{"id":9035,"date":"2026-03-18T22:25:58","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T20:25:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/?p=9035"},"modified":"2026-03-20T12:26:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T10:26:39","slug":"historic-milestone-rytas-vilnius-advances-to-fiba-champions-league-top-8-for-the-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/news\/historic-milestone-rytas-vilnius-advances-to-fiba-champions-league-top-8-for-the-first-time\/","title":{"rendered":"HISTORIC MILESTONE: Rytas Vilnius Advances to FIBA Champions League Top 8 for the First Time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ng-star-inserted\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">Rytas<\/span><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\"> Vilnius has written a new chapter in the club\u2019s history books. Following a dramatic and hard-fought battle on the road, the Vilnius side defeated Galatasaray Istanbul 90-81, securing a spot in the FIBA Champions League quarterfinals (Top 8) for the first time in franchise history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">The game opened like a tactical chess match. While the hosts started more aggressively (4-0), Simonas Luko\u0161i\u016bnas quickly put Rytas on the board with a signature long-range shot. Gytis Masiulis, coming off the bench with immense energy, became the primary engine for Vilnius in the middle of the period. His aggressive drives and timely baskets kept the gap minimal. After the first 10 minutes, Rytas trailed by just one point (22-23), but the momentum was clearly shifting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ng-star-inserted\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">Rytas began the second frame with an offensive whirlwind. G. Masiulis buried two consecutive three-pointers, followed shortly by a &#8220;bomb&#8221; from S. Luko\u0161i\u016bnas, pushing the Vilnius lead to 8 points (30-38). Despite efforts from the opponents&#8217; leader Errick McCollum to stabilize his team, Rytas\u2014orchestrated by Speedy Smith\u2014maintained a high tempo. In the closing moments of the half, Masiulis once again dominated the paint, leading the team into the locker room with a solid 48-41 advantage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ng-star-inserted\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">The physicality ramped up after the halftime break. Led by James Palmer Jr., the hosts managed to close the gap, but Ignas Sargi\u016bnas and Kay Bruhnke stepped up in critical moments to keep Rytas ahead. A crucial triple by Sargi\u016bnas provided much-needed breathing room (46-55). Although a few late turnovers allowed the hosts to trim the lead to 62-64 by the end of the quarter, Vilnius remained composed heading into the final act.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ng-star-inserted\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">The final ten minutes were a true war of nerves. The hosts managed to level the score at 72-72 as the home crowd pressure reached its peak. However, it was at this moment that Rytas\u2019 leaders displayed incredible poise. Speedy Smith silenced the arena with a spectacular long-range dagger, while Augustas Mar\u010diulionis\u2019 fearless drives to the rim drew fouls and resulted in crucial free throws.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ng-star-inserted\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">With one minute remaining, S. Luko\u0161i\u016bnas hit another cold-blooded three-pointer (75-82), and G. Masiulis\u2019 dominance on the glass helped seal the victory. The final seconds became a formality as I. Sargi\u016bnas and S. Luko\u0161i\u016bnas knocked down their free throws to finalize the 90-81 scoreline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">Rytas Vilnius now awaits its opponent for the quarterfinal stage. This is a historic moment for the capital&#8217;s basketball\u2014we are officially among the eight strongest teams in the league!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rytas Vilnius has written a new chapter in the club\u2019s history books. Following a dramatic and hard-fought battle on the road, the Vilnius side defeated Galatasaray Istanbul 90-81, securing a spot in the FIBA Champions League quarterfinals (Top 8) for the first time in franchise history. The game opened like a tactical chess match. While [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9036,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rytas"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>HISTORIC MILESTONE: Rytas Vilnius Advances to FIBA Champions League Top 8 for the First Time - Vilniaus \u201eRYTAS\u201c<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/news\/historic-milestone-rytas-vilnius-advances-to-fiba-champions-league-top-8-for-the-first-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"HISTORIC MILESTONE: Rytas Vilnius Advances to FIBA Champions League Top 8 for the First Time - Vilniaus \u201eRYTAS\u201c\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rytas Vilnius has written a new chapter in the club\u2019s history books. Following a dramatic and hard-fought battle on the road, the Vilnius side defeated Galatasaray Istanbul 90-81, securing a spot in the FIBA Champions League quarterfinals (Top 8) for the first time in franchise history. The game opened like a tactical chess match. While [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/news\/historic-milestone-rytas-vilnius-advances-to-fiba-champions-league-top-8-for-the-first-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Vilniaus \u201eRYTAS\u201c\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-18T20:25:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-20T10:26:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/media_92020384_91626469_compressed.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1680\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1121\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/news\/historic-milestone-rytas-vilnius-advances-to-fiba-champions-league-top-8-for-the-first-time\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/news\/historic-milestone-rytas-vilnius-advances-to-fiba-champions-league-top-8-for-the-first-time\/\",\"name\":\"HISTORIC MILESTONE: Rytas Vilnius Advances to FIBA Champions League Top 8 for the First Time - 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