The players of Cedevita Olimpija’s senior team will continue their mini tour of two consecutive road games in Lithuania – on Tuesday at 6:00 PM Slovenian time, they will face Neptunas in Klaipėda in a Round 14 regular-season BKT EuroCup clash, where the Dragons will be chasing an important win in the fight for a place in the playoffs. The match will be broadcast live on Šport TV 1.
An important Round 14 regular-season BKT EuroCup game against Neptunas awaits the senior team. The game in Klaipėda will tip off on Tuesday at 6:00 PM Slovenian time, and the Dragons will have double motivation heading into the matchup – they are still battling for a spot in the knockout stage, while also looking to settle the score from the first head-to-head meeting, when the scoreboard at Stožice at the end of October showed 94:91 in favor of Neptunas.
On Tuesday, we will witness a clash between two teams that remain locked in a fierce battle for the playoffs, as well as for the best possible position in Group A. After last week’s loss to Bahçeşehir, Cedevita Olimpija sit in third place with eight wins. A group of three teams breathing down the Dragons’ necks with seven wins consists of Cluj, Umana Reyer, and Manresa, while just behind them, with six wins each, are Neptunas and Aris. At the top of the standings is Hapoel Jerusalem with 11 wins, followed by Bahçeşehir with two fewer.
All basketball fans and supporters of Cedevita Olimpija will also be able to watch the game at Pivnica Union, where a lively atmosphere awaits. Activities at Pivnica Union will begin even before tip-off, which in Klaipėda is scheduled for 6:00 PM.
TV BROADCAST:
The television broadcast of the Round 14 BKT EuroCup game against Neptunas will be available on Šport TV 1. Studio coverage will begin at 5:15 PM.
PRE-GAME STATEMENTS:
“Every game in the EuroCup is important for us. We remember that Neptunas beat us relatively convincingly in Ljubljana in the first game. We expect a very tough game against a team that is extremely effective on its home court. Our opponents do not stand out defensively, but they are very efficient offensively, averaging over 90 points per game. This will be a big challenge for us. We have some issues – Rok Radović missed Monday’s pre-game practice due to an elevated temperature, and Miha Cerkvenik is also dealing with a finger problem on his right hand. We can’t seem to get fully healthy, but despite that we must show good defensive play, because our opponents are very high quality offensively, as they proved in Stožice, where they scored 34 points already in the first quarter. Tough defense and better, smarter offensive play – we will try to do everything in our power to put in a good performance,” said Cedevita Olimpija head coach Zvezdan Mitrović ahead of Tuesday’s game in Klaipėda.
“We are aware of the importance of the game, and at the same time we know that the matchup against Neptunas will be demanding. In the first head-to-head game we dug ourselves a hole early, and then tried to climb out of it for the entire game. Our goal is to step onto the court more aggressive, with more energy, and to play better defense in order to record a win,” said DJ Stewart ahead of the game against Neptunas.
GAME PREVIEW:
After 13 games played in the regular season, Neptunas, who average as many as 94.5 points per game – good for the third-best offense in the competition – hold a record of six wins and seven losses. The Klaipėda side opened the season with three consecutive defeats against Śląsk, Cluj, and Umana Reyer, followed by three straight wins against Hamburg, Cedevita Olimpija, and Manresa. In Round 9, the Lithuanian team also defeated Bahçeşehir, then beat Śląsk a round later, suffered two consecutive losses afterward, and in the last round claimed a road win against Hamburg.
Neptunas boast the MVP of Round 13 of the BKT EuroCup regular season in their ranks – after an excellent performance against Hamburg, Rihards Lomazs was named the round’s MVP, as he recorded 33 points and six assists against the German side. The game, which Neptunas won 98:94, saw Lomazs post a performance index rating of 36. Otherwise, the most efficient player for Neptunas this season is Arnas Berucka, who averages 13.8 points and 7.3 assists per game, making him also the competition’s leading assist man in the 2025/26 season.
In the Lithuanian domestic league standings, Neptunas are in a very strong position – third place with a record of nine wins and five losses, trailing only Žalgiris and Rytas. On Saturday, in a Round 16 home game, they defeated Nevezis 113:82.
Cedevita Olimpija will try to return to winning ways in the EuroCup in Klaipėda – in the Round 13 game at Stožice against Bahçeşehir, the scoreboard showed 67:59 in favor of the visitors from Istanbul. After 20 minutes of play, the Dragons held a 10-point lead, but in the third quarter the Bahçeşehir players turned the flow of the game in their favor and managed to secure the win in a tight finish. Umoja Gibson scored 25 points in the green-and-orange jersey, while Aleksej Nikolić added 16.
On Saturday, the Ljubljana side suffered a defeat in Vienna, where they visited Vienna in Round 14 of the first phase of the AdmiralBet ABA League. The hosts pulled away from the Dragons in the first quarter, and all of Cedevita Olimpija’s attempts to mount a comeback in the second half were unsuccessful. The final score was 93:89 in favor of the home team.
In the first head-to-head game of the season in Stožice, the visitors took control early, winning the first quarter by 18 points (16:34). The Dragons did not give up and showed a fierce fight to get back into contention, even briefly taking the lead in the final quarter, but ultimately ran out of energy and focus for a complete comeback. The Ljubljana team thus suffered their first home defeat of the season at Arena Stožice.
The most efficient scorer for the home team was Nikolić with 19 points, followed by Gibson and David Škara with 17 points each, while DJ Stewart scored 14 and Thomas Kennedy 10. The visitors from Klaipėda excelled from beyond the arc, making 13 of 28 three-point attempts, with Lomazs leading Neptunas with 25 points.
BKT EUROCUP, REGULAR SEASON, ROUND 14
Svyturio Arena (Klaipėda, Lithuania), Tuesday, January 13, at 7:00 PM (6:00 PM SLO):
NEPTUNAS KLAIPEDA – CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA (TV broadcast on Šport TV 1)
STANDINGS
LOOKING AHEAD:
After the game in Klaipėda, the Dragons will return to Ljubljana, where two basketball spectacles await in the coming days – in the regional league already on Saturday at 8:00 PM, when Budućnost VOLI visit Stožice, followed by next Tuesday at 6:30 PM at Hala Tivoli, where Cedevita Olimpija will face Cluj. The EuroCup thus returns to the Temple of Slovenian Basketball after almost ten years. Tickets for both games are already available at vstopnice.olimpija.com.
