Titans edged Eurobasket 65-63 at Lux Gare, closing out a tight finish built on perimeter shot-making and timely late execution.
After a balanced first quarter (20-21), coach Peter Mabic's Titans broke the game open early in the second with an 8-0 burst to 20-29 and stretched the gap to a game-high +11 (22-33). They carried a 10-point lead into halftime (26-36). Eurobasket, steered by captain Michele Simonato (EUR) and Svajunas Piepolis (EUR), pushed back in the third, but Miguel Gonzalez Vargas (TIT) authored the stretch that defined the night: he scored Titans' next 16 points in the period, weaving three triples with four straight free throws right after his technical foul, and kept his team in front 51-55 entering the fourth.
Corentin Guissard (TIT) and Liviu Constantin Rusu (TIT) nudged the lead to 56-63, before Eurobasket answered with a 5-0 run keyed by Olivier Maillet (EUR) at the line and Simonato inside. With the game at 61-63, Mihnea Fulop (TIT) hit the crucial basket for 61-65; Piepolis brought it back to two, but Titans held. Eurobasket finished without Domas Savickas (EUR), who fouled out in the final minute.
Numbers tell the story: Titans won the arc 7-to-2 in made threes (21-6 points), while Eurobasket controlled the paint with 22 two-point field goals to Titans' 16 (44-32 points). The hosts also edged the stripe 13-12. For the winners, Gonzalez Vargas led with 26 (5 threes, 5 free throws), backed by Rusu's 14 and Guissard's 14, while Fulop added 6 and the late dagger. Eurobasket's best were Simonato with 15, Maillet 11, Piepolis 11 and Rimgaudas Greicius 10.
Coach Roberto Schiano's side nearly completed the comeback, but Titans' perimeter burst and composure in the key possessions decided it.
(AI generated)