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Khimki overwhelm Lietuvos Rytas

Mon, 4 Mar 2013 22:30:00 +0200

Despite erasing a 17-point deficit, Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius fell short of victory 79-88 (12-27, 27-16, 21-22, 19-23) in a VTB United League matchup against Khimki Moscow region.

The Lithuanian side stands sixth in Group A with eight victories and eight losses. Meanwhile, Khimki is battling for the first seed and holds a record of 12-4.

Lietuvos Rytas, supported by some ten thousand fans, couldn’t get off to a strong start and were already trailing by double digits with only four minutes played. The deficit grew to 15 until the end of the first quarter.

However, Steponas Babrauskas and Renaldas Seibutis ignited a 12-2 run in the midst of the second quarter and got Lietuvos Rytas back in the game. The Lithuanian vice-champions closed out the first half in style, scoring five points in the last five seconds to cut the lead to only four points.

Though the teams traded leads for the majority of the third quarter, Khimki managed to get away halfway through the fourth. They got off to a 15-2 run and cruised to the victory.

Renaldas Seibutis was the top scorer for Lietuvos Rytas with 14 points. Mindaugas Katelynas added 13, while Nemanja Nedovic contributed 12 points. Janis Blums ended the game with 11.

Paul Davis had a game-high 20 points, while Kresimir Loncar added 15. Vitaly Fridzon finished with 11 points to his name, Kelvin Rivers had 10.

Zalgiris defeat CEZ to secure first place

Sun, 3 Mar 2013 18:19:00 +0200

Zalgiris Kaunas extended their winning streak in the VTB United League to 11 after defeating CEZ Nymburk 90–84 (23-17, 21-22, 27-23, 19-22).

The victory pushed Zalgiris’ record to 15-1 and guaranteed the first seed in Group B for the Lithuanians. CEZ are seventh with five victories and ten losses.

Zalgiris managed to tally a nine point lead with a minute remaining in the first quarter. However, after a 7-0 run in the midst of the second quarter, CEZ cut the lead to a single point.

The teams traded runs and were separated by only three points with half of a quarter left, but then Oliver Lafayette took over, scoring 9 points in the four final minutes, sealing the victory.

Oliver Lafayette was the top-scorer for Zalgiris, as he scored 15 points. The Lithuanians also received a double-digit scoring outcome from six other players, as Donald McGrath, Marko Popovic, Darjus Lavrinovic, Rimantas Kaukenas, Ksistof Lavrinovic and Mindaugas Kuzminskas all scored 10 points each.

Radoslav Rancik had a game-high 20 points for CEZ. Demond Carter contributed 15, while Pavel Houska and Vojtech Hruban ended the game with 12 points. Jiri Welsch was near a double-double with 11 points and 9 assists.

Zalgiris outpower Unicaja

Sat, 2 Mar 2013 16:25:00 +0200

Zalgiris Kaunas picked up their fourth victory in the Euroleague after defeating Unicaja Malaga 83-67 (16-19, 22-12, 21-25, 24-11) on Friday evening.

The Lithuanian team now stands fifth in group standings, while Unicaja is sixth. Even though both teams currently hold a 4-5 record, Zalgiris is ahead of the Spaniards because of a better point differential.

The game went neck to neck for the most part. The Lithuanian champions were up by seven at halftime and only led by a single point heading into the final quarter. However, after a 10-0 run, Zalgiris amassed an insurmountable lead.

Mindaugas Kuzminskas was the top scorer for Zalgiris with 15 points and 8 rebounds, Oliver Lafayette added 14, while Tremmell Darden ended the game with 9 points.

Krunoslav Simon scored 13 points for Unicaja, Luka Zoric contributed 12 points and 7 rebounds, while Sergi Vidal finished the game with 10.

Tasks handed out to national teams

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 17:00:00 +0200

In a meeting in Kaunas today, the Lithuanian basketball federation (LKF) executive committee structured the goals for the Lithuanian national teams participating in European and World championships.

The goal for the men’s national team is making the Top 5 in the upcoming Eurobasket 2013 in Slovenia, while the bar is raised slightly higher for the women’s team – they are expected to reach the 3-5 places in the European championship in France.

Medals are expected from most youth national teams, as the U16, U18 and U20 teams are expected to climb as high as gold and as low as the fifth spot in the men’s European championships this summer, while the U19 national team has the same expectations in the World Championship.

The U19 and U20 women’s national teams are expected to make the quarterfinals, while the U16 girls were handed the task to reach the 5-7 place. The U18 team’s goal is medals in the European Championship Division B.

The executive committee also confirmed Robertas Giedraitis as the U16 national team’s head coach.

Dulkys loaned out to Barons

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 20:23:00 +0200

Deividas Dulkys, who played for Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius this season and was a member of the Lithuanian national team in the qualifying stage for the London Olympics, will be joining Barons Riga after they reached a loan agreement with his current club.

"The signing of Tautvydas Lydeka pushed the roster to 15 players and that’s why some players will lose some minutes in the rotation,” said Lietuvos Rytas’ director Martynas Purlys.

"We hope that Deividas will be presented with stable minutes in Barons and that will help him improve as a player.”

Dulkys averaged 10 minutes of playing time in Euroleague action and he would collect 2.3 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists.

His averages in the VTB United League were much of the same, as he dropped an average of 2.5 points, grabbed down 1.8 rebounds and dished out 0.7 assists in 11 minutes of playing time.

The guard averaged 5.9 points, 2 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 14 minutes in the national tournament.

Kleiza done for the year?

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 10:46:00 +0200

Toronto Raptors forward Linas Kleiza has not had much luck with injuries the last couple of years and bad turned to worse as the Lithuanian player might have to undergo a knee surgery once again.

The 28-year-old Kleiza has been sidelined for the last couple of months and has appeared in only 20 games this season. According to Asta Zukaite of 15min.lt, this number is unlikely to change.

It is claimed that the player could not only be done for the season, but the future of his career in general is in doubt.

Although Kleiza has stated that the knee issues have been caused by a long summer with the Lithuanian national team, unconfirmed sources suggest that the first arthroscopic surgery, which was performed by Dr. J. Richard Steadman in Colorado in 2011, might not have gone fully according to plan.

According to the former head of the Lithuanian national team’s delegation and a good friend of Kleiza, Antanas Guoga, it is likely that the surgery will need to be repeated.

"I’ve heard that the surgery didn’t go right, there were some mistakes [in the rehabilitation process] after the injury. It’s not good that he underwent surgery in the United States. You can’t turn the clock back, but things might have been different, if it had been Lithuanian medics,” Guoga told 15min.lt.

Given the seriousness of the knee issues, Kleiza is likely set to miss the European Championship in Slovenia, but the new coach of the national team Jonas Kazlauskas maintained his optimism.

"I’m very concerned about Linas. He has been the key player of the team the last couple of tournaments. I’m hoping he manages to get over the difficulties. Health is a long-term concern and I will not put any pressure on anyone,” Kazlauskas told 15min.lt.

The head doctor of the Olympic team Dalius Barkauskas explained to 15min.lt that arthroscopic surgeries can have complications, which can influence the rehabilitation process and not have the best results in the end and Kleiza was unlucky to have this happen to him.

It is yet unclear whether the Raptors player will have to go under the scalpel once again, as it is reported that non-invasive methods will be attempted, before resorting to another arthroscopic surgery.

Panathinaikos too strong for Zalgiris

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 23:35:00 +0200

Zalgiris Kaunas suffered their fifth loss in the Euroleague Top 16 round, as they fell short against Panathinaikos Athens 73-78(22-19, 21-21, 15-16, 15-22) on Thursday evening.

Zalgiris now hold a 3-5 record and are two victories away from the fourth-seeded Panathinaikos, who have now won five of eight games.

The game went neck to neck for the most part of the game, but Panathinaikos managed to spark a run and drifted apart in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

Oliver Lafayette was the highest scorer for Zalgiris with 15 points. Ksistof Lavrinovic scored 11, while Marko Popovic had 10.

Roko Leni Ukic had a game-high 21 points, Dimitris Diamantidis contributed a double-double, scoring 13 points and dishing out 10 assists. James Gist ended the game with 12 points and 9 rebounds.

Lietuvos Rytas strengthen frontcourt with Lydeka

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 20:57:00 +0200

Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius added more frontcourt depth with the signing of center Tautvydas Lydeka. The 29-year-old big man played for Krasnie Krylia Samara in Russia this season.

The Lithuanian averaged 7 points and nearly 3 rebounds in eight VTB United League games.

Lydeka has played in Ukraine, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy and Russia throughout his career.

Jankunas hit by season-ending injury

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 15:50:00 +0200

Zalgiris Kaunas, already going through rough times, received more bad news. After medical analysis it was found that the team’s captain Paulius Jankunas will need surgery in his shoulder.

Jankunas suffered a right shoulder-joint capsule tear and according to doctors, the rehabilitation will last up to 4 months. In this case, the season is already over for the Lithuanian.

"The doctors decided that we can’t risk anymore and that the surgery is indespensable. It’s heartbreaking but no one is immune to injuries. This season could have been special. I still believe in my team though and I will try to support them off the bench,” said Jankunas.

While the forward is out, Marko Popovic will take over as captain of the team.

Turow upset Lietuvos Rytas

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 21:10:00 +0200

Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius had to face their seventh loss in VTB United league’s Group A, as they fell 78-86(17-26, 22-10, 15-23, 24-27) against PGE Turow Zgorzelec on Sunday evening.

The Lithuanian team dropped to 8-7, while Turow are now 4-11.

Lietuvos Rytas couldn’t start the game on a high note and were already trailing by double digits in the end of the first quarter.

However, the Lithuanian side managed to come back with a strong second quarter. By halftime, the Lithuanian vice-champions were in front by three.

Turow were in what looked like a safe position, as they led by seven with two minutes remaining. However, after Janis Blums’ three-pointer and a defensive stop by Lietuvos Rytas on the other end, the Polish team only held a two point lead.

Russel Robinson converted on his free-throws and raised the margin to four. Dejan Ivanov couldn’t respond with some of the same, as he missed both his free-throw attempts and Lietuvos Rytas went on to lose.

Dejan Ivanov scored 14 points and grabbed 9 rebounds for Lietuvos Rytas. Renaldas Seibutis added 13 points, while Janis Blums chipped in with 12. Nemanja Nedovic ended the game with 10.

David Jackson scored the game-high 19 points, while both Russel Robinson and Michal Chylinski added 14. Ivan Zigeranovic finished the game with 12.