The team coached by Mārtiņš Gulbja defeated “Aistes” with 66:52 in the first game. Four days later, both teams played better. The Kaunas club was in the lead for 37 minutes, achieving a 13-point advantage three times. TTT’s superiority in the battle under the basket and good success in three-point shots allowed them to advance.
“Final four” will take place on 1-2 in April in the Lithuanian resort town of Birštonas. TTT will play against Rīga Stradiņa University in the semi-finals. The second pair will become known on Sunday – if there are no surprises, Vilnius “Kibirkštis” will compete with Klaipeda “Neptūnas”.
The starting five
TTT: Stepanova, Jasa, Vilka, Baško, Mishchenko
Aistes: Žukaite, Bass, Petrenaite, Paulauskaite, Čižauskaite
The girls from Riga prepared well for the battle against the most productive player of the Baltic League. Tyra Bass hit one of ten shots in the first game in Riga, while she was held scoreless in the first half of the second leg. This did not solve the neutralization of the external line of “Aiste”. Bass with the European junior champion Neda Pļatkuti and Deimanta Žukaiti found ways to arrange the situation for their partners.
The Kaunas club did its homework even better, stopping the centers from Riga in the first half. TTT maintained the advantage in rebounds (22-18, attack 11-4), but in the conditions of tight defense, the tall players did not get good shots. The front line trio of Dekiy Cohen, Marta Mishchenko and Gunta Baško scored seven points apiece in the first half. The result is 30:40.
At the beginning of the second half, TTT’s advantage in the sum of two games shrank to a minimum – 31:44, 33:46 and 35:48. The young center player Urte Čižauskaite scored six points in a row in a few minutes. The defense of “Aistes” zone was broken from the perimeter only in the 25th minute, when Ilze Jākobsone made a three-point shot from the right corner – 38:48. Baško’s unsportsmanlike remark against Bass followed – it cost the girls of Riga only one point – and Jákobsones’ long shot after a intercepted ball (42:49).
The many provoked remarks by the girls of Riga and the long shot of the well-played Vanesa Jasa reduced the difference to one shot – 48:51. Kaunas basketball players did not give up the goal of fighting for victory in the sum of two games, achieving an eight-point advantage three times at the end of half an hour – 48:56, 50:58 and 52:60. Deimante Žukaite made the only long shot of “Aistes” in the quarter during the breakthrough. It was accurate and the home team’s three-point shooting accuracy reached 60% (6/10).
Gunta Baško, despite the fouls, made a good cut in the middle of the fourth quarter. A hook shot, a three-pointer and a defensive layup helped narrow the gap to one shot at 65-68. Rīdzinece continued to throw long shots with more than 40% accuracy, but the second opportunities in the attack brought the success in the amount of the duel closer. “Aistes” once again reached plus seven a minute before the end of regular time, but the guests scored the last four points.
WBBL, March 25, Kaunas
Aistes LSMU – TTT Riga 79:76 (18:15, 22:15, 20:22, 19:24)
Aistes: Petrenaite 17 (2p 3/4, 3p 2/5, 1p 5/5; 5ab), Čižauskaite 17 (2p 5/7, 3p 1/1, 1p 4/4), Paulauskaite 13 (2p 4/5, 3p 1/1, 1p 2/3; 3bm), Zdanevičūte 9, Žukaite 7, Pļatkute 6 (4rp), Bass 5 (3rp, 3pb), Savostaite 5, Garčinskaite, Pašajevaite; Razgut. Coach Rimantas Grigas.
TTT: Jasa 19 (2p 2/3, 3p 4/8, 1p 3/3; 5pp), Cohen 19 (2p 8/13, 1p 3/5; 9ab), Vilka 16 (2p 3/6, 3p 3/5 . Petrus, Baumgarte. Coach Mārtiņš Gulbis.
Judges: Vidmas Rushinas, Simas Sirtautas, Erika Jareckaite.
In total 131:142.
Betsafe WBBL Playoffs
| Day | Time | The game | The result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21.03 | 19:45 | TTT – Aistes LSMU | 66:52 |
| 24.03 | 15:00 | TalTech – Neptune | 67:70 |
| 17:30 | LCC – Spark | 58:79 | |
| 25.03 | 15:00 | Aistes – TTT | 79:76 |
| 26.03 | 13:00 | Neptune – TalTech | – |
| 17:00 | Spark – LCC | – |
