LAKTASI (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - Both Semi-Finals delivered two of the best games of the tournament as Rytas Vilnius and Igokea m:tel are set for a matchup between this event's most successful teams.
Elsewhere, Spartak Office Shoes avoided the wooden spoon with a win over ERA Nymburk, whilst Galatasaray MCT Technic got the job done to secure a ninth-place finish over a frustrated Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg.
Here are the Day 5 results:
ERA Nymburk vs. Spartak Office Shoes: 67-81 (rewatch the game here)
Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg vs. Galatasaray MCT Technic: 56-59 (rewatch the game here)
Rytas Vilnus vs. Telekom Baskets Bonn: 86-70 (rewatch the game here)
Coretec Basketball Academy vs. Igokea m:tel: 73-83 (rewatch the game here)
#1 Never underestimate the underdog
Before this Semi-Final, Rytas Vilnius had demolished every team in their path, and their opponents Bonn, had been forced to fight and scrap for everything on the way to a 1-1 record in the group phase.
The fact that Bonn won two of the four quarters and held the lead at the midpoint of the third quarter is to their immense credit.
From the opening tip, Bonn point guard Remi Volkers seemed possessed to push the tempo of the game at all times. This should have suited Rytas, but it seemed to catch them off guard.
Max Von Saldern twice put Bonn up in the first quarter. The second time, after his own steal to put Bonn up 14-12 with 3:23 on the clock, was the moment that the game moved from the possibility of just being a slow start by the Lithuanians and settled into a pattern.
On the topic of patterns, the Germans were already starting to get consistently exposed at the rim. The defensive scheme to hedge very aggressively on the pick-and-roll left them open to the short roll and time, and again, Rytas punished their rotations to win free throws or finish at the rim.
With the half winding down, MVP of the game, Gabrielius Buivydas, exposed the same weakness to finish at the rim with 30 seconds on the clock and put Rytas up 49-39.
Rytas shot 20 free throws in the first half, and Buivydas had done it all on his way to 18 first-half points.
#2 Plan B is to do Plan A better
Down 10 points and with their opponents finding cracks in their defense, Bonn could have been forgiven for panicking and ripping up the plan. But they didn't.
Instead, they started the third quarter even more aggressively defensively and forced a string of errors from Rytas that led to runout layups for Bonn. A block from Tyrese Steinig resulted in a fast break for Bonn's X-Factor, Dzenis Hodovic, and Bonn had capped off a 12-0 run to start the second half.
Now, it was Rytas's turn to stick to the plan. And that plan was to roll with their depth and outwork their opponents with fresh legs.
Head coach Gintaras Kadziulis resisted the temptation to shorten his rotation. Ten of the twelve Rytas players played 10 minutes or more, and they were rewarded with 20 second-chance points to Bonn's three.
The perfect illustration of that was Benas Birzinis's buzzer-beating putback at the end of the third to give Rytas a 66-64 lead.
Bonn's Marvin Nduche had just hit a three-pointer to give the Germans a 64-63 lead. The momentum shift for Rytas to score immediately after was mammoth.
By the time Rytas subbed a fully rested Buivydas back into the game, with 6:32 to go in the game, Bonn were already running out of gas.
Buivydas took full advantage and nailed two consecutive three-balls at 3:17, and 2:35 left in the game. When the second one dropped, Rytas were up 83-69, and the game was effectively over.
Onto the Final for Rytas it is.
Buivydas shone with 27 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. He was backed up by Jonas Trivokas, Benas Birzinis, Kornelijus Snitka, and Simas Rascius, who all scored in double-digits.
#3 Mentality matters
It's never easy to find the right balance in a one-off, knockout game. You need confidence, but at the same time, you also need to know how you will react when you become the underdog.
Igokea got the balance right in this game. If anything, their path to the Semi-Finals might have set them up perfectly in that regard. After dominating BC Sabah in Game 1, they had a real battle with Ludwigsburg in Game 2.
When Oostende started this game looking like the well-oiled machine that they had been in the Group Phase, it would have been easy for Igokea to shrink, but instead, they drew from the character required of them against Ludwigsburg and slowly forced their way back into the game.
When Max Van de Keere's three-pointer gave Oostende a 15-7 lead to start the game, that triggered the hosts to find another gear. A Luka Galic three-pointer with 7:30 on the clock gave Igokea the lead in the second quarter. Ognjen Perisic followed it up with a floater to make it 25-22, and the game had been flipped.
#4 The ball is your friend
Igokea scored 27 points from Oostende's 23 turnovers, and that is almost certainly the most important stat in this game. It didn't help the Belgians that they only shot 19 percent from 23 attempts behind the arc, and Igokea's defense deserves a lot of credit for preventing good looks at the rim and forcing those turnovers.
Igokea had a size and length advantage in most positions, and it showed on defense.
With 4:32 to go in the fourth, it looked like Van de Keere might have rekindled some hope with 5 points unanswered to cut the lead to 72-64, but two minutes later, Luka Galic ran out a dunk from another Oostende turnover, and that was all she wrote.
Mico Milovanovic and Djordje Djukanovic were excellent again for Igokea. The former had 16 points and 4 assists, whilst the latter had 18 points and 9 rebounds.
Djukanovic's performance was made even more impressive by the fact that he was also tasked with defending Tim Waerniers for most of the game.
Ognjen Perisic was the X-factor for Igokea in this game, as his 17 points all felt like they came at crucial moments.
Up next for Igokea is Rytas and a battle for the trophy. There should be another great crowd in the house, Igokea will hope they can be their sixth man.
Igokea won the first edition of the YBCL, whilst Rytas picked up the following two trophies in 2024 and 2025, so both teams know what it's like to finish first in this competition.