La Laguna Tenerife suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Rytas Vilnius in the Basketball Champions League Final Four, marking their seventh appearance in the event. It was a frustrating outing where nothing clicked for the Spanish side, who only managed a brief 2-0 lead courtesy of Marcelinho, the sole bright spot with 21 points.
Unfortunately, Marcelinho received little support from his teammates. Patty Mills had a rough game, drawing criticism from Shermadini, while Giedraitis was sidelined with an injury. On the other side, Harding delivered a standout performance with 29 points and a 24 efficiency rating, tormenting a Tenerife team that looked unrecognizable.
Several factors explain this disappointing display. Chief among them was their dreadful three-point shooting—just 2 made out of 15 attempts. While the Lithuanian side wasn’t exceptional from deep (6-22), those extra 12 points made a difference. Combined with nine turnovers, rebounding struggles, and a lack of physicality, it was a painful outing. Txus Vidorreta’s men have certainly seen better days.
A Tough Afternoon
The atmosphere in Badalona was unusual, with no home team presence from Joventut. Around 2,000 Lithuanian fans showed up, contrasted with just 200 supporters from the Canary Islands. As the game progressed, more than 1,000 AEK fans and 400 from Unicaja arrived to witness the first semifinal.
Shermadini battles Rytas guard Ignas Sargiunas. Enric Fontcuberta
From the start, La Laguna struggled to find rhythm. Every point was a battle, with their main offensive flow coming from the Marcelinho-Shermadini connection, the so-called “scoring duo.” More than the opponent’s success, it was their own errors that created the first dangerous gap, 33-24 at minute 17, as Harding dictated the pace and Patty Mills remained ineffective.
The islanders’ lack of accuracy from beyond the arc was maddening (1/10 in the first half). The only consolation at halftime was trailing by just six (34-40), despite Giedraitis being sidelined with an injury.
After the break, the Lithuanians pushed the lead to 11 at 49-38 (24th minute). Marcelinho then took the reins, trying to orchestrate his team. By the 26th minute, they clawed back to a hopeful 49-46. But then came the familiar pattern: Rytas hit the shots that Tenerife couldn’t, including a timely three from Caroline. The 62-53 score at the end of the third quarter told the story: six threes for the Baltic side compared to just 1/12 for Vidorreta’s squad.
Long faces. Enric Fontcuberta
Desperate and frustrated, Marcelinho carried the load in the final stretch, but Vilnius surged ahead to their biggest lead of the game (85-66 with one minute left). La Laguna had no chance to even mask the disaster. As the saying goes, “anyone can have a bad day.”
Champions FIBA | Final Four
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BCL 2026 Final Four
Unicaja’s team photo before the Final Four
