BC Wolves
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| BC Wolves | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Nickname | Vilkai | ||
| League | LKL | ||
| Founded | 2 June 2022 | ||
| History | BC Wolves 2022–present | ||
| Arena | Twinsbet Arena | ||
| Capacity | 10,800 | ||
| Location | Vilnius, Lithuania | ||
| Team colors | Turquoise, black, white | ||
| President | Rimantas Kaukėnas | ||
| Team manager | Donatas Zavackas | ||
| Head coach | Alessandro Magro | ||
| Team captain | Regimantas Miniotas | ||
| Ownership | Basketball Holding Company | ||
| Website | www | ||
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Basketball Club Wolves, officially named Wolves Twinsbet for sponsorship reasons, is a Lithuanian professional basketball club based in the city of Vilnius. The team competes in the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). The team plays its home games at the 10,800-seat Twinsbet Arena.
History
[edit]The club was founded on 2 June 2022, with the name Wolves referring to the mythical Iron Wolf and the founding legend of the city of Vilnius. The license of Dzūkija Alytus was used starting from the 2022–23 LKL season.
LKL league expanded to 12 teams again, and a second basketball club appeared in the capital after over a decade. Some Lithuanian basketball communities view the club skeptically because it appeared in the top league based on monetary over-playing principles, and because of the club owner's alleged connection with Russian businesses. Wolves claim its main objectives to be strengthening Lithuanian basketball, attracting solid players, raising co-competition between the LKL clubs, and upholding ambitions to reach the level of an elite European basketball club. After only two years of existence, Wolves have reached a place in Europe's second-tier club tournament, the EuroCup, but this was only achieved through monetary agreement rather than game principle.
2022–23 season
[edit]On 5 July 2022, Rimas Kurtinaitis was officially announced as the head coach of the club. On 6 July, Adas Juškevičius became the first player signed in the club's history. Wolves also signed Lithuanian men's national basketball team players Eigirdas Žukauskas, Kristupas Žemaitis, solid LKL players like Regimantas Miniotas, Vitalijus Kozysa and Arnas Beručka. Also signed was former star of Rytas and holder of multiple Lithuanian league records, Mindaugas Lukauskis, locally also known as the Iron man or the Legend. Marcos Delia became the first foreign player to sign a contract with the team, and soon after Ahmad Caver was the next one signed. The signing of Juan Gomez de Liano caused quite a stir in the homeland and Lithuania; he became the first Filipino basketball player to represent a European basketball club officially.
Wolves started their first official game in the Lithuanian Basketball League with an away win over Nevėžis Kėdainiai 81–76. The club participated in the 2022–23 FIBA Europe Cup qualifying round, its first-ever participation in a European competition. Wolves defeated the legendary Greek team Aris Thessaloniki 88–77 in the first round but lost in the second round to Bulgarian champion Rilski Sportist 91–76, losing the chance to qualify for the tournament. In the LKL, the club had struggles, but mainly due to the signings of Jeffery Taylor and Eric Buckner, they had risen to the standings. Wolves started a rivalry with Rytas Vilnius and also had competitive matches with long-time LKL champion and Euroleague participant Žalgiris Kaunas – scoring wins over both teams in February and the beginning of March. Wolves also defeated Eurocup participants Lietkabelis Panevėžys in the regular season series, which helped them reach third place in the LKL standings. Ahmad Caver in particular shined, as he was named the LKL MVP of the regular season. Wolves made late-season signings, Rashard Kelly and Jerai Grant, to strengthen the team before the playoffs.
In the King Mindaugas Cup, Wolves finished second in the qualifying round standings behind Neptūnas Klaipėda. The second-place finish, however, meant that during the draw for the quarterfinals, Wolves drew Žalgiris Kaunas. Žalgiris easily beat Wolves in Alytus, 95–79, and Kaunas, 91–72.
On 28 March 2023, Wolves fired head coach Kurtinaitis, with assistant Aurimas Jasilionis. The firing came after Wolves qualified for the European North Basketball League (ENBL) final four. They hired Kęstutis Kemzūra to replace Kurtinaitis, also hiring Marius Leonavičius and Nedas Pocevičius as his new assistants.
The club also got their second chance in a European competition, participating in the 2022–23 European North Basketball League, which started in November 2022. Wolves defeated Budivelnyk Kyiv in the quarterfinals, qualifying for the final four, while still under coach Kurtinaitis. Under coach Kemzūra, Wolves beat Wilki Morskie Szczecin 58–55 in the semi-finals. In the finals, Wolves lost to Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski 66–70, which prevented the team from winning their first championship.
Entering the LKL playoffs, Wolves faced CBet Jonava. The club won only one of their matches against CBet during the regular season - in the playoffs, however, the third-seeded Wolves were considered the heavy favorites. CBet however, had other ideas - CBet suprisingly won against Wolves by 80–76 in an away series opener and finished them off in Jonava by 80–75, a 2:0 series win for CBet. The series win by Jonava is considered one of the biggest upsets in LKL history.
Due to the reconstruction of its Avia Solutions Group Arena, the team played some home games in Alytus Arena.
2023–24 season
[edit]On 24 May 2023, Jeffery Taylor renewed his contract with the club until 2025, with an option for an additional year. By joining the remaining core of the team: Adas Juškevičius, Eigirdas Žukauskas, Regimantas Miniotas, Kristupas Žemaitis, Vitalijus Kozys, Arnas Beručka. While retaining much of their core players, Wolves did lose out on LKL MVP Ahmad Caver, who left the team during the summer. To replace Caver, Wolves signed Rasheed Sulaimon, who quickly became team leader during the pre-season games for the team. Wolves also signed Christian Mekowulu to replace Dellia, Tre'Shawn Thurman, and finished the summer by signing Artūrs Žagars and Vaidas Kariniauskas as the teams new point guards, the last two coming of incredible performances for their respective national teams, Latvia and Lithuania, in the 2023 Basketball World Cup. Kariniauskas was actually signed by M Basket Mažeikiai, which resulted in Wolves having to buy out Kariniauskas just as the season was about to start. Đorđe Gagić was signed as the team's main center - however, he struggled to adjust within the Wolves, and was released later in the season.
On 17 August 2023, Jonas Valančiūnas joined the investors of the club.[1]
Wolves also made their debut in the 2023-2024 edition of the EuroCup. Wolves started the season strong - while they dropped the first two games in the EuroCup, starting 0–2, they won their next four out of five games, even with a serious injury to point guard Žagars, and finished the first round with a 4–4 record, and fighting for a place in the playoffs. Sulaimon lead the team in scoring, twith Thurman, Žemaitis and Kariniauskas also having strong games for the Wolves. In the LKL, the Wolves started dominant - Wolves went on to beat both BC Žalgiris and city rivals BC Rytas, and lead the LKL standings after the first round with a dominating 10–1 record, the lone loss coming against 7-Bet Lietkabelis, fellow EuroCup participant. Nonetheless, everything seemed to click for the Wolves team - Wolves were also among leaders in attendance in both the EuroCup and LKL.
By December, things started crumbling - a disastrous 68–96 loss against BC Juventus in Utena was followed by a very long streak of losses in both the LKL and the EuroCup. Even the addition of center Garrison Brooks and the return of Jeffrey Taylor, out for most of the first half of the season with an injury, was not enough to change the team fortunes. In the LKL, Žalgiris crushed the Wolves to take back first place in the LKL standings, and subsequent losses to Lietkabelis, and Rytas, caused the Wolves to plummet to fourth place in the LKL standings. In the EuroCup, Wolves lost seven of the next eight games, in particular painful were the losses against Beşiktaş and Ukrainian side Prometey Slobozhanske, both of whom the Wolves beat in the first round, costing the Wolves a spot in the EuroCup playoffs. In the 2024 addition of the King Mindaugas Cup, luck would once again run out on the Wolves, as they drew Žalgiris in the quarterfinals - Žalgiris easily beat the Wolves 95–76 in the first match, and while both teams drew 82–82 in the return leg, Žalgiris went on to win by aggregrate 177–158, with the Wolves once again eliminated in the quarterfinals.
On 21 January 2024, the club announced that it parted ways with the head coach Kemzūra, as he was replaced by the assistant coaches, Nedas Pacevičius, who took over as head coach, Marius Leonavičius and joining Wolves from BC Neptūnas, Mindaugas Brazys.[2] The changes helped the Wolves start salvaging the remaining of the season - Wolves finished with three consecutive wins in the EuroCup and finished with a respectable 8–10 record, just a win out of the playoffs. In the LKL, after the assistans took over, also sparked by the return of Žagars, the Wolves went on to win the last eleven out of the team's fourteen games, including wins over Lietkabelis and another impressive win over Žalgiris at home to finish the LKL regular season in third place, with a 22–8 record, just behind league leading Žalgiris and Rytas.
In the LKL playoffs, Wolves faced off against Neptūnas. Wolves won their first playoff game in club history by beating Neptūnas at home, 91–84. In Klaipėda, however, Neptūnas got their revenge, 95–76, to set up a deciding clash in Vilnius. In Vilnius, lead by an incredible game by Žemaitis, Wolves beat Neptūnas 91–80 to win their first ever playoff series 2–1. In the semifinals, Wolves faced city rivals Rytas. In one of the best LKL semifinals ever, Wolves started with a 96–85 win over Rytas, to take a 1–0 lead in the series. However, Rytas fired back with two consecutive wins over the Wolves, 113-75 and 86–78, to take a 2–1 series lead, with both games featuring numerous incidents between the players, fans and even Rytas head coach Giedrius Žibėnas. Wolves managed to bounce back with a 97–86 win over Rytas to tie the seties 2-2, and to set up a deciding clash with Rytas. In the fifth and deciding game, Wolves did manage to lead by double digits early in the first half, but Rytas, lead by Marcus Foster, fought back and went on to win 92–87, winning the series 3–2.
Wolves faced Lietkabelis for the bronze medals. Due to their great performances against Rytas in the semifinals, experts and fans considered the Wolves as the heavy favorites of the series. Lietkabelis had other plans - Lietkabelis managed to come back down double deficit in the final minutes and shocked Wolves in Vilnius with a 86–84 win to take a 1–1 series lead. Wolves managed to win in Panevėžys, 81–73, to tie the series 1-1. With a chance to take the series lead, Wolves once again failed - Lietkabelis again won in Vilnius, 91–84, and in the deciding game in Panevėžys, in front of their own home fans, Lietkabelis finished off the Wolves with a 98–87 win and won the series 3–1. Gagić, who signed with Lietkabelis after leaving the Wolves, caused giant problems for the Wolves during the series, dominating the paint, and was a key part in the Lietkabelis bronze medal victory.
2024–25 season
[edit]Alessandro Magro, from Germani Basket Brescia, was signed on as the new head coach for the Wolves. Nedas Pocevičius returned to his former assistant position, along with Marius Leonavičius and Mindaugas Brazys, all whom remained with the Wolves as assistants to Magro. Žukauskas, Juškevičius, Kozys, Beručka, all whom played since the team's beginning, all departed, along with team leader Sulaimon, Mekowulu and Žagars. Wolves made big signings, signing former Joventut Badalona leader Andrew Andrews and Promitheas Patras star Anthony Cowan Jr., as well as talented Lithuanian players Arnoldas Kulboka, Matas Jogėla and Marek Blaževič. Thurman, Brooks, Žemaitis, Kariniauskas, Taylor and team captain Miniotas all remained with the team, and Wolves finished the off-season with signings of Daniel Baslyk from BC Šiauliai and Justinas Marcinkevičius from BC Nevėžis. Wolves earned a wild-card for the upcoming EuroCup season.
Wolves started sluggishly - an 0-3 start in the 2024-2025 EuroCup season, and a 2-3 record in the LKL - in the LKL, Wolves lost to both BC Lietkabelis and BC Neptūnas - the latter of which resulted in a reported team meeting. After the meeting, in the EuroCup, Wolves went on a five-game win streak, including away wins over Juventut Badalona and Dreamland Gran Canaria - proving that the Wolves were no longer just a home team. Wolves managed to also beat Hapoel Tel Aviv at home, 104-100, the heavy favorites of the competition - Wolves also managed to beat Turkish giants Beşiktaş, Joventut Badalona (payback for the previous year's Joventut sweep of the Wolves), Gran Canaria (twice, sweeping the series), one of the top Italian teams Dolomiti Energia Trento and KK Budućnost, finishing the regular season with a 10-8 record - the win over Budućnost helped the Wolves qualify for the EuroCup playoffs for the first time in club history. Cowan (EuroCup Week 4 and 11 MVP), Andrews and Thurman all had amazing performances, with Cowan in particular becoming the team leader, while Blaževič and Žemaitis also had strong performances. Kulboka returned during the season after missing the previous season with Prometey Kamianske due to injury - becoming one of the best players in the EuroCup for the Wolves during their run for the playoffs. In the EuroCup playoffs, despite home-court advantage, the Wolves were upset at home by U-BT Cluj-Napoca - Cluj won a double-overtime thriller, after erasing a double-digit deficit, 100-99 at Vilnius.
The Wolves hosted the 2025 edition of the King Mindaugas Cup in their home Twinsbet Arena - Wolves beat CBet Jonava 95-77 away and 85-72 at home, avenging their 2023 LKL playoff loss, in the quarterfinals. Wolves were considered the favorites of the competition - along with Žalgiris. In the semifinals, Wolves faced BC Neptūnas - who had shockingly eliminated Wolves rival Rytas in the quartefinals. Wolves lead for most of the game, including double-digits, before Neptūnas, heavily cheered on by their fans, along with Rytas fans who joined Neptūnas, made a comeback and in the deciding minutes, shocked the Wolves with a 87-83 win . More disappointment followed as Lietkabelis beat the Wolves 100-91 to win the bronze medals - leaving the Wolves in 4th place
In the LKL, after the slow start, the Wolves went on an amazing nine-game win streak in the LKL - which resulted in an amazing home 100-82 win over Žalgiris Kaunas and an away 82-71 win over BC Rytas. For most of the season, Wolves were just behind Žalgiris and Rytas - from January, and in particular, after the elimination in the EuroCup - Wolves won just nine games out the remaining 22 - which included losing not only to Žalgirs and Rytas, but also being sweeped by Lietkabelis, and even upset losses to Šiauliai and Nevėžis - which resulted in Wolves plummeting to even fifth-place - though a win over CBet resulted in the Wolves earning fourth place and home-court advantage, with a 20-16 record. Cowan was named the LKL MVP for the season.
Wolves faced off CBet Jonava in the playoffs - a rematch from the 2023 LKL playoffs which was won by CBet, as well as the King Mindaugas Cup quarterfinals - won by the Wolves. Wolves had struggled against CBet during their first three seasons - CBet, having a subpar 2024, managed to actually win the season series over the much stronger Wolves. In the 2024-2025 season, CBet won the regular season series - thus earning home-court advantage. What proceeded to happen became the story of the Wolves season - Wolves held a double-digit lead - before CBet made a comeback, cheered by their fans in Vilnius, and in the deciding seconds, took the home-court advantage with a 103-102 win in Vilnius - 1:0 series lead for CBet. In the rematch in Jonava, a largely different story took place, as CBet lost a double-digit lead - Wolves, however, couldn't capitalize, and lead by their leader Brandon Childress, CBet stunned the Wolves one more time, winning 102-98 and winning the series 2:0 - with the Wolves failing for the second time in three years to reach the semifinals, once again beaten by the much smaller CBet Jonava and ending another disappointing season on a whimper.
Home arenas
[edit]_in_2021_by_Augustas_Did%C5%BEgalvis.jpg?lang=en)
- Alytus Arena (2022–2023)
- Twinsbet Arena (2023–present)
During their inaugural season, Wolves played their home games at the 5,500-seat Alytus Arena, the former home ground of Dzūkija Alytus. Since the 2023–24 season, Wolves play their home matches at the renovated Twinsbet Arena in Vilnius, formerly known as ASG Arena and originally as Siemens Arena. Built in 2004, it has a seating capacity of 10,000 for basketball events. The facility is also used by cross-town rival Rytas Vilnius for their international games.
Honors
[edit]- Runners–up (1): 2022–23
Players
[edit]Current roster
[edit]Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
| BC Wolves roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated: 30 November 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Depth chart
[edit]| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Inactive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Garrison Brooks | Marek Blaževič 
|
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| PF | Regimantas Miniotas | Arnoldas Kulboka | ||
| SF | Tre'Shawn Thurman | Jeffery Taylor | Justinas Marcinkevičius | Daniel Baslyk
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| SG | Andrew Andrews | Matas Jogėla
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| PG | Anthony Cowan | Kristupas Žemaitis | Vaidas Kariniauskas |
Squad changes for/during 2024–25 season
[edit]In
[edit]| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Moving from | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | HC |  |
Alessandro Magro | Germani Basket Brescia |
|
| 1 | PG |  |
Anthony Cowan Jr. | Promitheas Patras | 
|
| 9 | F |  |
Daniel Baslyk | BC Šiauliai |
|
| 11 | SF | |
Justinas Marcinkevičius | Nevėžis Kėdainiai |
|
| 12 | G | |
Andrew Andrews | Joventut Badalona | 
|
| 22 | C | |
Marek Blaževič | Monbus Obradoiro |
|
| 23 | G/F | |
Matas Jogėla | Rio Breogán |
|
| 98 | F | |
Arnoldas Kulboka | Prometey | 
|
Out
[edit]| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Moving to | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G |  |
Rasheed Sulaimon | Budućnost | 
|
| 2 | C | |
Christian Mekowulu | Northern Happinets | 
|
| 3 | G | |
Adas Juškevičius | Free agent | |
| 6 | F | |
Eigirdas Žukauskas | Dolomiti Energia Trento |
|
| 19 | F | |
Vitalijus Kozys | Nevėžis Kėdainiai |
|
| 21 | G/F | |
Arnas Beručka | Neptūnas Klaipėda |
|
| 32 | PG |  |
Artūrs Žagars | Fenerbahçe Beko | 
|
Season by season
[edit]| Season | Tier | League | Pos. | Regional competitions | Pos. | KMT Cup | European competitions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022–23 | 1 | LKL | 5th | ENBL | 2nd | Quarterfinals | 4 FIBA Europe Cup | QR2 |
| 2023–24 | 1 | LKL | 4th | Quarterfinals | 2 EuroCup | RS | ||
| 2024–25 | 1 | LKL | 5th | Fourth place | 2 EuroCup | EF | ||
Head coaches
[edit]- Rimas Kurtinaitis: 2022–2023
- Kęstutis Kemzūra: 2023–2024
- Nedas Pacevičius: 2024
- Alessandro Magro: 2024–present
References
[edit]- ^ "Lithuanian national team captain Jonas Valančiūnas invests in BC Wolves". bcwolves.com. 17 August 2023.
- ^ "Permainos "Wolves": klubas atsisveikino su Kemzūra". basketnews.lt. 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.