NYMBURK (Czechia) - Was is Vilnius or Nymburk? Looking at the footage coming from Czechia before Game 2 and during the encounter, the question naturally pops up.
With one game left to their-first ever Final Four in the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, the Lithuanian fans showed up in surreal numbers.
Was it enough for Rytas to package their talent and deliver it all the way to Badalona? The final result says it all: with their 70-69 road win, they swept ERA Nymburk and advanced.
Turning Point
The hosts fought and showed their fearless attitude for the vast majority of the encounter, leading 41-38 at halftime following a halfcourt buzzer-beater by Ondrej Sehnal.
Once Nymburk got the eight-point lead (60-52) at the end of the third quarter, Rytas' heart appeared.
They defended with everything they had, and then gave the ball to Ignas Sargiunas with seconds running down to the final buzzer.
He was fouled on a three-point attempt, and went 2-of-3 from the line to give Rytas their first lead of the second half at 70-69 with 5.9 left on the game clock. That's how they booked their ticket to Badalona.
Player of the Game
Former Nymburk's sensation Jerrick Harding led the team in scoring with 17 points, Gytis Masiulis followed him with a double-double at 14 points and 10 rebounds.
But without those two free throws by Ignas Sargiunas, Rytas are not BCL Final Four bound.
The Lithuanian sniper had a rought shooting night at 11 points and 1-of-5 from deep, but he was clutch in the end. That's what really matters if you want to push your team to the BCL Final Four as Player of the Game.
Stats don't lie
Rytas won a difficult game, where defense were better than offense on both sides of the floor.
Numbers show it, after all: the two teams combined for 21 turnovers (Rytas 12, Nymburk 9), and had rough percentages from beyond the arc (Nymburk 24.0%, Rytas 21.0%).
What's the stat behind the win in Game 2 by the Lithuanians? 500. As many as the fans who travelled all the way from the Lithuanian capital to Czechia.
Bottom line
After this 2-0 sweep in their-first ever BCL Quarter-Finals, Giedrius Zibenas' team are the first team that qualify for the most anticipated stage of Season X, preparing their luggages for Badalona in early May.
Nymburk have now collected back-to-back sweeps in the BCL Quarter-Finals, losing both games against Galatasaray MCT Technic in 2024-25, but can still be proud of an outstanding campaign.
Despite the loss, they led for 31:34 minutes in Game 2 and went really close to the decisive encounter back in Vilnius. Tony Perkins had 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals in Nymburk's last game of the season.
They said
"Amazing, euphoric! I would like to say thank you to every fan that came here and supported us. I think I’ll find a starting to really love Czechia. A couple of years ago in Opava, there was a lot of them, and now again there was an unimaginable number of them. Once again in the Basketball Champions League, it felt like we were playing at home." - Gytis Masiulis, Rytas Vilnius, talking about visiting fans
"I can talk about the game, but it’s more than that the journey we had it’s like incredible and unbelievable in the BCL. I don’t want to summarize this now when the emotion is still around, but I told the guys I’m very proud of them, and from what we did and what we achieved, especially after the start we had. The comeback we had to do… I thought also in this series against a very good team, with a great coach, I thought we fought and we put ourselves in the situation that could win the game. It goes to their side in the end so, I want to congratulate them and wish them all the best. But yeah, you know, to come time after time and make the Quarter-Finals and see the teams around us in the Quarter-Finals, it’s something unique for this club and we cannot take it for granted." - ERA Nymburk head coach Oren Amiel
"The last time we were in a European competition Final Four, it was 14 years ago. So it means a lot for these fans, especially for the fans who have supported Rytas for - I don’t know, 20, 25 years? It means a lot for them, and I’m super happy that for our family of fans, they really deserve that win and I wish to see that crowd, maybe even bigger in Badalona now." - Rytas Vilnius head coach Giedrius Zibenas