Budivelnyk Kyiv withstood a valiant comeback attempt by Šiauliai to defeat the 2022 ENBL finalist 88-73 on Friday, February 10, at the Šiauliai arena in northern Lithuania.
Players of the game
Budivelnyk Kyiv finished a roller-coaster week on a high note.
Jerai Grant towered over the paint to score 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field.
Clemson center grabbed nine rebounds and registered three steals.
Archie Goodwin matched Grant with 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
Kentucky forward posted a team high six assists and had four steals.
Bohdan Bliznyuk set a new ENBL record and stole the ball six times.
He had two more steals than entire Šiauliai team.
Kyle Mangas led the Sun City with 19 points on impressive 7-of-10 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-6 effort from the three point line.
A former Indiana Wesleyan (2017-2021) star guard and a 2018 NAIA Division II champion added five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Martynas Varnas had 11 points and five assists.
Key stats
Budivelnyk Kyiv registered 16 steals – four times more than Šiauliai.
Kyiv`s starters had 15 (!) steals, including six by Bliznyuk and four by Goodwin.
Budivelnyk scored 30 points off turnovers, compared to 15 points for Šiauliai.
The Kyivites led by 17 points midway the third quarter, 55-38.
Šiauliai stormed back with a 6-19 run to cut the gap to four points, 61-57.
Daniel Baslyk made it a one possession game, 61-59.
Jerai Grant replied with two points followed by an unsportsmanlike foul for Jonas Zohore.
Budivelnyk regained a seven points lead immediately, 66-59.
Šiauliai used back-to-back three pointers to stay in the game but Budivelnyk also didn`t missed from the deep.
A series of steals and three pointers extended the guests lead up to 19 points, 88-69.
Game notes
Three teams in Group A finished the regular season with a 2-4 record.
KB Sigal Prishtina won the tie-breaker against Kalev/Cramo and Šiauliai.
The Estonians finished fifth and Šiauliai sixth.
No teams from the 2022 ENBL Final Four made the playoffs.
Budivelnyk qualified for the FIBA Europe Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday but dropped the last Top 16 game against Patriots Levice on Wednesday.
The team regrouped and improved to 5-1 in the ENBL play.
Valeriy Plekhanov`s team finished second in Group A.
Budivelnyk will face BC Wolves in the quarterfinals.
Eight teams from five countries – Poland, Israel, Ukraine, Lithuania, Kosovo – will play in the playoffs.
LIVE STATS
Polski Cukier Start Lublin 82–68 Budivelnyk Kyiv https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/ENBL/2227828/
BC Wolves 87–84 King Szczecin
Šiauliai 73–88 Budivelnyk Kyiv
STANDINGS, as of February 10, 2023
Group A
Polski Cukier Start Lublin 5-1 (+58) Qualified
Budivelnyk Kyiv 5-1 (+57) Qualified
Zastal Zielona Gora 4-2 (+10) Qualified
KB Sigal Prishtina 2-4 (-34) Qualified
Kalev/Cramo 2-4 (+19)
Šiauliai 2-4 (-39)
TalTech Optibet 1-5 (-71)
Tie-breaker: Sigal Prishtina 1-1, +13; Kalev/Cramo 1-1, +3; Šiauliai 1-1, -16.
STANDINGS, as of February 10, 2023
Group B
King Szczecin 6-1 (+51) Qualified
Stal Ostrow 5-2 (+76) Qualified
BC Wolves 5-2 (+41) Qualified
Ironi Ness Ziona 5-2 (+60) Qualified
Trefl Sopot 4-3 (+18)
Tartu University 2-5 (-16)
Basket Brno 1-6 (-61)
Valmiera Glass VIA 0-7 (-169)
Tie-breaker: BM Stal Ostrow 1-1, +6; Wolves 1-1, +4; Ironi Ness Ziona 1-1, -10.