LKL final. Classic :)

[re5pectas]

So, today starts the series of the final :)
Rytas has home court advantage.
Guess the score of the serries :)
And I'm not adding blank votes, this time games are very important :)

[Basket_]

Sad that injuries are doing it's job.. In Žalgiris Mamadou N'Diaye will deffinetely miss the finals, while Marko Popovič also got injurie and it's still not clear how long he'll be out.. In Rytas jackson Vroman is deffinetely out for all finals and Eidson has some injurie and may miss the first game.

Hope that Žalgiris will took the third trophy and I will update my signature :)

[Test]

I hope Rytas wins, but logic says zalgiris will win 4-2

[Digdis]

What's the effect (if any) on the EL participation next year?

[Sss]

What's the effect (if any) on the EL participation next year?

No effect if we speak about the next season. Zalgiris has three years contract and Rytas will go to Uleb (if nothing exceptional will happen).

But if Zalgiris wins this one. He practically assures the new contract (2009-2012). If Rytas wins this one. Then the next season will be decisive one.

[LuDux]

What's the effect (if any) on the EL participation next year?


Curently Rytas trails 3 year ratings by 9 points (41:50)

LKL final winner gets 15, looser - 8 points

[Test]

Of Rytas wins then both teams will play in euroleague, if not, then lemans and chorale will play because theyr attendance is normal...


Rytas won the first game 76-73


If nothing bad happens then zalgiris explanations will be updated soon.

[miurdock]

Nice match..
http://www.verslosavaite.lt/content/view/3186/1/

every time somoene loses..

[C-ka]

Of Rytas wins then both teams will play in euroleague, if not, then lemans and chorale will play because theyr attendance is normal...


Rytas won the first game 76-73


If nothing bad happens then zalgiris explanations will be updated soon.
I assume something bad happened?..

a little pitty, cause we already had the game and just relaxed a bit too soon, a pair of bad decisions allowed Rytas to come back. Anyway, I kinda feel optimistic, seems it shouldn't be a big deal to win in Vilnius in this series, in front of the crazy Rytas fans. :D

[sashikas]

Lithuanian Bruce Bowen...

f6CtHmDdlJE

[Test]

Haha funny video, added to favorites

[C-ka]

Haha funny video, added to favorites
honestly, what a fu*ker, one hardcore Rytas fan, a friend of mine, after the game admitted that besides everything, Jomantas is a player he hates, in his own favorite team.

[auris1]

There is nothing wrong in having a player who likes to play dirty .Adds variety to the team. When I look backwards to the 90’s , all them lt guys were a wee bit too nice .we all remember ex Yugoslavian teams with their spitting ,shirt pooling , provoking ,tongue trashing etc and where it got them - straight to the top (plus talent as well)

[re5pectas]

honestly, what a fu*ker, one hardcore Rytas fan, a friend of mine, after the game admitted that besides everything, Jomantas is a player he hates, in his own favorite team.
Well, I like him very much :) Of course, not because of this scene, but because of his defence. He need to increase his field goal percentage, and he will be much more dangerous :)

[Test]

Oh boy, C-Ka returned from his cave

I like Jomantas cause he actualy makes mad stupid zalgiris fans like C-Ka haha. Look at his paranoyd angry comment. This is part of life - some people are bad, some are good. If everybody will be good, will it be interesting?

You like to bash Jomantas but you always forget about Maciulis. If you like Maciulis attitude more than Jomantas then you are pus*y. It is better to play a dirbty basketball then to cry and deny every foul, and then look at referee like he just killed man...

And that your friend is stupid man:
1st he hates Jomantas
2nd he is your friend

[Straight forward]

Test, your "progressive" morality is nothing but conformance than :p

More over, Mačiulis is playing hard, but never is trying to injure the opponent purposely. Sometimes he's overreacting in some cases, but never doing such hidden things as Jomantas. Mačiulis is the same like Kleiza, he can punch the opponent openly if he thinks he deserved that (:D ), but never acting like a fox. Jomantas acted like an asshole in that situation with DC.

[Test]

Yes but don't forget when Maciulis got fined, that time he was very aggresive..

Zalgiris won the second game 87-80

In the end I thought Rytas will win, but Nielsen missed layup. Then I noticed that Shalenga is on court. Like to every Rytas fan - Shalenga brings lot of joy and hope. When Shalenga shot main freethrows every Rytas fan was calm, because a chance that he will make important FT's is a little lower than 7 bombs at the same airline plain in one time. Unfortunatly Kenan made a stupid foul, thank God that Jurak was shaking too. Then Price shot an easy layup but he forgot that legal goaltending is still valid in Europe :( Jurak did not forget this and took the baouncing ball of the rim and made 2 pts.

Congratulations to people who like zalgiris, except C-Ka

[sashikas]

Yes but don't forget when Maciulis got fined, that time he was very aggresive..

Zalgiris won the second game 87-80

In the end I thought Rytas will win, but Nielsen missed layup. Then I noticed that Shalenga is on court. Like to every Rytas fan - Shalenga brings lot of joy and hope. When Shalenga shot main freethrows every Rytas fan was calm, because a chance that he will make important FT's is a little lower than 7 bombs at the same airline plain in one time. Unfortunatly Kenan made a stupid foul, thank God that Jurak was shaking too. Then Price shot an easy layup but he forgot that legal goaltending is still valid in Europe :( Jurak did not forget this and took the baouncing ball of the rim and made 2 pts.

Congratulations to people who like zalgiris, except C-Ka
Well I guess the second dirtiest player of Rytas - Matthew Nielsen have made at least some impact on Šalenga's FT shooting, when he made sure, the foul he was commiting on Dainius is really hard, and hitting not only the hands, but also the face of the opponent.

[adebisi]

Yup, Matthew is the second dirtiest player of Rytas. I am wondering now who is the third one. Maybe we should make a list of all Rytas' players?
This is becoming ridiculous...
Anyway, congrats to Žalgiris fans, this win was well deserved ;)
See you in Siemens :p

[C-ka]

Oh boy, C-Ka returned from his cave

I like Jomantas cause he actualy makes mad stupid zalgiris fans like C-Ka haha. Look at his paranoyd angry comment. This is part of life - some people are bad, some are good. If everybody will be good, will it be interesting?

You like to bash Jomantas but you always forget about Maciulis. If you like Maciulis attitude more than Jomantas then you are pus*y. It is better to play a dirbty basketball then to cry and deny every foul, and then look at referee like he just killed man...

And that your friend is stupid man:
1st he hates Jomantas
2nd he is your friend
what a sick man.. ;D goood bad people? well I'm sre it WOULD actually be better with you out, that's for suire;)

congrats with the win. wasn't even felt Popo was missing.
Joamntas and Nielsen are two players of Rytas to deslike personally, that's discussed many times. No more lists.

[Marius123]

Then I noticed that Shalenga is on court. Like to every Rytas fan - Shalenga brings lot of joy and hope.

Have you paid attention to Šalenga's impact on Žalgiris' defence? He's really good there recently, working his ass off. Good one-on-one effort, and usually good timely decisions in team defence (help to bigs, etc.).

Towards the end of the game, Trifunović put Jomantas to defend Collins. Very good decision, and Žalgiris didn't manage to find any solution. This way, Collins gets tired in the attack, defended by contact-loving, long-armed, physically strong (and dirty :) ) Jomantas, while Price is defending Brown. (Seems it's suitable to Price - he'd better run circles around the court after Brown, than confront bigger Collins.) At the other end, Collins is getting tired again - by defending Price (Brown can't do that).

DC was hot in the beginning, but started to make mistakes late in the game, looked like fatigue.

Who can guard Price and let DC take some slack? Žalgiris needs him fresher in the deciding minutes! Hopefully Marko will be back sooner rather than later, this will give more depth. Šalenga? Kalnietis?

Good effort from the old man Eurelijus Žukauskas. He's not dead after all. :D Hopefully, he's got enough health left to carry him through this series. Then, in the next season, make him a backup centre of Žalgiris.

Fine contribution from Markota. He shows he has talent, but still, his game looks kind of "unbalanced" to me. Typical situation is when Damir gets the ball at the 3-point line and then either shoots from there, or fakes a shot and penetrates to the paint. Several situations, when he's shooting, and all the other Žalgiris players are spread around the perimetre. Come on, send Mačiulis or Jankūnas to the basket, there'll be a couple of offensive rebounds through the game. This has to click better.

[Straight forward]

Have you paid attention to Šalenga's impact on Žalgiris' defence? He's really good there recently, working his ass off. Good one-on-one effort, and usually good timely decisions in team defence (help to bigs, etc.).

Towards the end of the game, Trifunović put Jomantas to defend Collins. Very good decisions, and Žalgiris didn't manage to find any solution. This way, Collins gets tired in the attack, defended by contact-loving, long-armed, physically strong (and dirty :) ) Jomantas, while Price is defending Brown. (Seems it's suitable to Price - he'd better run circles around the court after Brown, than confront bigger Collins.) At the other end, Collins is getting tired again - by defending Price (Brown can't do that).

DC was hot in the beginning, but started to make mistakes late in the game, looked like fatigue.

Who can guard Price and let DC take some slack? Žalgiris needs him fresher in the deciding minutes! Hopefully Marko will be back sooner than later, this will give more depth. Šalenga? Kalnietis?

Good effort from the old man Eurelijus Žukauskas. He's not dead after all. :D Hopefully, he's got enough health left to carry him through this series. Then, in the next season, make him a backup centre of Žalgiris.

Fine contribution from Markota. He shows he has talent, but still, his game looks kind of "unbalanced" to me. Typical situation is when Damir gets the ball at the 3-point line and then either shoots from there, or fakes a shot and penetrates to the paint. Several situations, when he's shooting, and all the other Žalgiris players are spread around the perimetre. Come on, send Mačiulis or Jankūnas to the basket, there'll be a couple of offensive rebounds through the game. This has to click better.

Šalenga finally became very important player in Zalgiris. ATM, he's close to the level he used to play in Zalgiris few years ago. He's getting confidence back and that may become very important for Zalgiris.
With Šalenga's and Kalnietis impact on the game Zalgiris is different team, equal team. Imho, Kalnietis was worth even more minutes on the court, while DC despite nice shooting range showed that he's a bit tired. He made a crucial mistake in the first game and was close to this in second one.
As for the defence on Price, DC is the best option i think. It's easy to see that Kalnietis has quite slow stepping back and he must work on this very hard, cause he has problems everytime when we talk about first step. That's the main problem, imho, why he looks a bit tight in positional game, when PG should change directions realy fast. I have no doubt Kalnietis would be more effective in any of NBA team ATM, seriously :) He has to work on this, but he shouldn't forget his strengths- fast brakes, penetration and forwardness (that thing completely gone in 06/07 season).

[lafa]

Yup, Matthew is the second dirtiest player of Rytas. I am wondering now who is the third one. Maybe we should make a list of all Rytas' players?

No need for the whole list, but i coudn't NOT to mention Šležas :)
I think he's a masterminder behind Nielsen ar Jomantas and I'm not joking. I rememeber Jomantas 2-3 years ago, and he wasn't as dirty as he is right now.I remember Nielsen playing for PAOK agains Rytas in ULEB cup quaterfinal and he wasn't this Nielsen that we know today...



Anyway, congrats to Žalgiris fans, this win was well deserved ;)
See you in Siemens :p

Thanks. If Žalgiris had lost yesterday if wouldn't have been fair, the same way it wouldn't have fair if they had won in the first game, even though they did have +7 points at the end of the game ;)

[penzias]

Hi, is there anyway to watch the games live online?

[re5pectas]

Hi, is there anyway to watch the games live online?
#1 (use Internet explorer) (http://www.erdves.lt/?lt=1186751981)
#2 higher quality (http://www.lrt.lt/standalone.php?channel=234940&quality=high)
#2,5 lower quality (http://www.lrt.lt/standalone.php?channel=234940&quality=low)

Maybe rick will know some more :)
Follow the schedule on www.lkl.lt , we are GMT +2,
good luck ;)

[ArkadiosV2]

To all the newspaper lovers... we will crash and burn you...

Jomantas or no Jomanta colwn... you are done...

[Jan van Grabski]

To all the newspaper lovers... we will crash and burn you...

Jomantas or no Jomanta colwn... you are done...


it is not very good for your health to drink so early in the morning :rolleyes:

[ArkadiosV2]

it is not very good for your health to drink so early in the morning :rolleyes:
I am celebrting Green Wall win! Glory is on its way...

[penzias]

#1 (use Internet explorer) (http://www.erdves.lt/?lt=1186751981)
#2 higher quality (http://www.lrt.lt/standalone.php?channel=234940&quality=high)
#2,5 lower quality (http://www.lrt.lt/standalone.php?channel=234940&quality=low)

Maybe rick will know some more :)
Follow the schedule on www.lkl.lt , we are GMT +2,
good luck ;)
Great, thanks.

[C-ka]

I say it's over. Again, even with Popo still sidelined, it was a well deserved win. Congrats to all green fans. ;)

[Test]

Zalgiris won 3rd game and now winning the series 2-1. The last Rytas attack was so pathetic... Price getting to be too selfish. Everybody in the world knows that price will try to hit buzzerbeater clutch shot and don't pass to anyone. DC also knows it and steals the ball...

[Test]

I say it's over. Again, even with Popo still sidelined, it was a well deserved win. Congrats to all green fans. ;)

Without Popo you play better. Also you have brazauskas in your squad.

[C-ka]

Without Popo you play better. Also you have brazauskas in your squad.
aha, who's coming up with explanations here?.. are you whining about the referees?? ;D
with Popo as an option it's very likely that those two raw turnovers by DC in the overtime would have been avoided, and quite some more freedom appeared for Brown.

btw, isn't Rytas playing better without Eidson then? They won the first game afterall... here goes your logic. :rolleyes:

[ArkadiosV2]

Pathetic newspaper fans are whining about one of the best European refs?

Typical... never mind.. it will be nice in ULEB ;)

[Marius123]

Without Popo you play better.

It's not a one-sided question. When DC is so tired at the end of the game, Popo might be useful. I have a gut feeling Marko would hit those FTs better, with his big Zadar heart, but who knows. :D

I don't know. I think, in the present situation, we might use Kalnietis and Šalenga (especially him) to a greater extent, which might be useful to the team.

[Marius123]

If nothing bad happens then zalgiris explanations will be updated soon.


Also you have brazauskas in your squad.

Oh yeah. :D

[auris1]

If you are too anxious to wait for the proper release and to see the game here is direct link for the game 3 - download size is 335 mb ,so …
Can not comment on the quality ,downloading myself
it is official lt television website ,takes aprox 35 min
p.s It was impossible to watch the game live due to the buffering hence the link





http://www.lrt.lt/archyvas/?channel=234940&section=1&filter=&record=4026695_1210606800

[lafa]

Without Popo you play better. Also you have brazauskas in your squad.

Since when Brazauskas is proZalgiris? In fact if he is prosomething, it's more likely proRytas

[penzias]

http://media2.lrt.lt/ltv/20080512_1840_LKL_finalas_3_rungtynes_s1.wmv

No need to download. It's not HD but still watchable.

[sashikas]

Artūras Jomantas again at his best:

ASzcq770VWw

[Sss]

I always thought that the bad one is Pilipauskas :(. Which, by the way, was referee only in one final game yet. I bet, that Rytas newspaper attacks on him made an impact.

et.. Jomantas. I start to feel sorry for that guy. What the heck he is thinking with such game against all beloved team (well... almost all :D ). He is making such bad name for himself.

[lafa]

I always thought that the bad one is Pilipauskas :(. Which, by the way, was referee only in one final game yet.

honestly i don't think pilipauskas is a bad referee. i think dovydavicius is worse... but he is not as bad as any third referee which's usually the one who sucks the most, like ramanauskas yesterday...

[Marius123]

At the other end, Collins is getting tired again - by defending Price (Brown can't do that).

Well, he can, after all. :) In Game 3, Žalgiris tweaked their tactics a bit and put Brown to defend Price for quite long stretches, and it wasn't as bad one could have predicted.

What do you guys think about Jurak's role/position versus Rytas? The guy has had some nice games in the Euroleague, he can play at C position for some time in a smaller five, the absence of N'Diaye should give him more chances... But he just doesn't click versus Rytas' frontline... In this current season, he had a monster game (by his standards) versus Rytas in Kaunas (in the BBL, 12 pts., 7 rebounds), but in all the other games (7 so far, IIRC), he was just mediocre ... Nielsen, Bajramović, Petravičius don't give him an easy time.

Otherwise, we have a golden core (DC - floor general and the fulcrum of Žalgiris attack ... Marcus with his attacking skills ... Jankūnas, who hit superb form just at the right time ... Jonas, who plays at the level he's expected to). Plus, Eurelijus who seems well-prepared for the finals (by his health standards) ... Markota - very useful with his versatility in offence ... A couple of guys who are just average (Kalnietis, Šalenga), but they don't openly suck (they've proved more than once that they can :D ), they give valuable minutes of rest to our black guards ... Only Jurak seems out of context, a wrong piece. :confused:

P.S. What a dramatic Game 3! Drama, suspense, emotions - just like the Finals should be. Žalgiris being super hot from the 3-point land, but sucking big time at the FT stripe (52% in both cases). Jankūnas hitting 1/2 free throws to make it 90:91, 7 seconds left for Rytas' last attack, Price trying to go for that winning shot again, but Collins being smarter and stealing the ball, game over! Now Rytas is cornered, their loss Wednesnay in Kaunas would probably mean they're caked. It was the first time this season that Rytas or Žalgiris won in the opponent's court (in their head-to-head encounters).

[Straight forward]

Artūras Jomantas again at his best:

ASzcq770VWw

That's kind of questionable moment (was it intentional hit?). But the fact is that Jomantas is doing pretty fine to make himself unloved in NT camp :p Maciulis and Jankunas surely will be there.

[ORE]

I love when a.Trifunovic looks like this :)
http://www.sportalas.com/

P.S. picture in the side with the refery (click on it for the zoom)

[Marius123]

That's kind of questionable moment (was it intentional hit?). But the fact is that Jomantas is doing pretty fine to make himself unloved in NT camp :p Maciulis and Jankunas surely will be there.

Hm... Usually, before Rytas - Žalgiris games, during warm-ups, I used to see members of youth NTs engaging in friendly chats, laughing, telling jokes, etc. It would be Mačiulis, Jankūnas, Jomantas, like real friends. Then, during the game, both Mačiulis and Jomantas would go at each other and hit each other in a hard way, use dirty tricks, etc. I'll have to pay attention on Wednesday in Halė, whether they're still friendly outside the game.

[Marius123]

I love when a.Trifunovic looks like this :)
http://www.sportalas.com/
P.S. picture in the side with the refery (click on it for the zoom)

Here it is:
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s219/oak13/trifunovic.jpg

Another one:
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s219/oak13/LKL39035.jpg

[re5pectas]

Hm... Usually, before Rytas - Žalgiris games, during warm-ups, I used to see members of youth NTs engaging in friendly chats, laughing, telling jokes, etc. It would be Mačiulis, Jankūnas, Jomantas, like real friends. Then, during the game, both Mačiulis and Jomantas would go at each other and hit each other in a hard way, use dirty tricks, etc. I'll have to pay attention on Wednesday in Halė, whether they're still friendly outside the game.
I guess most of players are quite good friends, then not playing against each other :)

About game... f..k! I knew that Price is going to ran alone, and not pass, and all the others know that... cm'on! we have to prepare different tactic for the end! Lukauskis was playing so little!.. I'm angry, that we lost, but still believe, that we can make it after all! Rytas is quite stable this year, even if they are losing, they always have strength for a come back, team/fighting spirit is quite high, and I appreciate it. But we must prove it on the court. Tomorrow.

Btw, the atmosphere, the game was great as itself (though outcome - sucked :cool: ). I liked, that there were not SO many Zalgiris fans, as it used to be in some games earlier.

[Marius123]

Artūras Jomantas again at his best:

Another one - his flagrant push to the back of Marcus Brown, who'd passed him:

is9sjfiWAlA

[re5pectas]

Another one - his flagrant push to the back of Marcus Brown, who'd passed him:

imho, you (green fans) are starting exaggerate. I mean there are plenty of episodes like that in every game, plenty of fouls, and just now every Jomantas' foul is starting to be called "dirty" :cool:

[C-ka]

imho, you (green fans) are starting exaggerate. I mean there are plenty of episodes like that in every game, plenty of fouls, and just now every Jomantas' foul is starting to be called "dirty" :cool:
The easiest way to explain it. Give evidence then for your statment. ;) Isn't it so obvious that all these fouls are very dangerous and, also, look everything but accidential, thirdly, it happens with Jomantas in every game. The guy gets the kind of attention he deserves, as he's just not good enough to cover his shit.

[Marius123]

imho, you (green fans) are starting exaggerate.

Well, maybe.


I mean there are plenty of episodes like that in every game, plenty of fouls

Disagree here.

Plenty of fouls - sure. It's LKL Finals and some serious hacking is going on. "Plenty of episodes like that" - no way. Chasing a player from behind and pushing him into the back while he's in the air - no one ever does that (except for isolated cases).


and just now every Jomantas' foul is starting to be called "dirty" :cool:

Not every foul. :D In yesterday's game: his foul versus Jankūnas, his action versus Brown (for which he didn't receive a foul, as Eidson was whistled for arm contact) ... This leaves 4 fouls which we're not mentioning. :)

[TchatoLT]

et.. Jomantas. I start to feel sorry for that guy. What the heck he is thinking with such game against all beloved team (well... almost all :D ). He is making such bad name for himself.

A respected man is not who runs together with the sheep, but who runs against them.

[Roy M]

I read that tonight game will start at 21:00 in Lithuania time.
What is the time in ET or GMT?

[re5pectas]

I read that tonight game will start at 21:00 in Lithuania time.
What is the time in ET or GMT?
If you read all the post you will find the answer with the links :p
GMT +2 ;)

[C-ka]

A respected man is not who runs together with the sheep, but who runs against them.
a very controversial quote, I daresay. On the one hand, it could be applied for men like Ghandi, MLK, on the other, for scumbags such as what... Bin Laden? Or even our own Sustauskas. :D

[C-ka]

3-1 it is. Great game, Rytas was completely outplayed and eventhough it was kinda felt throught the series earlier, tonight Zalgiris finally showed obviously which is best team in Lithuania when it actually matters. I also am really satisfied with the game Zalgiris showed tonight, simply great, thanks to Grigas and the guys. And especially to Markota, who used to be such a head-ache before this series but probably the absence of Mamadou finally provided him with the confidence he needed and now I'm pretty sure I'd like to see him in the team next year.

Congratulations, and somehow I feel it's gonna end in Vilnius on Saturday. Cheers.;)

[Roy M]

3-1 it is. Great game, and eventhough it was kinda felt throught the series earlier, tonight Zalgiris finally showed obviously which is best team in Lithuania when it actually matters.

Congratulations, and somehow I feel it's gonna end in Vilnius on Saturday. Cheers.;)


No. I think it will go to the 6th game in S.Darius and S.Girenas Sport arena.

[C-ka]

No. I think it will go to the 6th game in S.Darius and S.Girenas Sport arena.
Maybe, however Zalgiris looks quite much better, while they have finished several finals in Vilnius in the past. Now, I don't really see why this couldn't happen this time.

[kecal]

3-1 it is. Great game, Rytas was completely outplayed and eventhough it was kinda felt throught the series earlier, tonight Zalgiris finally showed obviously which is best team in Lithuania when it actually matters. I also am really satisfied with the game Zalgiris showed tonight, simply great, thanks to Grigas and the guys. And especially to Markota, who used to be such a head-ache before this series but probably the absence of Mamadou finally provided him with the confidence he needed and now I'm pretty sure I'd like to see him in the team next year.

Congratulations, and somehow I feel it's gonna end in Vilnius on Saturday. Cheers.;)

Right now I feel pissed off by the "Žalgiris" guys. Why don't they show up like that at the Euroleague games? It seems that they have the balls to fight only against "Lietuvos rytas", which is not really bad, but could be better, if they live up to their potential on the European scene too. And now even Grigas is going to feel safer about his job, which is a complete disaster...

[Marius123]

3-1 it is. Great game, Rytas was completely outplayed and eventhough it was kinda felt throught the series earlier, tonight Zalgiris finally showed obviously which is best team in Lithuania when it actually matters. I also am really satisfied with the game Zalgiris showed tonight, simply great, thanks to Grigas and the guys. And especially to Markota, who used to be such a head-ache before this series but probably the absence of Mamadou finally provided him with the confidence he needed and now I'm pretty sure I'd like to see him in the team next year.

Congratulations, and somehow I feel it's gonna end in Vilnius on Saturday. Cheers.;)

The biggest question now is the condition of DeJuan Collins, who twisted his ankle and limped off during the late moments of the game. Reports say the exact situation will be known after more thorough medical examination.

P.S. Yes, the game, shown by Žalgiris, was quite impressive, they imposed themselves from the start and managed to keep concentration much better than in the previous three games. Also, the atmosphere in Sporto Halė was just amazing - I know it's been said many times over, but this particular time the support and love for the home team was really special even by Kaunas' standards.

[sashikas]

Every action has a reaction:

http://images.bite.lt/banga/files/club/200805/482b4e0c7b9f3.jpg

The translation of the banner: "Jomantas - "go wash yourself" or get an insurance"

[Sss]

:D Good season.

[rikhardur]

Things are getting easier for Žalgiris than I expected.

[Straight forward]

Congrats to all Zalgiris fans in interbasket! :D

[Basket_]

Yes! We are the Champions my friends! :) Really didn't expected to win so easy, 4-1! Great job Žalgiris!

[Marius123]

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o55/Nuokana/Trifunovic-Grigas.jpg

[Marius123]

The video of Žalgiris' triumph and a rather emotional interview with the head coach Rimantas Grigas is here (http://www.lrytas.lt/videonews/?id=12110539861209450061&sk=3).

Translation of Grigas' interview:

Coach, maybe you already have proposals from the club to lead the team in the upcoming season?

I never think about such things. According to press, this year I was absolutely the worst coach of all. I was a total rogue - probably I only needed to commit a murder to become a total outcast. Most interestingly, it was correspondents deciding for me, even though they didn't know the inside of our team, the situation and shape of our players, how they can play. Well, one can't do nothing about it, let's leave things as they are.

Do you feel hurt because of it?

A human has one place... But well, what kind of hurting can we talk about? Such things only give more motivation, if you're strong. If you're weak, you only need to break down and resign. But I knew what had to be done. We started to prepare for matches with Rytas practically from the start, we began to set up our defence. We knew how to play against them. Certainly, we made mistakes. But it paid off, we knocked certain players out of the game, they almost couldn't score. E.g., Lukauskis opened only in today's game and in the first game of the series. In other games, he didn't manage to do that. Thanks to our defence and to the efforts of our men.

----------------

A thing they can do very well is playing fast breaks. This is their forte. Our task was always to stop them from running. Today, I was angry several times at my guys for not stopping their attacks with fouls. If you don't stop them, they score easily. In positional play, they groan and moan, it's difficult for them to play. That's because we know how they play and we knock off their combinations. Their only combination which worked was "apsisukimas" (I'm not sure what exactly Grigas is referring to, this Lithuanian word could mean "turn-around", "rotation", "twirl", "turn"). All of their other plays didn't go well, because we disrupted them already from the initiation. As I said, they are good in fast attack, because they have shooters, good runners; the same big man Petravičius joins well in fast breaks.

So, coach, the key to victory was defence which you prepared?

Well... You saw how superbly Rytas played in the Euroleague, against teams which didn't know Rytas. Yes, they played well indeed. But you know, we study them... In the previous season, we played the finals against the same coach of Rytas (smiles) ... you get to know him and his style - hence it's easier to beat him.

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We were stronger, it wasn't just a one match won.

In the Finals series, you were able to perform very strongly down the stretch, which is a sign of high-level team. What helped you to do this?

We have some players who are stronger. Marcus - if he was so strong at the start of the season, maybe we wouldn't have given away several games which were in our reach. A lot depended on him. This man is a huge basketball player. When we prepare our offence, we ask him, what's best for him, how to put him in attacking position, what we all can do to enable him to play better - because it depends on him. But today, when he got fouled out, I'm happy that Marko joined in very well, Dainius (Šalenga) joined in - and so we prevailed.

[rikhardur]

Is it 4-1 already? I thought it was 3-1 :D It was even easier then. Congrats to Žalgiris! Grigas isn't that bad after all ;)

[Marius123]

Meeting of Žalgiris in Kaunas (video clip 1) (http://www.lrytas.lt/videonews/?id=12110690541209872306&sk=3)

Meeting of Žalgiris in Kaunas (video clip 2) (http://www.delfi.lt/news/sport/eurobasket2003/article.php?id=17067241) (scroll down a bit and use play controls in the window "Delfi video" )

Amazing feeling both in Siemens Arena (everywhere you turn, everywhere you go - it's people in green), not to speak about Kaunas City Hall Square with a crowd in thousands.

[Test]

Congratulations Zalgiris! They prooved that is stronger team in Baltic countries and Lithuania, and they deserved victory.

[elaj]

Congrats, great victory. :D

I bet Vainauskas will now fire Trifunovič. :))))

[C-ka]

Congrats, great victory. :D

I bet Vainauskas will now fire Trifunovič. :))))
you can be sure about that. ;D

[Roy M]

I don't know who get the MVP in the serie, but I thing that Juan De Collins is the one.

Is he'll stay with Zalgiris for next season?

[Straight forward]

Congrats, great victory. :D

I bet Vainauskas will now fire Trifunovič. :))))

Threre's almost no doubt that Trifunivic is leaving Rytas. More over, rumours say that most likely Kurtinaitis will replace him and Rytas will become more lithuanian team- Jordan, Vroman and Stelmacher will be cut out. Some youngsters maybe will join the team, and surely Gecevicius will get the proper time on the court. That's the great news imho!

As for Zalgiris, it's too soon to predict anything. As i understand, the priority is to keep Jankunas and Maciulis on the team and to give more chances for lithuanian youngsters. I realy don't have an idea how they'll solve the things with roster next year. It's easier for Rytas, cause they'll play in Uleb, they can count more on younger players.

[sashikas]

Very broad coverage on meeting Žalgiris in Kaunas yesterday here (http://www.sportas.tv/)

[sashikas]

Now the emotions.

Yeah! We did it. Three local finals and three titles. As Eurelijus said yesterday, the only thing that they didn't acomplish - is winning Euroleague title. Let's leave it for the next year. It will be 10 year anniversary of the last Žalgiris title in Europe, so why don't we surprise the Old continent once again :) (hopefully).

I was in Siemens yesterday and I must say crowd was 50-50. They have this noisemeter in the arena, which measures the level of noise and fixes highest records. The highest measurement yesterday was fixed when Jonas Mačiulis equalized the result just before the overtime - so we can claim that Žalgiris overshouted Rytas supporters in their own strenghthold. That doesn't happen often, and I am very happy that I was a part of it.

Another funny thing - Rytas ultras had this banner "Vilnius mūsų" (eng - Vilnius is ours). No offense to the supporters to the team from the capital, but it surely doesn't seem so and this banner looks a mean to fool yourself. There always will be Žalgiris fans in Vilnius. And there is more of them than you might think :)

Big thanks for both teams for beautiful game series. It have been very special two weeks. It's sad that the season is over, and we will have to wait for more than a month till we see some basketball game with someone to cheer for from the very bottom of our hearts.

Cheers.

[Basket_]

I don't know who get the MVP in the serie, but I thing that Juan De Collins is the one.

Is he'll stay with Zalgiris for next season?
His contract ended, so it's not clear yet.

[Roy M]

His contract ended, so it's not clear yet.

I w'ont cry if De Collins will land in "Ben Gurion" Airport via "Nokia" Arena. ;)

[kestas]

Very broad coverage on meeting Žalgiris in Kaunas yesterday here (http://www.sportas.tv/)

overall I was almost dissapointed Rytas gave away the 5th game. it was too easy.. anyways, this meeting in Kaunas made up for this "dissapointment". on the other hand it would be even better if some of our players would have saved booze drinking for later...
btw, Zalgirinis at 12:40 in the vid

[Basket_]

MVP of the final series - Marcus Brown, while Donatas Zavackas was elected MVP of regular season.

http://www.lrytas.lt/-12112954191209559641-p1-Sportas-LKL-reguliariojo-sezono-naudingiausias-žaidėjas-D-Zavackas-finalo-M-Brownas.htm

[re5pectas]

MVP of the final series - Marcus Brown, while Donatas Zavackas was elected MVP of regular season.

http://www.lrytas.lt/-12112954191209559641-p1-Sportas-LKL-reguliariojo-sezono-naudingiausias-žaidėjas-D-Zavackas-finalo-M-Brownas.htm
imo - BS; Collins, or even Markota should have get it...

[adebisi]

How dare you to have a doubt about Brown being MVP? :D

[kaunaz]

Marcus Brown was first in scoring average and efficiency ranking during the finals. So everything is fine.