATE A SMALL GROUP OF COMMITTED PEOPLE
Ludwigsburg and Oostende served up one of the best YBCL Semi-Finals ever. There were 11 lead changes and Oostende's largest lead of 12 only came late in the fourth.
For 35 minutes of this game the outcome was impossible to call.
Ludwigsburg came into it without their two 2009-born stars Yohann Tchouaffe and Kenan Youdom for personal reasons, but managed to make it look like they could still get the job done without them.
An Armin Pivac bucket game them a 42-36 lead with three minutes to play in the second quarter and were very much in the ascendancy.
Oostende's comeback from there was strong and after a timeout with 40 seconds to go in the half, Julian Dewinter completed their comeback with a gutsy putback to cap off an 8-2 run and put Oostende up 45-44 at the half.
Ludwigsburg did score first in the third quarter, but Oostende's tight-knit group took control of the game from there.
Vince T'Joncke and Daan Pieters in particular had huge games. Point guard T'Joncke again flirted with a triple double with 16 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds, whilst Pieters further solidified his MVP case with 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists on 71 percent shooting.
Ludwigsburg will be looking for a medal in the third-placed game and can still end their best-ever YBCL tournament on a high.
2008-born guard Lars Danziger had a near triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. We have a feeling he will be one to watch next year.
#3 EVEN THE BEST CAN SURPRISE YOU
What can we say here about Rytas Vilnius?
We thought they were going to get their toughest challenge yet in the second Semi-Final against Tofas and when Riza Pasaoglu threw down a dunk to put Tofas Bursa up 6-3, the Tofas bench reacted like they felt they were going to run the champions close as well.
The wolves of Rytas took that moment as their opportunity to show their teeth. In particular, last season's MVP Ignas Urbonas seemed to take it personally and clicked into a sixth gear that we haven't seen from another player in the YBCL... possibly ever.
The combination of physical domination, basketball maturity, and skill provide the perfect illustration of the difference between a player who predominantly plays men's basketball these days.
Urbonas ended the game with 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists in just 22 minutes.
He was supported again by Gabrielius Bubnys who had 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists, but it wouldn't be hyperbole to say that any member of Rytas' squad could have ended the game with double-digit scoring, such was their dominance.
As it was, every player scored in the game and the lead was as much as 67 at one point.
Can Oostende stop them in the Final? Stranger things have happened but after this performance, the champions look set to back to back and become the first two-time winners of the YBCL.
For Tofas, this will be one to forget ahead of the third-place game as they continue their bid to make the podium every year of the YBCL.