U18 Zalgiris Kaunas made a last-minute comeback against U18 FC Barcelona, but ultimately lost 89-91 in the final game at the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague 2024-25 event in Ulm, Germany.

Mathieu Grujicic shined for the winners with 22 points, Raul Villar tallied 19 points and 7 assists, Lluc Pluvinet scored 13, Arturas Butajevas 11 and Mohamed Dabone posted 8 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for Barcelona.

Dovydas Buika was Zalgiris’ top man with 26 points, 10 boards and 7 assists. Dominykas Grunkis contributed 19 points, Ignas Stombergas had 14 and Kajus Mikalauskas 13.

Neither team led by more than 4 points at any point in the first half, which ended with Zalgiris ahead 42-41.

The game turned when Abdrahamane Kone and Butajevas led a 0-10 Barcelona run to take a 55-62 lead. Grunkis helped Zalgiris get back within 4 before a Grujicic triple ended the third quarter with Barcelona up 61-68. Barcelona turned the screw with 9 unanswered points – including 4 from Dabone – early in the fourth to take a double-digit lead, 63-77.

Zalgiris responded with a 9-0 run of its own, highlighted by threes from Mikalauskas and Dovydas Jakstonis, but Pluvinet stepped up to keep Barcelona in control. Mikalauskas rallied Zalgiris late only to come up just short.