Big Baller Brand International Tournament

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.

Big Baller Brand International Tournament
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
Patron(s)Big Baller Brand
Facebook
Ballislife.com
Organised byVytautas Prienai–Birštonas
Participants4 teams

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 LiAngelo Ball, 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

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 7580 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: Benjamin 17
Rebs: Benjamin 10
Asts: Bartosz 5
Arena: Prienai Arena
Attendance: 200
Referees: Juozas Barkauskas (LTU), Šarūnas Gabrilavičius (LTU), Mantas Butvilas (LTU)
Starters:PtsRebAst
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 Urban Oman 6 6 2
C 15 Serbia Božo Đumić 11 7 0
Reserves:
PG 17 Slovenia Nejc Klavžar 4 2 1
PF 24 Slovenia Jure Besedič 11 2 2
C 32 Russia Alexander Shashkov 0 3 0
SF 51 Slovenia Jakob Strel 2 0 1
C 8 Slovenia Adrian Jogan DNP
Head coach:
Serbia Jovan Beader
Helios Suns Domžale jersey
Team colours
Helios Suns Domžale
Wilki Morskie Szczecin jersey
Team colours
Wilki Morskie Szczecin


Starters:PtsRebAst
PG 3 United States Carlos Medlock 9 1 1
SG 8 Lithuania Martynas Paliukėnas 2 3 4
SF 11 Poland Paweł Kikowski 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 Kyle Benjamin 17 10 2
SF 92 Lithuania Kostas Jonuška 6 3 1
PF 15 Poland Mateusz Bartosz 9 9 5
PG 7 Poland Sebastian Kowalczyk 1 1 1
SG 12 Poland Maciej Majcherek 0 0 0
SF 20 Poland Łukasz Diduszko DNP
PF 25 Poland Maciej Adamkiewicz DNP
Head coach:
Lithuania Mindaugas Budzinauskas

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 133141 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: Zotovs 29
Rebs: Čavars 12
Asts: Zotovs 14
Arena: Prienai Arena
Attendance: 800
Referees: Jurgis Laurinavičius (LTU), Juozas Barkauskas (LTU), Mantas Butvilas (LTU)
Starters:PtsRebAst
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 Bartas Aleksandravičius DNP
Head coach:
United States LaVar Ball
Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas jersey
Team colours
Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas
VEF Rīga Skola jersey
Team colours
VEF Rīga Skola


Starters:PtsRebAst
PG 9 Latvia Nikolajs Zotovs 29 7 14
SG 10 Latvia Eduards Hazners 24 2 6
SF 7 Latvia Arnolds Helmanis 25 10 0
PF 55 Latvia Niks Jansons 10 7 3
C 33 Latvia Klāvs Čavars 27 12 0
Reserves:
SG 15 Latvia Oskars Hlebovickis 9 4 1
SF 21 Latvia Francis Lacis 8 6 2
SG 1 Latvia Rodrigo Būmeisters 2 7 5
C 14 Latvia Maksims Hudins 4 5 1
PF 18 Latvia Niks Linis 3 1 0
PG 30 Latvia Emils Krūminš 0 0 0
C 20 Latvia Maris Ramanis 0 0 0
Head coach:
Latvia Raimonds Feldmanis

Second round

Helios Suns Domžale vs. VEF Rīga Skola

26 February 2018 Helios Suns Domžale Slovenia 89940(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: Zotovs 30
Rebs: Hlebovickis 8
Asts: Zotovs 8
Arena: Prienai Arena
Attendance: 150
Referees: Gvidas Gedvilas (LTU), Ignas Davainis (LTU), Andžej Urbanovič (LTU)
Starters:PtsRebAst
PG 17 Slovenia Nejc Klavžar 6 3 1
SG 7 Slovenia Jure Pelko 18 7 5
SF 4 Slovenia Jaka Brodnik 21 11 4
PF 10 Slovenia Urban Oman 7 4 1
C 24 Slovenia Jure Besedič 4 3 1
Reserves:
C 15 Slovenia Božo Đumić 22 5 2
C 32 Russia Alexander Shashkov 11 6 3
SF 51 Slovenia Jakob Strel 0 1 1
C 8 Slovenia Adrian Jogan DNP
PG 6 Slovenia Matej Rojc DNP
Head coach:
Serbia Jovan Beader
Helios Suns Domžale jersey
Team colours
Helios Suns Domžale
VEF Rīga Skola jersey
Team colours
VEF Rīga Skola


Starters:PtsRebAst
PG 9 Latvia Nikolajs Zotovs 30 7 8
SG 10 Latvia Eduards Hazners 25 3 3
SF 21 Latvia Francis Lacis 6 6 2
PF 55 Latvia Niks Jansons 0 1 0
C 33 Latvia Klāvs Čavars 15 5 1
Reserves:
SG 15 Latvia Oskars Hlebovickis 13 8 0
SG 1 Latvia Rodrigo Būmeisters 3 2 3
C 20 Latvia Maris Ramanis 2 4 0
C 14 Latvia Maksims Hudins 0 2 0
PF 18 Latvia Niks Linis 0 0 0
PG 30 Latvia Emils Krūminš 0 0 0
SF 7 Latvia Arnolds Helmanis 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 96128 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: Benjamin 14
Asts: Paliukėnas 8
Arena: Prienai Arena
Attendance: 500
Referees: Jurgis Laurinavičius (LTU), Juozas Barkauskas (LTU), Šarūnas Gabrilavičius (LTU)
Starters:PtsRebAst
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 Bartas Aleksandravičius 0 0 0
PG 5 Lithuania Gediminas Maceina DNP
SG 33 Lithuania Tomas Dimša DNP
Head coach:
United States LaVar Ball
Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas jersey
Team colours
Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas
Wilki Morskie Szczecin jersey
Team colours
Wilki Morskie Szczecin


Starters:PtsRebAst
PG 3 United States Carlos Medlock 20 1 4
SG 8 Lithuania Martynas Paliukėnas 18 3 8
SF 11 Poland Paweł Kikowski 18 2 5
PF 6 Lithuania Tauras Jogėla 24 5 1
C 31 United States Kyle Benjamin 14 14 1
Reserves:
SF 20 Poland Łukasz Diduszko 13 7 2
PG 7 Poland Sebastian Kowalczyk 7 1 3
C 34 United States Darrell Harris 2 4 0
SF 92 Lithuania Kostas Jonuška 4 0 2
PF 15 Poland Mateusz Bartosz 3 4 2
SG 12 Poland Maciej Majcherek 3 1 1
PF 25 Poland Maciej Adamkiewicz 2 3 1
Head coach:
Lithuania Mindaugas Budzinauskas

Third round

Wilki Morskie Szczecin vs. VEF Rīga Skola

27 February 2018 Wilki Morskie Szczecin Poland 9474 Latvia VEF Rīga Skola Prienai, Lithuania
18:00 (EET) Scoring by quarter: 23–20, 20–20, 24–21, 27–13
Pts: Benjamin 23
Rebs: Benjamin 7
Asts: Kowalczyk, Paliukėnas 4
Boxscore Pts: Hazners 18
Rebs: Čavars 9
Asts: Lacis, Zotovs 3
Arena: Prienai Arena
Attendance: 100
Starters:PtsRebAst
PG 7 Poland Sebastian Kowalczyk 11 3 4
SG 20 Poland Łukasz Diduszko 4 4 1
SF 11 Poland Paweł Kikowski 12 1 3
PF 6 Lithuania Tauras Jogėla 14 4 2
C 31 United States Kyle Benjamin 23 7 0
Reserves:
PG 3 United States Carlos Medlock 12 5 3
SG 8 Lithuania Martynas Paliukėnas 13 2 4
SF 92 Lithuania Kostas Jonuška 2 3 2
SG 12 Poland Maciej Majcherek 3 2 0
PF 25 Poland Maciej Adamkiewicz 0 1 1
C 34 United States Darrell Harris DNP
PF 15 Poland Mateusz Bartosz DNP
Head coach:
Lithuania Mindaugas Budzinauskas
Wilki Morskie Szczecin jersey
Team colours
Wilki Morskie Szczecin
VEF Rīga Skola jersey
Team colours
VEF Rīga Skola


Starters:PtsRebAst
PG 9 Latvia Nikolajs Zotovs 14 5 3
SG 10 Latvia Eduards Hazners 18 2 1
SF 21 Latvia Francis Lacis 4 4 3
PF 55 Latvia Niks Jansons 3 1 2
C 33 Latvia Klāvs Čavars 14 9 1
Reserves:
SG 15 Latvia Oskars Hlebovickis 10 6 2
SG 1 Latvia Rodrigo Būmeisters 9 2 0
C 20 Latvia Maris Ramanis 2 2 0
PF 18 Latvia Niks Linis 0 2 1
C 14 Latvia Maksims Hudins 0 0 0
PG 30 Latvia Emils Krūminš 0 0 0
SF 7 Latvia Arnolds Helmanis 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 8796 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: Oman, Klavžar 22
Rebs: Đumić 8
Asts: Klavžar, Đumić 6
Arena: Prienai Arena
Starters:PtsRebAst
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 Bartas Aleksandravičius DNP
Head coach:
United States LaVar Ball
Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas jersey
Team colours
Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas
Helios Suns Domžale jersey
Team colours
Helios Suns Domžale


Starters:PtsRebAst
PG 17 Slovenia Nejc Klavžar 22 5 6
SG 7 Slovenia Jure Pelko 16 5 2
SF 4 Slovenia Jaka Brodnik 14 6 5
PF 10 Slovenia Urban Oman 22 7 2
C 24 Slovenia Jure Besedič 2 3 2
Reserves:
C 15 Slovenia Božo Đumić 9 8 6
C 32 Russia Alexander Shashkov 2 3 1
SF 51 Slovenia Jakob Strel 8 0 1
C 8 Slovenia Adrian Jogan 1 1 0
PG 6 Slovenia Matej Rojc DNP
Head coach:
Serbia Jovan Beader

Standings

RankTeamRecord
1st place, gold medalist(s) Poland Wilki Morskie Szczecin3–0
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Latvia VEF Rīga Skola2–1
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Slovenia Helios Suns Domžale1–2
4th Lithuania Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas0–3

See also

References

  1. 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. "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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