It was his first game in European competitions in Lithuanian soil since 2020, and Deividas Sirvydis made sure he was ready to showcase what he can do on a basketball court.

Sirvydis is back home to lead Lietkabelis

Sirvydis led 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys to an 84-74 home win against Aris Midea Thessaloniki, finishing the game with 21 points in almost 34 minutes. At age 23, Sirvydis is a young veteran ready to make the most out of the extended playing time and the leading role that Lietkabelis head coach Roberts Stelmahers is giving him.

He is the son of Virginijus Sirvydis, who played professional basketball in Lithuania, Russia, Germany, Cyprus and the Czech Republic. [Deividas Sirvydis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/deividas-sirvydis/007029/) grew up in all of these countries and picked up basketball at age 7. He grew up with Rytas Vilnius and became a star in the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament (ANGT). In 2018, he led U18 Rytas to the ANGT title in Belgrade, Serbia. He had 16 points, 3 rebounds and a PIR of 15 in a 55-76 over U18 Stellazzurra Rome in the championship game. Sirvydis was chosen as the tournament's MVP.

Slowly but steadily, Sirvydis started to see playing time in Rytas's first team, taking part in three EuroCup seasons from 2017 to 2020. In the 2019-20 campaign, he averaged 6.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 16 EuroCup games. After a brief stint with Hapoel Jerusalem, Sirvydis signed a deal with Detroit of the NBA, and went on to play halfway between the NBA and the G League until he signed a contract with Lietkabelis this summer.

Lietkabelis fixed its problems in the second half, cutting turnovers to just 6 after the break. The hosts rebounded even better at both ends, too. Lietkabelis pulled down 10 offensive rebounds after the break, getting almost as many defensive boards (14) as Aris. The guests were able to pull just 5 more offensive boards after halftime, 25% of all rebounds under Lietkabelis's basket. The hosts ended up burying 11 of 25 three-pointers (44.0% 3FG) on the night. Aris took more three-point shots, 28, but hit just 7 of them (25%).

Sirvydis led 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys to an 84-74 home win against Aris Midea Thessaloniki, finishing the game with 21 points in almost 34 minutes.

Sirvydis led Lietkabelis past Aris

Back in Europe after a three-year break, Sirvydis returned to European competitions last week but did not have his best performance. He made only 1 of 9 three-point attempts on his way to 8 points, adding 7 rebounds for a PIR of 3. Back in his home country on Tuesday, however, Sirvydis had a very different performance, full of confidence, asking for the ball to play one-on-one, going to foul line often and being very aggressive at both ends.

Lietkabelis opted to put together a team with deep roots in its basketball-crazy country, with only two foreigns: Nikola Popovic and Alen Hadzibegovic. Sirvydis is living up to the expectations as one of the team's leaders, along with Gediminas Orelik and Vytenis Lipkevicius, all of them Lithuanian. After playing basketball in different countries as a kid and a professional player, it is time for Sirvydis to take over in Lithuania.

Game News

Game Videos

7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys v Aris Midea Thessaloniki (2023-10-10T16:00:00.000Z)

Left unable to play in the BKT EuroCup last season due to injury, Tarik Phillip has come back in a big way already for London Lions.

Phillip bounced back from injury for clutch display in Hamburg

[Matt Morgan](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/matthew-morgan/012585/) may have pulled off an MVP performance in Hamburg on Tuesday night. And [Conor Morgan](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/conor-morgan/009680/) may have contributed 12 of his 17 points in the last quarter against Veolia Hamburg Towers. But [Tarik Phillip](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/tarik-phillip/009649/) was the man who sealed the victory for the London Lions in Germany.

Phillip scored 9 points in the first three quarters and another 9 in the last one. His second three-pointer of the game brought London within 73-72 a minute-and-a-half into the fourth quarter. Then, his third triple of the night put the guests ahead 75-78, before he connected with Conor Morgan, who also netted from behind the arc.

Hamburg bounced back and trimmed the deficit to 92-95 with less than 1 minute to go, but that's when Phillip stepped up again. He scored a buzzer-beating jump shot and forced a turnover from Aljami Durham on the next possession to practically put the game on ice for the visitors.

Straight after the final whistle, all of Phillip's teammates went to embrace him and congratulate him for his performance before heading to the locker rooms. Their support was crucial in his bid to get in shape again after facing a serious knee injury during preseason ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.

Tarik Phillip (18 points) Highlights vs. Hamburg Towers, 10/10/2023

Tarik Phillip's highlights vs. Hamburg Towers

"It was the first day of practice. It's crazy to explain, honestly. It was sort of a freak accident," Phillip said in a mini-documentary produced by London following his return to action.

"I jumped. I heard a pop. I landed on both feet. I thought it was normal. I tried to take a step, to bend my leg and I realized that I couldn't bend it. It's crazy. I was sometimes in the house and I was like, 'Am I gonna be able to play again?'"

Phillip didn't feature in any BKT EuroCup games last season but returned for the last seven games of the British League to help London go all the way to the trophy. Then, over the summer, the club decided to place its faith in Phillip by announcing his contract extension. The 29-year-old guard has managed to pay back that confidence on the court in his first two games of the 2023-24 EuroCup campaign.

After putting together a fine all-around performance by producing 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists in the season opener against Umana Reyer Venice, Phillip scored 18 against Hamburg to demonstrate that he will be an important tool in head coach Petar Bozic's hands this season. Having bounced back from a serious injury, Phillip has shown that he is ready to take the EuroCup by storm.

Left unable to play in the BKT EuroCup last season due to injury, Tarik Phillip has come back in a big way already for the London Lions.

Veolia Towers Hamburg v London Lions (2023-10-10T17:30:00.000Z)

London Lions emerged victorious from a closely contested affair, beating host Veolia Hamburg Towers to stay perfect after two games in BKT EuroCup's Group A.

London dominated fourth quarter to down host Hamburg

In a highly-entertaining showdown on Tuesday night, Veolia Hamburg Towers was ahead 70-65 against the London Lions heading into the fourth quarter. It was a see-saw affair in the first three quarters, with the two sides exchanging punches and leads. But London's players left their hearts and all their energy on the court in the last quarter, when they scored as many as 35 points to secure a hard-fought 94-100 victory.

"It was just a team effort. Our defense really fueled our offense," game MVP [Matt Morgan](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/matthew-morgan/012585/) said after the game. "The culture we want to build as a team is 'next man up'. Everyone had energy, credit to our coach and staff for getting us right throughout the week. We just wanted to win and we all played for each other, so this is what got us through.”

Five London players registered double digits in scoring, as Matt Morgan scored a team-high 21 points, [Tarik Phillip](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/tarik-phillip/009649/) and [Gabe Olaseni](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/gabe-olaseni/006600/) added 18 each, [Conor Morgan](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/conor-morgan/009680/) had 17 and [Donte Grantham](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/donte-grantham/012586/), who shined in London’s win in its BKT EuroCup season opener against Umana Reyer Venice, registered 10. 

Most importantly, the guests turned the game around without head coach Petar Bozic on the bench due to illness. His assistant, Robert Youngblood, who was in charge of the team, also focused on the mentality that the coaching staff is trying to instil into the team and sent Bozic a message after the Lions' second win this season.

"It was a big game for the team," Youngblood noted. "We are trying to build a culture here in London. We want everybody to play the right way. Coach \[Bozic\], we got you."

After celebrating a well-earned road win in Germany, London’s fourth quarter is definitely something that Bozic and his staff will look to build on in their bid to inspire the team into playoff qualification for the second campaign in a row.

London Lions used a club-record 35-point fourth quarter to reach 100 points and outgun host Hamburg.

London wins a shootout in Hamburg, 94-100

A 35-point fourth-quarter surge sent London Lions to the century mark in scoring a 94-100 victory over host Veolia Hamburg Towers. London improved to 2-0 in Group A while Hamburg dropped to 0-2. Matt Morgan paced London with 21 points and 6 assists for a 29 PIR. Tarik Phillip and Gabe Olaseni scored 18 apiece and Conor Morgan added 17. Hamburg center Aleksander Dziewa scored a game- and career-high 28 points and pulled 6 rebounds for a PIR of 30. Seth Hinrichs added 16 points and Aljami Durham paired his 13 points with 7 boards for Hamburg. 

 

Both teams started strong, exchanging punches in the first quarter, with Hamburg holding leads though London managed to turn it into an entertaining one-possession affair. Dziewa recorded 10 first-quarter point as the hosts tried to open some distance but Nelson's 8 back-to-back points left a 25-25 tie after 10 minutes. London took its first lead to start the second quarter, 25-27, but Hinrichs sank a triple among 5 quick points as Hamburg got back in front, 30-27. VJ King stepped up with a three-point play for a 34-29 Hamburg lead. Matt Morgan responded from behind the arc to bring London closer, and then guests made the most of consecutive Hamburg turnovers to go in front, 38-39, after Donte Grantham's fastbreak layup. Not to be outdome, Terrell Gomez drilled a three-pointer from long range to give Hamburg a 45-41 halftime lead.

London rained threes to open the second half, as Morgan, Phillip and Mo Soluade scored one apiece to put their team up 49-50. Dziewa took his scoring tally to 22 by scoring 7 points in a row and William Christmas put Hamburg in front, 60-58, with a step-back triple. Jordan Taylor scored a basket-and-one, but Hinrichs netted 4 points in a row for a 70-65 Hamburg lead heading into the fourth quarter. Mark Hughes, from downtown, to stretch the hosts' advantage to 8 points, but London reacted instantly as Olaseni scored twice and Phillip downed a triple to get the guests within 73-72. Phillip sank his third shot from the arc and Conor Morgan converted a triple-and-one for a 77-82 London lead with 6:10 left. Hughes connected from long range again but didn't manage to end London's momentum, as Matt Morgan scored 5 unanswered points for an 82-90 lead, his team's largest. Durham answered with 5 in a row for Hamburg, but Connor Morgan converted all 3 of 3 free throws at 87-95. Durham netted a lay-p and Lukas Meisner sank a triple to trim down the deficit to 92-95 inside the final minute, but Phillip netted a jumper and Matt Morgan 3 more foul shots to put the game to bed for London.

London emerged victorious from a closely contested affair, beating host Hamburg to stay perfect after two games in BKT EuroCup's Group A.

Bourg made it two wins out of two with a hard-fought 72-79 victory at Trento, which must wait for its first victory of the season. 

Bourg starts Group B 2-0 with win at Trento

 MincideliceJL Bourg en Bresse maintained its strong start to the season with a hard-fought 72-79 victory at winless Dolomiti Energia Trento . Bourg now occupies the top rung in Group B with a 2-0 record, while Trento goes back to the drawing board after dropping a pair to start the season. 

The French team took early control, and withstood a Trento fightback to lead at the break, 38-44. The second half saw Bourg repeatedly grab small leads but Trento refused to go quietly and kept battling until the latter stages, when Bourg finally enjoyed the comfort of a double-digit lead. 

Bryce Brown paced Bourg with 17 points, while Hugo Benitez directed the offense with 10 points and 9 assists. Maksim Salash (13), Isiaha Mike (12) and Kevin Kokila (11) also scored in double digits for the winner. Trento's Paul Biligha came close to a double-double with 17 points and 9 rebounds, and Quinn Ellis added 14 points in defeat. 

It was a fast-paced start which saw Bourg jump to a 7-12 lead with a pair of buckets from Kokila. Brown scored 6 points in a hurry but Toto Forray matched that to bring the host back, 23-23, after 10 minutes. Baskets were evenly traded early in the second quarter before Kamar Baldwin's triple gave Trento a rare lead, 31-29. Long-range strikes from Jeremy Morgan and Brown brought Bourg back in front, 37-39, and Brown's buzzer-beating layup extended the margin to 38-44 for the visitors at the interval. 

Mike hit a couple of quick-fire three-balls early in the second half as Bourg threatened to pull away, but two scores from Ellis kept Trento hoping before Biligha added 5 fast points to tie it up, 57-57. Both offenses struggled at the end of the third, which finished 59-62 after a three-pointer by Zaccharie Risacher. A smooth alley-oop between Ellis and Myles Stephens tied it, 63-63, early in the final period, but three-pointers from Brown and Salash pushed Bourg back ahead. Inside scores from Benitez and Salash stretched it to 67-77, the first double-digit margin, and it was too late for Trento to respond. 

Dolomiti Energia Trento v Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (2023-10-10T18:00:00.000Z)

Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul took down a second big name in as many weeks as the Turkiye side beat Prometey Slobozhanske 92-70 at home in Group A of the BKT EuroCup on Tuesday. 

 Besiktas handles Prometey to go 2-0 in Group A 

After defeating 2023 semifinalist Joventut Badalona 62-63 on the road in Round 1, Besiktas held down another semifinalist from last season to improve to 2-0 while Prometey dropped to 1-1. Yigit Arslan paced Besiktas with a career-high 24 points and Jonah Mathews added 22 points in the win. Tai Odiase poured in 16 points for Prometey.

Prometey jumped in front 0-4 as Besiktas failed to score for the first 2 minutes. Odiase hit his second basket and Caleb Agada tallied 6 points of his own as Prometey led 2-10 after 5 minutes. Besiktas head coach Dusan Alimpijevic had seen enough, but Mathews quickly stepped up with 8 points to put the hosts ahead 18-17. Besiktas stayed up 20-17 after 10 minutes.  Arslan picked up the first 4 points of the second quarter as Besiktas went on a 13-0 run to a 26-17 gap. Odiase converted a three-point play to end the visitors' four-minute drought. When Prometey cut the deficit to 4, however, Mathews picked up 5 more points to establish a double-digit Besiktas lead, 36-25. The momentum continued as the Turkish team increased the cushion to 15 points and Besiktas went into the intermission ahead by 46-34. 

Odiase trimmed the scoreline to 48-37 after the break but a Mathews three-pointer soon helped Besiktas extend the lead to 16 points and Arslan made it 58-41 midway through the third quarter. The guests temporarily found themselves down by just 11 only to watch Besiktas surge ahead by 18 points and led 68-51 after 30 minutes.  The cushion swelled to 20 points early in the final frame on another Arslan triple, 73-53. Issuf Sanon tried to get the guests back into the game with 5 points and Agada added 4 but they still were down 75-60 with 5 minutes to go. Besiktas would not let Prometey get closer, with Berk Ugurlu and Arslan both knocking down three-pointers to thwart any comeback hopes. 

Besiktas handles Prometey to go 2-0 in Group A

Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul v Prometey Slobozhanske (2023-10-10T17:00:00.000Z)

7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys cruised to its first win in the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup, downing Aris Midea Thessaloniki 83-74 at Kalnapilio Arena in Group B on Tuesday. Powering the boards was arguably the biggest key to this game. 

 Lietkabelis dominated the boards to beat Aris 

Lietkabelis out-rebounded Aris by 46-37. It led 22-18 in rebounds at halftime, allowing Aris to get 10 offensive boards and only getting 5 under the guests' rim. The hosts picked up as many as 12 first-half turnovers, which prevented Coach Roberts Stelmahers's team from getting a bigger halftime lead. Nonetheless, Lietkabelis buried 7 of 12 three-pointers which, added to its good rebounding numbers, allowed the hosts to take a 43-36 advantage into intermission.

Lietkabelis fixed its problems in the second half, cutting turnovers to just 6 after the break. The hosts rebounded even better at both ends, too. Lietkabelis pulled down 10 offensive rebounds after the break, getting almost as many defensive boards (14) as Aris. The guests were able to pull just 5 more offensive boards after halftime, 25% of all rebounds under Lietkabelis's basket. The hosts ended up burying 11 of 25 three-pointers (44.0% 3FG) on the night. Aris took more three-point shots, 28, but hit just 7 of them (25%).

"This is a big part of our victory, \[cutting\] turnovers," Coach Stelmahers said after the game. "This was dragging us down a little bit with their pressure but we managed \[to get the win\] and I am happy for the team."

Lietkabelis has managed to out-rebound both of its opponents so far. In 76-65 road loss against Buducnost VOLI Podgorica in Round 1, it nonetheless won the battle of the boards, 35-42. In Round 2, [Vytenis Lipkevicius](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/vytenis-lipkevicius/lxi/) was his team's top rebounder with 9 boards, followed by [Gediminas Orelik](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/gediminas-orelik/002012/) (8) and [Nikola Popovic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/nikola-popovic/006230/) (7). 

So far, Lietkabelis is averaging 44.0 rebounds in two games, way better than in the 2022-23 campaign, when its rebounders grabbed 35.0 boards over 19 games. 

 Lietkabelis dominated the boards to beat Aris

7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys grabbed its first win in BKT EuroCup Group B by topping Aris Midea Thessaloniki 84-74 at Kalnapilio Arena on Tuesday as Deividas Sirvydis and Gediminas Orelik starred.

Orelik, Sirvydis lead first Lietkabelis win

Lietkabelis pulled away in the final 10 minutes to defeat Aris 84-74 in its Group B home opener. Lietkabelis now has a 1-1 record in Group B and Aris dropped to 0-2. Deividas Sirvydis led the winners with 21 points. Gediminas Orelik added 19 and 8 rebounds while Nikola Popovic had 13 points for Lietkabelis. Vassilis Toliopoulos led Aris with 19 points. Silvio De Sousa added 16 and 11 rebounds while Roberto Gallinat had 15 points for the guests.

Roberts Blumbergs and De Sousa gor Aris going and Lefteris Bochoridis struck from downtown for a 7-9 lead. Paulius Valinskas and Gabrielius Maldunas fueled an 11-0 Lietkabelis run that Vytenis Lipkevicius capped with a triple for a 18-9 score. De Sousa and Toliopoulos stepped up for Aris, bringing their team within 23-20 after 10 minutes. Ismael Sanogo scored twice around the basket to complete Aris's comeback, 25-26, early in the second quarter. Sirvydis and Orelik rescued the hosts, restoring a 34-32 edge. Orelik and Donatas Saveckis each hit a triple to boost Lietkabelis's margin to 43-36 at halftime.

De Sousa and Toliopoulos kept pacing Aris after the break, and Gallinat's three-pointer gave the guests hope at 51-49. Lietkabelis found a go-to guy in Sirvydis, then Alen Hadzibegovic's wild put-back slam restored a 60-52 lead. Toliopoulos followed a layup-plus-free throw with a three-pointer to get Aris within 61-59 after 30 minutes. Popovic scored twice down low early in the fourth quarter and Orelik struck from downtown to boost the hosts' lead to 68-59. Sirvydis joined the three-point shootout, Orelik scored again and Sirvydis added a backdoor layup that sealed the outcome, 78-66, with 3 minutes left.

7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys grabbed its first win in BKT EuroCup Group B by topping Aris Midea Thessaloniki 84-74 at Kalnapilio Arena on Tuesday. 


Andrews was injured in practice on Monday and medical reports confirmed that he has a second-degree sprain in his left ankle. As such, Andrews will received intensive treatment and his prognosis will determine when he returns to the court. He is expected to miss a few games, starting with his team's BKT EuroCup Regular Season Round 2 showdown against Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ca" dir="ltr">🚑 Comunicat mèdic: Andrew Andrews<br><br>Després de les proves mèdiques realitzades al jugador, lesionat durant el darrer entrenament, els resultats han determinat que pateix un esquinç de grau II al turmell esquerre. Andrews serà sotmès a tractament intensiu pels serveis mèdics del… <a href="https://t.co/nhPn26wqF3">pic.twitter.com/nhPn26wqF3</a></p>&mdash; Club Joventut Badalona (@Penya1930) <a href="https://twitter.com/Penya1930/status/1711676080300474828?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 10, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Joventut Badalona guard Andrew Andrews is set to be sidelined for an undetermined number of games due to a sprained ankle.

Sirvydis is back home to lead Lietkabelis

Phillip bounced back from injury for clutch display in Hamburg

London dominated fourth quarter to down host Hamburg

London wins a shootout in Hamburg, 94-100

Bourg starts Group B 2-0 with win at Trento

Besiktas handles Prometey to go 2-0 in Group A

Lietkabelis dominated the boards to beat Aris

Orelik, Sirvydis lead first Lietkabelis win

Joventut's Andrews sprains ankle