FIBA Intercontinental Cup: Rytas Vilnius beats African champions, who then rally past China's title holder
At the FIBA Intercontinental Cup preliminary round in Beijing, Lithuania's Rytas Vilnius defeated African champions RSSB Tigers of Rwanda, who came back the next day to beat China's Shanghai Sharks in overtime.
The FIBA Intercontinental Cup preliminary tournament is underway in Beijing, featuring basketball clubs from multiple continents. Rytas Vilnius, which unexpectedly won this season's European FIBA Champions League, convincingly defeated African champions RSSB Tigers Kigali of Rwanda 107:89 on Tuesday.
Rytas built its win on sharp three-point shooting, converting 16 of 37 attempts from beyond the arc, and dominated the third quarter 31:20. German forward Kai Brunkow led the winners with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Augustas Marčiulionis added 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Dramatic overtime for the Rwandan club
The following day, RSSB Tigers faced Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) side Shanghai Sharks. The Rwandan club fought back from a 58:77 deficit in the second half, tying the score at 93:101 by the end of regulation, and ultimately won in overtime, 117:115.
Shanghai could not avoid the defeat despite a strong performance from Brandon Goodwin, who played 133 NBA games between 2018 and 2022 and scored 37 points in 35 minutes. Craig Randall led RSSB Tigers with 30 points.
In the other group, hosts Beijing Royal Fighters suffered two losses — first to Argentina's Boca Juniors (78:88), then to a combined NBA G League select team (89:119). Grant Riller scored 24 points for the Argentine club in the first game, while Javonte Cook, who played for the Portland Trail Blazers last season, added 30 points for the NBA G League side in the second.
