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

Date	February 25–27, 2018 (2018-02-25 – 2018-02-27)
Duration	February 25–27, 2018
Venue	Prienai Arena
Location	Prienai, Lithuania
Coordinates	54°38′52″N 23°57′41″E
Patron(s)	Big Baller Brand Facebook Ballislife.com
Organised by	Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas
Participants	4 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 LiAngeo 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	Prienai 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

Helios Suns Domžale v Wilki Morskie Szczecin

25 February 2018	Helios Suns Domžale	75–80	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	Report	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: Pts Reb Ast PG 6 Matej Rojc 0 0 0 SG 7 Jure Pelko 27 2 8 SF 4 Jaka Brodnik 14 4 1 PF 10 Urban Oman 6 6 2 C 15 Božo Đumić 11 7 0 Reserves: PG 17 Nejc Klavžar 4 2 1 PF 24 Jure Besedič 11 2 2 C 32 Alexander Shashkov 0 3 0 SF 51 Jakob Strel 2 0 1 C 8 Adrian Jogan DNP Head coach: Jovan Beader

Helios Suns Domžale Wilki Morskie Szczecin

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 3 Carlos Medlock 9 1 1 SG 8 Martynas Paliukėnas 2 3 4 SF 11 Paweł Kikowski 15 2 2 PF 6 Tauras Jogėla 9 4 3 C 34 Darrell Harris 13 3 0 Reserves: C 31 Kyle Benjamin 17 10 2 SF 92 Kostas Jonuška 6 3 1 PF 15 Mateusz Bartosz 9 9 5 PG 7 Sebastian Kowalczyk 1 1 1 SG 12 Maciej Majcherek 0 0 0 SF 20 Łukasz Diduszko DNP PF 25 Maciej Adamkiewicz DNP Head coach: 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.

Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas v VEF Rīga Skola

25 February 2018	Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas	133–141	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	Report	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: Pts Reb Ast PG 1 LaMelo Ball 31 5 8 SG 3 LiAngelo Ball 32 5 4 SF 9 Edvinas Šeškus 35 3 3 PF 22 Regimantas Miniotas 3 13 2 C 55 Kervin Bristol 2 7 1 Reserves: SF 31 Justas Sinica 14 1 0 PG 16 Rashaun Broadus 7 1 7 SF 6 Eigirdas Žukauskas 3 5 7 PF 11 Egidijus Dimša 6 8 0 PG 5 Gediminas Maceina 0 1 2 SG 33 Tomas Dimša 0 0 0 SF 7 Bartas Aleksandravičius DNP Head coach: LaVar Ball

Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas VEF Rīga Skola

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

Second round

Helios Suns Domžale vs. VEF Rīga Skola

Helios Suns Domžale v VEF Rīga Skola

26 February 2018	Helios Suns Domžale	89–940(OT)	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	Report	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: Pts Reb Ast PG 17 Nejc Klavžar 6 3 1 SG 7 Jure Pelko 18 7 5 SF 4 Jaka Brodnik 21 11 4 PF 10 Urban Oman 7 4 1 C 24 Jure Besedič 4 3 1 Reserves: C 15 Božo Đumić 22 5 2 C 32 Alexander Shashkov 11 6 3 SF 51 Jakob Strel 0 1 1 C 8 Adrian Jogan DNP PG 6 Matej Rojc DNP Head coach: Jovan Beader

Helios Suns Domžale VEF Rīga Skola

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 9 Nikolajs Zotovs 30 7 8 SG 10 Eduards Hazners 25 3 3 SF 21 Francis Lacis 6 6 2 PF 55 Niks Jansons 0 1 0 C 33 Klāvs Čavars 15 5 1 Reserves: SG 15 Oskars Hlebovickis 13 8 0 SG 1 Rodrigo Būmeisters 3 2 3 C 20 Maris Ramanis 2 4 0 C 14 Maksims Hudins 0 2 0 PF 18 Niks Linis 0 0 0 PG 30 Emils Krūminš 0 0 0 SF 7 Arnolds Helmanis DNP Head coach: 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]

Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas v Wilki Morskie Szczecin

26 February 2018	Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas	96–128	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	Report	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: Pts Reb Ast PG 1 LaMelo Ball 10 5 9 SG 3 LiAngelo Ball 26 5 0 SF 9 Edvinas Šeškus 16 1 2 PF 22 Regimantas Miniotas 13 7 2 C 55 Kervin Bristol 6 6 0 Reserves: PF 11 Egidijus Dimša 13 4 0 SF 31 Justas Sinica 7 3 3 PG 16 Rashaun Broadus 5 2 6 SF 6 Eigirdas Žukauskas 0 3 0 SF 7 Bartas Aleksandravičius 0 0 0 PG 5 Gediminas Maceina DNP SG 33 Tomas Dimša DNP Head coach: LaVar Ball

Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas Wilki Morskie Szczecin

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

Third round

Wilki Morskie Szczecin vs. VEF Rīga Skola

Wilki Morskie Szczecin v VEF Rīga Skola

27 February 2018	Wilki Morskie Szczecin	94–74	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	Report	Pts: Hazners 18 Rebs: Čavars 9 Asts: Lacis, Zotovs 3	Arena: Prienai Arena Attendance: 100

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 7 Sebastian Kowalczyk 11 3 4 SG 20 Łukasz Diduszko 4 4 1 SF 11 Paweł Kikowski 12 1 3 PF 6 Tauras Jogėla 14 4 2 C 31 Kyle Benjamin 23 7 0 Reserves: PG 3 Carlos Medlock 12 5 3 SG 8 Martynas Paliukėnas 13 2 4 SF 92 Kostas Jonuška 2 3 2 SG 12 Maciej Majcherek 3 2 0 PF 25 Maciej Adamkiewicz 0 1 1 C 34 Darrell Harris DNP PF 15 Mateusz Bartosz DNP Head coach: Mindaugas Budzinauskas

Wilki Morskie Szczecin VEF Rīga Skola

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 9 Nikolajs Zotovs 14 5 3 SG 10 Eduards Hazners 18 2 1 SF 21 Francis Lacis 4 4 3 PF 55 Niks Jansons 3 1 2 C 33 Klāvs Čavars 14 9 1 Reserves: SG 15 Oskars Hlebovickis 10 6 2 SG 1 Rodrigo Būmeisters 9 2 0 C 20 Maris Ramanis 2 2 0 PF 18 Niks Linis 0 2 1 C 14 Maksims Hudins 0 0 0 PG 30 Emils Krūminš 0 0 0 SF 7 Arnolds Helmanis DNP Head coach: 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.

Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas v Helios Suns Domžale

27 February 2018	Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas	87–96	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: Pts Reb Ast PG 5 Gediminas Maceina 11 5 10 SG 3 LiAngelo Ball 30 8 1 SF 9 Edvinas Šeškus 19 0 0 PF 22 Regimantas Miniotas 9 10 1 C 55 Kervin Bristol 8 14 1 Reserves: SF 31 Justas Sinica 3 2 0 PG 16 Rashaun Broadus 0 1 4 SF 6 Eigirdas Žukauskas 2 0 1 PF 11 Egidijus Dimša 5 3 0 SG 33 Tomas Dimša DNP PG 1 LaMelo Ball DNP SF 7 Bartas Aleksandravičius DNP Head coach: LaVar Ball

Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas Helios Suns Domžale

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

Standings

Rank	Team	Record
	Wilki Morskie Szczecin	3–0
	VEF Rīga Skola	2–1
	Helios Suns Domžale	1–2
4th	Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas	0–3

See also

• Big Baller Brand Challenge Games

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.