Ahmad Caver scored seven points in overtime to lead BC Wolves past short-handed Budivelnyk Kyiv, 87-79, on Saturday, March 18, at the Pala Coccia di Veroli in Lazio, Italy. Wolves won the series, 167-162, to advance to the Final 4 for the first time.
Players of the game
Ahmad Caver scored or assisted on nine consecutive Wolves points in overtime.
Old Dominion guard finished the game with 28 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
Caver had 16 points during the third quarter and overtime.
He added five steals, one assists and seven forced fouls.
Eric Buckner posted a double-double.
Wolves center had 16 points and 16 rebounds.
Jeffery Taylor also came close to a double-double.
Euroleague champion scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Adas Juskevičius chipped in with 14 points.
Bogdan Bliznyuk led Budivelnyk with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.
Archie Goodwin and Alec Brown carried the Builders in the second half as both finished with 19 points.
Jerai Grant had five points and 11 rebounds.
Key stats
Evergreen Mindaugas Lukauskis hit a three pointer and Buckner split a pair of free throws to give a 26-17 lead for the Wolves.
Budivelnyk recovered quickly, thanks to Bogdan Bliznyuk.
Captain scored 11 points in the second quarter to rally his men for a 9-23 run.
Budivelnyk jumped to a five points lead, 35-40.
Archie Goodwin and Adas Juškevičius exchanged technical fouls.
The game of runs continued well into second half.
Wolves renewed a five points advantage after a 10-0 run, 45-40.
Budivelnyk answered with another counter attack for a 53-54 lead before the final 10 minutes.
Wolves struggled from the three point line, going for 4-of-24 in the first 36 minutes.
Juskevičius, Caver and Eigirdas Žukauskas made three consecutive three pointers, complimented by Buckner`s dunk for a 74-65 lead with 58 seconds remaining.
Goodwin and Brown replied with consecutive threes to tie the series at 154.
Wolves outscored Budivelnyk in overtime, 13-8.
Game notes
Both coaches relied on short rotations – eight men each.
Wolves had eight players altogether, missing Marcos Delia, Juan Gomez de Liano and Regimantas Miniotas.
Budivelnyk`s starting guard Johnny Berhanemeskel got injured at Cholet on March 14.
Vitalii Zotov started for the Builders instead.
Goodwin, Bliznyuk and Zotov played more than 35 minutes each.
Next stop – Final 4
Wolves will face the winner of a duel between King Szczecin and KB Sigal Prishtina.
SCHEDULE (local time only)
(A1) Polski Cukier Start Lublin – Ironi Ness Ziona (B4)
Game one: Ironi Ness Ziona 77-90 Polski Cukier Start Lublin
Game two: Monday, March 20, Lublin 18:00
(A2) Budivelnyk Kyiv 162–167 BC Wolves (B3)
Game one: BC Wolves 80-83 Budivelnyk Kyiv
Game two: Budivelnyk Kyiv 79-87 BC Wolves OT
(A3) Zastal Zielona Gora – BM Stal Ostrow (B2)
Game one: Sunday, March 12, Zielona Gora 16:00
Game two: Tuesday, March 21, Ostrow 19:00
(A4) KB Sigal Prishtina – King Szczecin (B1)
Game one: Sigal Prishtina 64-64 King Szczecin
Game two: Monday, March 20, Szczecin 18:00