Joventut Badalona had to battle hard to beat Wolves Vilnius 107-98 at home in overtime for its second win of the EuroCup season.
Joventut's veterans saved the day



If anything, the game was a perfect example of Joventut's basketball philosophy, as it allowed young players to get opportunities but relied on its most experienced ones to get out of a difficult situation at the end of regulation.
Joventut gave playing time to four players who are eligible for the EuroCup Rising Star award. Two of them started the game: Jordi Rodriguez had 5 points in 8 minutes and Yannick Kraag was one of his team's pillars with 12 points and 7 rebounds for a PIR of 17. Young big men Ruben Prey and Miguel Allen also saw playing time during the game.
Joventut struggled early and trailed 17-21 after 10 minutes, 41-46 at halftime and 48-58 late in the third quarter. It used a 9-0 run to get back in the game and it was not until Kraag took over with an alley-oop layup that Joventut took its first lead of the game, 62-61.
The hosts soon extended their lead to 70-64, but Wolves regrouped and a rain of three-pointers put the visitors in charge, 81-85, with over 2 minutes left. That's when the veterans stepped up to save the day. DeShaun Thomas sank a three-pointer, Ante Tomic converted a jump hook and later 2 high-pressure free throws that tied the game at 88-88 with 3.6 seconds left in regulation.
Pau Ribas opened the overtime period with consecutive shots from downtown and scored 8 of his 17 points in overtime. Thomas also had 4 critical points in the extra session. Vladimir Brodziansky led six Joventut players in double digits. Ribas had 17, Thomas 16 and Tomic 10.
Wolves have been unlucky lately, losing in double overtime against 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys in Lithuanian League action before this game. The team is now looking forward to playing its first-ever EuroCup home game against Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul next week. On the other hand, Joventut had a 1-point win, a 1-point loss and an overtime victory until now. Next stop: on the road against Umana Reyer Venice.