MANISA (Türkiye) - For the second time in three years of the Youth Basketball Champions League, the trophy is headed to Lithuania. Rytas Vilnius claimed their second title with a 109-76 win over Filou Oostende in the Final.
The win closed out a perfect 4-0 run through the field for the Lithuanian juggernauts, and their wins were more than impressive. It all started with a 101-71 triumph against Pallacanestro Reggiana on Gameday 1, followed by a 110-51 win over the hosts, Manisa BBSK.
The Semi-Finals saw them take on Youth BCL arch-rivals Tofas Bursa, but they set their mark early on and cruised to a 126-59 win, before defeating Oostende in the championship game.
Coach Gintaras Kadziulis saw a balanced effort by all his players, but the tournament MVP was once again Ignas Urbonas, also going back-to-back, since he was the 2024 Youth BCL MVP, too.
"I'd say my game has improved a lot - a year is a long time. Decision-making and game IQ, I've worked on a lot, tried to improve, and I think I've changed quite a bit over the year," Urbonas stated.
He averaged 20.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game, giving him an average efficiency rating of 26.8.
Urbonas was also named to the All-Star Five of the event.
Joining him were his teammate Gabrielius Bubnys, Filou Oostende's Daan Pieters and Tim Waerniers, along with Pallacanestro Reggiana's big man Mame Samba Deme El Hadji.
Bubnys finished the season with 18.3 points and 5.8 rebounds to his name; Pieters scored 20.0 points with 6.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists; Waerniers had 18.3 points and 5.8 rebounds; while Deme El Hadji got 16.8 points, 14.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.
In the Third-Place Game, Tofas Bursa defeated Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg 83-72.
Pallacanestro Reggiana finished fifth after a 92-79 win over Telekom Baskets Bonn, and Aliaga Petkimspor got seventh place with a 79-68 win over Spartak Office Shoes.
Final standings
Rytas Vilnius
Filou Oostende
Tofas Bursa
Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg
Pallacanestro Reggiana
Telekom Baskets Bonn
Aliaga Petkimspor
Spartak Office Shoes
Galatasaray
ERA Nymburk
Igokea m:tel
Manisa BBSK
The third edition of the Youth Basketball Champions League was played at the Tarik Almis Sports Hall in Manisa. The first two were played in Bursa, Türkiye and Debrecen, Hungary, and were won by Igokea m:tel and Rytas Vilnius, respectively.