Rytas Vilnius celebrate their first Youth BCL title in Debrecen

DEBRECEN (Hungary) - Lithuanian club Rytas Vilnius celebrated their first Youth BCL title in Debrecen after overpowering Turkish rivals Galatasaray 98-62 in the Final, completing an undefeated tournament campaign in the process. 

Rytas captain Gantas Krizanauskas swung the Youth BCL trophy left to right before hoisting it into the air and sharing the celebrations with his ecstatic teammates. 

The Vilnius club were just too strong throughout the game and able to turn it on, almost at will. They used a 12-4 run to start the game and another 11-4 run to start the second half as they seized control of the game in the key periods, ultimately winning in a dominant fashion.

Game hero: Ignas Urbonas was too big in the post and too skilled on the perimeter. Galatasaray had no answer for him as he scored 17 points and pulled 9 rebounds on his way to the MVP award and a place in the tournament All-Star Five. 

Stats don't lie: The Lithuanians scored 27 second-chance points from 23 offensive rebounds and also poured in 44 points in the paint. Their defense completely stifled Galatasaray.

The hot-shooting Turkish club made a Youth BCL record 17 shots from deep at a 53 percent clip against Tofas Bursa in the Semi-Final. They were held to just 5 made 3-pointers at 23.8 percent in the Final.

Bottom line: Rytas had size and strength advantages at every position in the Final and were indisputably the strongest team in this year's Youth BCL.

Nine members of this roster are eligible to return to the event next year, including Tournament MVP Ignas Urbonas. A sobering thought for any team looking to challenge their throne. 

You can rewatch the Final here

Tofas Bursa defeated the 2023 champions Igokea m:tel in the Third-Place Game

In the Third-Place Game, Tofas Bursa pulled off one of the biggest shocks of the tournament, defeating last year's champions Igokea m:tel 93-89  in an excellent contest, that featured eight lead changes and saw the two teams tied at 87-all with just 39 seconds on the clock.

Efe Postel was excellent once again for Tofas with 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. You can rewatch the Third-Place Game here.

Team Debrecen rounded out a strong finish to the tournament with another dominant victory to secure ninth place, 84-41 over AEK Athens behind a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds by Zalan Flasar.

German club Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg finally secured the win their tournament efforts deserved in the first game of the final day. They pulled off a huge 86-52 win over Hapoel Jerusalem and travel back home with some extra motivation to close out their domestic season. 

Final Standings

1. Rytas Vilnius
2. Galatasaray
3: Tofas Bursa
4: Igokea m:tel
5. Lenovo Tenerife
6. Baskets Oldenburg
7. BA Nymburk
8. BK Opava
9. Team Debrecen
10. AEK Athens
11. Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg
12. Hapoel Jerusalem
13. Promitheas Patras