Lietkabelis makes playoffs, eliminates Cedevita, 87-94

7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys (8-7) punched its ticket into the playoffs from Group A on Wednesday after defeating Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (3-12) 87-94 to record its fourth straight win. This loss caused Cedevita to say farewell to its 7DAYS EuroCup season, as it could have only stayed alive with a win by at least 6 points against Lietkabelis.
Gediminas Orelik led Lietkabelis with 22 points, while Jamel Morris added 20, Kristian Kullamae contributed 16 and Nikola Popovic scored 10 for the winners, who shot 15-of-30 from downtown. For Cedevita, Yogi Ferrell scored a team-high 22 points. Alen Omic and Zoran Dragic added 15 apiece, and Josh Adams posted 13 in the defeat.
A strong start by Lietkabelis, led by Gediminas Orelik and his 5 points, allowed the guests to jump out to a 2-10 start that forced coach Jurica Golemac's first timeout after just two minutes of play. Yogi Ferrell and Josh Adams added a few points to keep the hosts in the game, but Cedevita began to struggle on defense as Lietkabelis found ways to get to the rim with regularity. A huge dunk by Karlo Matkovic sparked the fire of the dragons, as a three by Yogi Ferrell capped an 11-0 run to make it 25-23 after 10 minutes.
Cedevita seemed to have found its rhythm and got back into it in the second quarter as Marko Jeremic and Dragic nailed a three-pointer apiece to make it 35-29 for the hosts. The guests stayed alive thanks to an impressive performance by Orelik and a few long-range points by Kristian Kullamae, who helped keep it tied at 40-40. The game was going back and forth until the buzzer signalled the halftime break with Cedevita ahead, 45-42.
Game Videos
The high pace continued into the second half as the points kept falling on both sides, but Cedevita could not manage to get above the 6-point cushion it desired. Omic was experiencing some joy in the low post, but Lietkabelis managed to stay close entering the last period, 67-65.
In the first minutes of the last period, the guests got a boost from Stefan Peno for a 72-75 advantage that forced the hand of the hosts, as they looked to keep their season alive. The three-pointers kept raining on both sides, but it ended up working against Cedevita. Even though Ferrell and Omic did everything they could to keep the hosts on track, Orelik and Jamel Morris made sure that did not happen. That, together with a couple of bad shot selections, made Cedevita trail 79-87 with three minutes to go, a trend that would go on until the final buzzer.