MANISA (Türkiye) - The opening game of the day saw Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg take their chance at securing the second Semi-Final spot with a 90-77 win over Igokea m:tel.
Next up was the battle between Galatasaray and Telekom Baskets Bonn. The Germans got back to winning ways with an 85-75 win over this young Gala squad.
The third game of the day saw Tofas Bursa forced to dig deep to find a way past a spirited ERA Nymburk as they eventually dug out a 96-75 win to advance to the Semi-Finals.
And the final game of the day gave everyone in Manisa another look at the strength of this Rytas Vilnius roster. They overpowered the hosts 110-51 and claimed the final Semi-Finals berth where they will meet Tofas.
Let's have a look at the key takeaways from the day.
#1 LUDWIGSBURG DO IT BY COMMITTEE
Ludwigsburg raced into win number two and secured the second spot in the Semi-Finals and they did it by getting contributions from almost their entire roster.
Eight of the 11 players named for the game played 15 minutes or more and nine of the 11 scored four points or more.
The regular rotation off the bench from head coach Khee Rhee allows this Ludwigsburg team to maintain the type of pace and intensity that the senior team is known for.
The stat sheet looked a lot like a characteristic Ludwigsburg win. They won the game on points from turnovers (23-11), fastbreak points (23-18), second chance points (16-9), points in the paint (40-38), and perhaps most tellingly bench points (43-23).
The win was led by Raul Dumnici with a slick 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists on a cool 44.4 percent from behind the arc. The spin move in the post below shows you exactly the flavor that Dumnici brought to the game.
Dumnici was supported by Daniel Biel with 13 points and 8 rebounds whilst shooting 55 percent from the field, whilst using his athleticism to make multiple above the rim plays.
Ludwigsburg will meet the winner of Group B, Filou Oostende in the Semi-Finals after they topped their group on Gameday 2.
#2 THE SECOND ATTEMPT WAS SWEETER FOR BONN
Telekom Baskets Bonn will feel much better for their first win in the YBCL. Not only did they play much better than their debut game against Oostende, but they also now have a shot at a very respectable fifth place finish.
Galatasaray had the lead to end the first quarter and into the start of the second when they were still up 27-24 with eight minutes to play in the quarter.
From there Bonn took over the game and ended up leading the contest for 33 minutes of the 40. Those 23 points on the fastbreak and 27 points from the bench illustrated Bonn's all round control of the game.
Head coach Francesco Tubiana's squad were more intelligent with shot selection and more clinical in execution than they were in their first game. For Galatasaray, this felt like another learning experience for their young roster against an older and more savvy opponent.
Kenan Reinhart underlined why he was picked out as one of the players to watch at the tournament with 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists on 47 percent shooting from the field and 80 percent from two-point range.
Point guard Gaston Nguyen Manh also had a standout double-double, with 13 points and 11 assists as he controlled tempo and found his teammates for easy looks throughout the game.
#3 TOFAS HAVE A FIFTH GEAR
Tofas went into the game strong favorites in the knowledge that the Spartak Office Shoes team they had already beaten were too strong for their next opponents, ERA Nymburk on Gameday 1.
Basketball, however, has a funny way of never going as expected and Nymburk seemed to catch Tofas by surprise with their intensity to start the game.
They stormed out into a 16-8 lead with five minutes to play in the first quarter and led the game for all but two minutes of the first half.
With four minutes to go in the third quarter, Tofas reeled off six unanswered points to go up 59-56 and they never looked back from there.
A 10-0 run in the fourth quarter took the game away from Nymburk as Tofas found an extra gear that the Czechs weren't able to keep up with.
2008-born, 1.96 meter point guard Kerem Corumlular exploded into life in this game with 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. He threw down several huge dunks in the game and the last one put the exclamation mark on the end of that 10-0 run that broke this game open
Yucel Cagin Basaran also had another huge game with 18 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals. He leads the tournament for pockets picked so far with 10 steals in 2 games.
#4 NOBODY LIKES THEM, BUT WE DO...
Rytas Vilnius have a motto that says Nobody likes us and we don't care. And when you need to take down the tournament hosts in front of a packed home crowd, you have to get comfortable with being unpopular.
The good thing for Rytas is that when it comes to the YBCL, that motto isn't true because we love to see the intensity, physicality and selfless team basketball that Rytas bring to this tournament.
This game was never really a contest and no doubt Manisa BBSK will have gained a lot from experiencing the level it takes to be the champions in the YBCL.
Rytas led the game front to back and gave 13 minutes or more to all 12 players on their roster.
2007-born power forward Gabrielius Bubnys continued his strong campaign by dropping a double-double, racking up 22 points and 10 rebounds, whilst shooting 54 percent from the field and 75 percent from deep.
Adomas Pocius also put up a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, but there's not much more to say about this game, other than to say Rytas were just too good.
Next up for them is a familiar foe in the shape of Tofas Bursa in what should be a classic Semi-Final this Saturday. You will want to tune in for that one.