Big Baller Brand International Tournament

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Big Baller Brand International Tournament
Big Baller Brand International Tournament logo.png
DateFebruary 25–27, 2018 (2018-02-25 – 2018-02-27)
DurationFebruary 25–27, 2018
VenuePrienai Arena
LocationPrienai, Lithuania
Coordinates54°38′52″N 23°57′41″E / 54.64778°N 23.96139°E / 54.64778; 23.96139Coordinates: 54°38′52″N 23°57′41″E / 54.64778°N 23.96139°E / 54.64778; 23.96139
Patron(s)Big Baller Brand
Facebook
Ballislife.com
Organised byVytautas Prienai–Birštonas
Participants4 teams

The Big Baller Brand International Tournament was a round-robin basketball tournament hosted by Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) that featured three teams from different European countries. It began on February 25 and ended on February 27, 2018, with a total of six games and three games per team. The competition took place at Prienai Arena in Prienai, Lithuania, with the games featuring Vytautas being streamed through Facebook.

Wilki Morskie Szczecin, who play in the Polish Basketball League (PLK), claimed the tournament title after winning all three games and defeating runners-up, the Latvian second-tier VEF Rīga Skola, 94–74 in the deciding game. Slovenian team Helios Suns Domžale and hosts Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas finished in third and fourth place respectively.

History[]

Following the Big Baller Brand Challenge Games, a series of exhibition games hosted by Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas in January 2018 to feature new American signees LaMelo and , it was announced that the team was planning to hold a similar competition at the end of February.[1][2] At the time, Vytautas offered several top European youth clubs to participate, and in the following weeks, it was revealed that they had also invited Italian teams.[3] In addition, Vytautas attempted to bring Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) teams to the competition, but according to team general manager Adomas Kubilius, they turned down the invitations for financial reasons and due to the lack of defense in the exhibition games.[4] On February 19, 2018, Vytautas officially announced the Big Baller Brand International Tournament.[5] The tournament was played in a single round-robin format, with each team meeting all the other teams one time and final standings being determined by record.[5]

The Big Baller Brand International Tournament was sponsored by Big Baller Brand, a sports apparel company owned by LaVar Ball, the father of Vytautas players LaMelo and LiAngelo Ball.[1] LaVar Ball also assumed the head coaching position for Vytautas during the tournament.[6][7] The games that featured Vytautas were streamed live on Facebook through the Ballislife.com page.[8][9]

Venue[]

Prienai, Lithuania
Big Baller Brand International Tournament (Europe)
Prienai Arena[10]
Capacity: 1,500
Prienai, arena.JPG

Teams[]

The tournament featured four teams, with the three visiting clubs being based outside of Lithuania. VEF Rīga Skola, the youth team of VEF Rīga, was among the competitors.[11]

Team Country League (2017–18)
Helios Suns Domžale  Slovenia Slovenian Basketball League
Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas  Lithuania Lithuanian Basketball League
VEF Rīga Skola  Latvia Latvian Basketball League-2
Wilki Morskie Szczecin  Poland Polish Basketball League

First round[]

Helios Suns Domžale vs. Wilki Morskie Szczecin[]

25 February 2018 Helios Suns Domžale Slovenia 75–80 Poland Wilki Morskie Szczecin Prienai, Lithuania
18:00 (EET) Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 12-24, 24–13, 17–22
Pts: Pelko 27
Rebs: Đumić 7
Asts: Pelko 8 		Boxscore Pts: 17
Rebs: 10
Asts: 5 		Arena: Prienai Arena
Attendance: 200
Referees: Juozas Barkauskas (LTU), Šarūnas Gabrilavičius (LTU), Mantas Butvilas (LTU)
Starters: Pts Reb Ast
PG 6 Slovenia Matej Rojc 0 0 0
SG 7 Slovenia Jure Pelko 27 2 8
SF 4 Slovenia Jaka Brodnik 14 4 1
PF 10 Slovenia 6 6 2
C 15 Serbia Božo Đumić 11 7 0
Reserves:
PG 17 Slovenia 4 2 1
PF 24 Slovenia 11 2 2
C 32 Russia 0 3 0
SF 51 Slovenia 2 0 1
C 8 Slovenia DNP
Head coach:
Serbia Jovan Beader
Kit body navyshoulders.png
Helios Suns Domžale jersey
Kit shorts bluesides.png
Team colours
Helios Suns Domžale
Kit body redvertical.png
Wilki Morskie Szczecin jersey
Kit shorts red stripes.png
Team colours
Wilki Morskie Szczecin
Starters: Pts Reb Ast
PG 3 United States 9 1 1
SG 8 Lithuania Martynas Paliukėnas 2 3 4
SF 11 Poland 15 2 2
PF 6 Lithuania Tauras Jogėla 9 4 3
C 34 United States Darrell Harris 13 3 0
Reserves:
C 31 United States 17 10 2
SF 92 Lithuania 6 3 1
PF 15 Poland 9 9 5
PG 7 Poland Sebastian Kowalczyk 1 1 1
SG 12 Poland 0 0 0
SF 20 Poland DNP
PF 25 Poland DNP
Head coach:
Lithuania

Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas vs. VEF Rīga Skola[]

In both teams' debut at the Big Baller brand International Tournament, VEF Rīga Skola defeated Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas with a final score of 144−133. VEF Skola was spearheaded by Nikolajs Zotovs, who led his team with 29 points and 14 assists, along with 10 turnovers. The visiting side was also headlined by Klāvs Čavars and Arnolds Helmanis, who both recorded double-doubles while scoring 25 or more points. Edvinas Šeškus paced Vytautas with 35 points, shooting 13-of-20 from the field, while LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball scored 32 and 31 points respectively. Vytautas led by as many as 29 points in the first quarter, but after the hosts substituted all five starters, VEF Skola quickly reduced their deficit. The offense-driven game marked LaVar Ball's first loss as an assistant or head coach, as he won two games holding either position in the Big Baller Brand Challenge Games.

25 February 2018 Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas Lithuania 133–141 Latvia VEF Rīga Skola Prienai, Lithuania
21:00 (EET) Scoring by quarter: 49–25, 22–38, 31–32, 31–46
Pts: Šeškus 35
Rebs: Miniotas 13
Asts: La. Ball 8 		Boxscore Pts: 29
Rebs: 12
Asts: 14 		Arena: Prienai Arena
Attendance: 800
Referees: Jurgis Laurinavičius (LTU), Juozas Barkauskas (LTU), Mantas Butvilas (LTU)
Starters: Pts Reb Ast
PG 1 United States LaMelo Ball 31 5 8
SG 3 United States LiAngelo Ball 32 5 4
SF 9 Lithuania Edvinas Šeškus 35 3 3
PF 22 Lithuania Regimantas Miniotas 3 13 2
C 55 Haiti Kervin Bristol 2 7 1
Reserves:
SF 31 Lithuania Justas Sinica 14 1 0
PG 16 Albania Rashaun Broadus 7 1 7
SF 6 Lithuania Eigirdas Žukauskas 3 5 7
PF 11 Lithuania Egidijus Dimša 6 8 0
PG 5 Lithuania Gediminas Maceina 0 1 2
SG 33 Lithuania Tomas Dimša 0 0 0
SF 7 Lithuania DNP
Head coach:
United States LaVar Ball
Kit body basket in white.png
Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas jersey
Kit shorts basket in white.png
Team colours
Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas
Kit body thinwhitesides.png
VEF Rīga Skola jersey
Kit shorts white stripes.png
Team colours
VEF Rīga Skola
Starters: Pts Reb Ast
PG 9 Latvia 29 7 14
SG 10 Latvia 24 2 6
SF 7 Latvia 25 10 0
PF 55 Latvia 10 7 3
C 33 Latvia 27 12 0
Reserves:
SG 15 Latvia 9 4 1
SF 21 Latvia 8 6 2
SG 1 Latvia 2 7 5
C 14 Latvia 4 5 1
PF 18 Latvia 3 1 0
PG 30 Latvia 0 0 0
C 20 Latvia 0 0 0
Head coach:
Latvia Raimonds Feldmanis

Second round[]

Helios Suns Domžale vs. VEF Rīga Skola[]

26 February 2018 Helios Suns Domžale Slovenia 89–940(OT) Latvia VEF Rīga Skola Prienai, Lithuania
18:00 (EET) Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 25–27, 18–15, 14–16, Overtime: 10–15
Pts: Đumić 22
Rebs: Brodnik 11
Asts: Pelko 5 		Boxscore Pts: 30
Rebs: 8
Asts: 8 		Arena: Prienai Arena
Attendance: 150
Referees: Gvidas Gedvilas (LTU), Ignas Davainis (LTU), Andžej Urbanovič (LTU)
Starters: Pts Reb Ast
PG 17 Slovenia 6 3 1
SG 7 Slovenia Jure Pelko 18 7 5
SF 4 Slovenia Jaka Brodnik 21 11 4
PF 10 Slovenia 7 4 1
C 24 Slovenia 4 3 1
Reserves:
C 15 Slovenia Božo Đumić 22 5 2
C 32 Russia 11 6 3
SF 51 Slovenia 0 1 1
C 8 Slovenia DNP
PG 6 Slovenia Matej Rojc DNP
Head coach:
Serbia Jovan Beader
Kit body navyshoulders.png
Helios Suns Domžale jersey
Kit shorts bluesides.png
Team colours
Helios Suns Domžale
Kit body thinwhitesides.png
VEF Rīga Skola jersey
Kit shorts white stripes.png
Team colours
VEF Rīga Skola
Starters: Pts Reb Ast
PG 9 Latvia 30 7 8
SG 10 Latvia 25 3 3
SF 21 Latvia 6 6 2
PF 55 Latvia 0 1 0
C 33 Latvia 15 5 1
Reserves:
SG 15 Latvia 13 8 0
SG 1 Latvia 3 2 3
C 20 Latvia 2 4 0
C 14 Latvia 0 2 0
PF 18 Latvia 0 0 0
PG 30 Latvia 0 0 0
SF 7 Latvia DNP
Head coach:
Latvia Raimonds Feldmanis

Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas vs. Wilki Morskie Szczecin[]

In the final game of the second round, Wilki Morskie Szczecin improved to 2–0 in the tournament with a decisive 32-point victory over Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas.[12] The winning team was led by Tauras Jogėla, who chipped in a team-high 24 points, and Kyle Benjamin, who notched a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds.[13] For Vytautas, LiAngelo Ball led all scorers with 26 points in 40 minutes, shooting 1-of-9 from the three-point line. In 28 minutes, LaMelo Ball recorded nine assists to lead his team, but shot 0-of-7 on three-pointers and had 10 points before being sidelined with a leg injury.[14]

26 February 2018 Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas Lithuania 96–128 Poland Wilki Morskie Szczecin Prienai, Lithuania
21:00 (EET) Scoring by quarter: 24–34, 24–27, 30–32, 18–35
Pts: Li. Ball 26
Rebs: Miniotas 7
Asts: La. Ball 9 		Boxscore Pts: Jogėla 24
Rebs: 14
Asts: Paliukėnas 8 		Arena: Prienai Arena
Attendance: 500
Referees: Jurgis Laurinavičius (LTU), Juozas Barkauskas (LTU), Šarūnas Gabrilavičius (LTU)
Starters: Pts Reb Ast
PG 1 United States LaMelo Ball 10 5 9
SG 3 United States LiAngelo Ball 26 5 0
SF 9 Lithuania Edvinas Šeškus 16 1 2
PF 22 Lithuania Regimantas Miniotas 13 7 2
C 55 Haiti Kervin Bristol 6 6 0
Reserves:
PF 11 Lithuania Egidijus Dimša 13 4 0
SF 31 Lithuania Justas Sinica 7 3 3
PG 16 Albania Rashaun Broadus 5 2 6
SF 6 Lithuania Eigirdas Žukauskas 0 3 0
SF 7 Lithuania 0 0 0
PG 5 Lithuania Gediminas Maceina DNP
SG 33 Lithuania Tomas Dimša DNP
Head coach:
United States LaVar Ball
Kit body basket in white.png
Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas jersey
Kit shorts basket in white.png
Team colours
Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas
Kit body bluevertical.png
Wilki Morskie Szczecin jersey
Kit shorts blue stripes.png
Team colours
Wilki Morskie Szczecin
Starters: Pts Reb Ast
PG 3 United States 20 1 4
SG 8 Lithuania Martynas Paliukėnas 18 3 8
SF 11 Poland 18 2 5
PF 6 Lithuania Tauras Jogėla 24 5 1
C 31 United States 14 14 1
Reserves:
SF 20 Poland 13 7 2
PG 7 Poland Sebastian Kowalczyk 7 1 3
C 34 United States Darrell Harris 2 4 0
SF 92 Lithuania 4 0 2
PF 15 Poland 3 4 2
SG 12 Poland 3 1 1
PF 25 Poland 2 3 1
Head coach:
Lithuania

Third round[]

Wilki Morskie Szczecin vs. VEF Rīga Skola[]

27 February 2018 Wilki Morskie Szczecin Poland 94–74 Latvia VEF Rīga Skola Prienai, Lithuania
18:00 (EET) Scoring by quarter: 23–20, 20–20, 24–21, 27–13
Pts: 23
Rebs: 7
Asts: Kowalczyk, Paliukėnas 4 		Boxscore Pts: 18
Rebs: 9
Asts: , 3 		Arena: Prienai Arena
Attendance: 100
Starters: Pts Reb Ast
PG 7 Poland Sebastian Kowalczyk 11 3 4
SG 20 Poland 4 4 1
SF 11 Poland 12 1 3
PF 6 Lithuania Tauras Jogėla 14 4 2
C 31 United States 23 7 0
Reserves:
PG 3 United States 12 5 3
SG 8 Lithuania Martynas Paliukėnas 13 2 4
SF 92 Lithuania 2 3 2
SG 12 Poland 3 2 0
PF 25 Poland 0 1 1
C 34 United States Darrell Harris DNP
PF 15 Poland DNP
Head coach:
Lithuania
Kit body bluevertical.png
Wilki Morskie Szczecin jersey
Kit shorts blue stripes.png
Team colours
Wilki Morskie Szczecin
Kit body thinwhitesides.png
VEF Rīga Skola jersey
Kit shorts white stripes.png
Team colours
VEF Rīga Skola
Starters: Pts Reb Ast
PG 9 Latvia 14 5 3
SG 10 Latvia 18 2 1
SF 21 Latvia 4 4 3
PF 55 Latvia 3 1 2
C 33 Latvia 14 9 1
Reserves:
SG 15 Latvia 10 6 2
SG 1 Latvia 9 2 0
C 20 Latvia 2 2 0
PF 18 Latvia 0 2 1
C 14 Latvia 0 0 0
PG 30 Latvia 0 0 0
SF 7 Latvia DNP
Head coach:
Latvia Raimonds Feldmanis

Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas vs. Helios Suns Domžale[]

In the concluding game of the Big Baller Brand International Tournament, the Helios Suns Domžale left the tournament with a third-place finish over Vytautas with a 96–87 win. The Helios Suns were led by Urban Oman and Nejc Klavžar with 22 points each, the latter of whom also tied Božo Đumić for assists with 6 each; Đumić also led the team with 8 rebounds. In the aftermath of Vytautas' previous game in the tournament, LaMelo Ball did not play the last game of the tournament. LiAngelo Ball led all scorers with 30 points, while Kervin Bristol led all players with 14 rebounds and Gediminas Maceina recorded a double-double with 11 points and a game-leading 10 assists.

27 February 2018 Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas Lithuania 87–96 Slovenia Helios Suns Domžale Prienai, Lithuania
21:00 (EET) Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 26–22, 23–23, 17–28
Pts: Li. Ball 30
Rebs: Bristol 14
Asts: Maceina 10 		Pts: , Klavžar 22
Rebs: Đumić 8
Asts: Klavžar, Đumić 6 		Arena: Prienai Arena
Starters: Pts Reb Ast
PG 5 Lithuania Gediminas Maceina 11 5 10
SG 3 United States LiAngelo Ball 30 8 1
SF 9 Lithuania Edvinas Šeškus 19 0 0
PF 22 Lithuania Regimantas Miniotas 9 10 1
C 55 Haiti Kervin Bristol 8 14 1
Reserves:
SF 31 Lithuania Justas Sinica 3 2 0
PG 16 Albania Rashaun Broadus 0 1 4
SF 6 Lithuania Eigirdas Žukauskas 2 0 1
PF 11 Lithuania Egidijus Dimša 5 3 0
SG 33 Lithuania Tomas Dimša DNP
PG 1 United States LaMelo Ball DNP
SF 7 Lithuania DNP
Head coach:
United States LaVar Ball
Kit body basket in white.png
Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas jersey
Kit shorts basket in white.png
Team colours
Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas
Kit body navyshoulders.png
Helios Suns Domžale jersey
Kit shorts bluesides.png
Team colours
Helios Suns Domžale
Starters: Pts Reb Ast
PG 17 Slovenia 22 5 6
SG 7 Slovenia Jure Pelko 16 5 2
SF 4 Slovenia Jaka Brodnik 14 6 5
PF 10 Slovenia 22 7 2
C 24 Slovenia 2 3 2
Reserves:
C 15 Slovenia Božo Đumić 9 8 6
C 32 Russia 2 3 1
SF 51 Slovenia 8 0 1
C 8 Slovenia 1 1 0
PG 6 Slovenia Matej Rojc DNP
Head coach:
Serbia Jovan Beader

Standings[]

Rank Team Record
1st place, gold medalist(s) Poland Wilki Morskie Szczecin 3–0
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Latvia VEF Rīga Skola 2–1
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Slovenia Helios Suns Domžale 1–2
4th Lithuania Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas 0–3

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Miklovas, Jonas (January 29, 2018). "Lietuvoje ateitį piešiantis LaVaras: "Bet kas gali būti treneriu"". BasketNews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  2. ^ Martin, Josh (January 29, 2018). "Big Baller Brand Challenge Games to return, London pop-up shop coming". Lonzo Ball Wire. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  3. ^ Urbonas, Donatas. "Iš Lietuvos išskridusių Ballų posūkiai: Londonas, NBA savaitgalis ir turnyras Prienuose". 15 min (in Lithuanian). Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  4. ^ Stalgaitis, Vilius (February 23, 2018). ""Vytautas" pasitinka dar vieną turnyrą: "Lietuvos komandos mano, kad dabar sėdime ant pinigų maišo"". BasketNews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Prienuose Tarptautinis "Big Baller Brand" Turnyras". BCVytautas.lt (in Lithuanian). February 19, 2018. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  6. ^ "LaVaras dar kartą stos prie "Vytauto" vairo". BasketNews.lt (in Lithuanian). February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  7. ^ "LaVaras Ballas vėl tapo "Vytauto" pagrindiniu treneriu". 15 min (in Lithuanian). February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  8. ^ "Big Baller Brand International Tournament". Facebook. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  9. ^ Martin, Josh (February 24, 2018). "LaVar Ball to coach LiAngelo, LaMelo in Big Baller Brand International Tournament". Lonzo Ball Wire. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  10. ^ Martin, Josh (February 24, 2018). "LaVar Ball to coach LiAngelo, LaMelo in Big Baller Brand International Tournament". Lonzo Ball Wire. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  11. ^ Martin, Josh (February 19, 2018). "LiAngelo, LaMelo Ball to play in Big Baller Brand International Tournament". Lonzo Ball Wire. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  12. ^ "Pirmą kartą BBB turnyre 100 taškų nepelnęs "Vytautas" neturėjo vilčių mače su "Wilki Morskie"". BasketNews.lt (in Lithuanian). February 26, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  13. ^ ""Vytautas" nepasipriešino svečiams iš Lenkijos Visą straipsnį galite rasti". Sportas.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  14. ^ Joseph, Andrew (February 26, 2018). "LaVar Ball plans to sit 'hurt' LaMelo Ball after injury in Big Baller Brand game". For The Win. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
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