Magical comeback against Cluj helped the team losing streak
Lietkabelis gave its fans one final EuroCup home win
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7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys gave its fans one final home victory in the BKT EuroCup with a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback against U-BT Cluj-Napoca, despite already having been eliminated from playoff contention.
Lietkabelis’s recent struggles, which had seen the team lose four straight, ended its hopes of the eighthfinals, but Dovis Bickauskis’s game-winning floater with 2.2 seconds provided some joy with a thrilling 92-91 win in the team’s final EuroCup home game of the season.
“Amazing win for us. We fought to the end. We cannot go to the playoffs, but we want to fight as much as possible and win for the fans, for the club,” said Martynas Varnas, who collected 10 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists in the win.
The victory improved Lietkabelis’s record to 5-12 in Group B, including a 4-6 mark at home.
Varnas was happy to give the home fans one final win at the Kalnapilio Arena.
“They support us through everything and big thanks to them,” he added.
Coach Nenad Canak agreed with Varnas, saying: “They always support us, even in those moments when we had bad results and had bad performances. They were always with us.”
Lietkabelis shocked Cluj by coming back from 12 points down with 5 minutes to go to keep the Romanian side from locking up its spot in the playoffs.
“I am very proud of my players. We didn’t give up. We were down 12 points and we kept playing and I think we deserved the win,” Canak stated. “What a win for us. It will give us a lot of confidence and motivation for the rest of the [domestic] games this season.”
Lietkabelis once again missed out on the playoffs after finishing ninth in its group last season, though it was just one win behind Turk Telekom Ankara in the final spot. The Lithuanian side had reached the eighthfinals in the previous two EuroCup seasons.
Canak and co. will close out their 2024-25 EuroCup campaign next week on the road at an Umana Reyer Venice side needing a win to reach the postseason.