EuroView: Motum wins Lithuanian Cup over Madgen

Brock Motum and Ben Madgen helped fire their sides to the final of the Lithuanian Cup, facing off against each other for the title in what may be a precursor to the Lithuanian League Championship.

In the semifinals of the Lithuanian Cup, Madgen demonstrated his all-round game, delivering 11 points with 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals as Lietkabelis Panevezys qualified for the final in overcoming Juventus 75-70. Lietkabelis had to come from behind to earn the win behind a strong last period showing.

Competition benchmark Žalgiris Kaunas had no such trouble in reaching the final after dismantling Vytautas 76-55. Žalgiris pulled away after a tight first quarter and were never challenged. Motum registered 7 points on 3-of-5 shooting with 2 rebounds in just 21 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IvB7w_yK8c

In the final, Žalgiris threatened to pull away early only for Lietkabelis to claw their way back into the contest, trailing by just 1 at the main break. Motum helped power Žalgiris' offense, scoring an equal team-high 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting in another efficient scoring outburst. Madgen did his best to try and haul his side over the line, adding 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting with 3 rebounds and 2 assists. However Žalgiris would power their way to a convincing 84-63 win to clinch the national cup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fmi7LYPFmc

In a dour defensive affair, Lokomotiv Kuban pulled away from BC Astana in the fourth quarter to record a 67-59 win in the VTB United League. Ryan Broekhoff drained one of his two three-pointers to help spark his side's run in the final period, finishing with 6 points and 5 rebounds in 22 minutes. The result saw Lokomotiv record their longest winning streak in the competition with their 13th win in a row.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z84qJ1gZDwI

In a clash between the competition's two best performed teams this season, it was CSKA Moscow who exacted revenge on Lokomotiv for their loss sustained earlier in the season. Once again it was a close contest, with 19-13 third term proving the difference between the two teams, as CSKA Moscow earned a 83-77 win to shore up first place in the standings. Broekhoff had a quiet game offensively, providing just 3 points, however the forward was able to play his role defensively, recording 7 rebounds, 2 steals and finishing with 3 assists.

The loss saw Lokomotiv fall to third place in the league standings, now finding themselves in a log jam with Zenit St Petersburg and Khimki Moscow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLTCPO2b5fE

Dan Trist exploded for a game-high 23 points (9-of-14 FG) with 4 rebounds in Horsens IC's upset 86-91 loss to SISU Copenhagen in Denmark. Horsens IC gave up 18 offensive rebounds that resulted in their downfall to the sixth placed side. Trist's side remain in first place, half a game clear of Bakken.

In the Serbian Cup quarterfinals, Jonah Bolden added 13 points as FMP Belgrade cruised to a 77-58 win over Spartak Subotica. His team's run would end at the hands of Crvena Zvezda in the semifinals, going down 76-60.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUnSd2CTxjc

The Plymouth Raiders were smashed by the Surrey Scorchers 99-75 in the British Basketball League despite a big outing by Daryl Corletto. The playing coach piled on 24 points (8-of-14 FG) with 6 rebounds and 2 assists in the loss to the eighth placed team. Rhys Carter went scoreless in what was a bad loss for the now sixth placed Raiders.