The hosts erased a 17-point first-quarter deficit and dominated the extra period 20–4 to claim a thrilling home victory
Neptunas takes its game to another level to down Slask in OT
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 10 of 18
Regular Season
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Neptunas KlaipedaNEP
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Slask WroclawWKS
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Overview
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Neptunas Klaipeda delivered a dramatic comeback performance on Wednesday night, overturning a dreadful start to defeat Slask Wroclaw in overtime. The Lithuanian side outscored the visitors 20–4 in the extra five minutes, delighting their fans in Klaipeda after what had seemed like a doomed opening quarter.
Coming off an impressive road win over Bahcesehir College Istanbul in Round 8 — fueled by a remarkable 18-of-36 shooting from three-point range — Neptunas's supporters could hardly believe their eyes early in this one. Winless away from home all season, Slask came out firing, storming to an 11–28 lead with just two minutes left in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Neptunas went ice-cold from deep, connecting on just 2-of-12 attempts after 10 minutes.
“We started the game very slow, very slow,” admitted Neptunas forward Aurimas Majauskas. “They outrebounded us, outmatched us with [their] energy, so Coach told us we needed to bring that energy. That’s what we did — we crashed the boards, moved the ball, and found the open man to make the shot.”
Neptunas steadily chipped away at the deficit, trimming it to six (40–46) by halftime and finally grabbing its first lead midway through the third quarter, 49–48. From there, the game turned into a back-and-forth battle, with several ties and lead changes that kept the crowd on edge.
Despite its control on the boards — 21 rebounds over the first 35 minutes — Neptunas struggled to seize full command due to uncharacteristically poor three-point shooting. For a team averaging 38% from beyond the arc this season, its 7-of-32 (21.8%) performance was unusually low. When Arnas Berucka missed a potential game-winner following Kadre Gray’s tying basket at 83–83, the duel went to overtime.
That extra period, however, belonged entirely to Neptunas. “Yeah, [we played] much, much better,” smiled head coach Gediminas Petrauskas afterward. “We need to understand why we started so slowly, but the most important thing is that the support from our fans gave us that extra push in the second half. The overtime, overall, was spectacular.”
Berucka made amends immediately by knocking down the three-pointer he had missed in regulation. Vitalijus Kozys followed with another long-range bomb, and Arnas Velicka added his third triple of the night to push Neptunas ahead 92–85 less than 90 seconds into the extra frame. Stunned by the sudden avalanche, Slask collapsed, missing six consecutive free throws as its rhythm vanished completely.
Neptunas hit two more from deep to cap a 20–4 overtime run, playing its best basketball of the night when it mattered most. There was a calm confidence about its approach, one rooted in experience.
“We played another overtime on Sunday, so you know, it's a similar situation”, Majauskas reflected. “Today, we were calm. We were ready. We already did this, so we knew what we had to do.”
For Coach Petrauskas, that late resilience carried an extra meaning. “The most important thing is the team victory,” he said. “And especially because we won by more points than we lost in Poland. So, it seems like our last missed shot in the fourth quarter kind of came [being] into a positive thing.”
From a dreadful start to an emphatic overtime show, Neptunas turned a potential nightmare into one of its most satisfying wins of the season.
