Wednesday, January 30, 2008
So with just one game left to finish the Regular Season the position we find ourselves in is fairly familiar. Two years ago we needed a road win in the final game to secure the first spot in our group. Unfortunately, we lost that game to Prokom and finished third, instead. I hope that the outcome will be different this year and we can position ourselves as a top seed in the Top 16. On a personal note, I can only cheer the boys on when we face Cibona as I injured myself in last week's win against Unicaja and will be sidelined for a few weeks.
As with previous blogs, I'm going to introduce the last of my teammates - the Big Boys.
Lietuvos Rytas has enjoyed great success in its relatively short existence, and only one player has been there through it all - Andrius Slezas. "Sleza", as we call him, is the best perimeter-shooting big man I've played with. For three seasons, I've matched up with him in practice, and hardly a day goes by when he doesn't punish me with a three-point bomb for giving him too much space. The boy from Jonysks has seen decreased minutes this year but as we see every time he steps on court, Sleza is still very much appreciated by the fans and his teammates.
Staying with the "four" position, I move on to Kenan Bajramovic. The big Bosnian is new to the team this year and has been a key contributor in more than one game. Kenan has a well-rounded offensive game and is just as tough on the perimeter as inside. Kenan is always good for a laugh off the court, too, which I always welcome. Whether it comes in his interaction with Sleza or Hollis, his consistent questioning of waiters, or from one of his views of the world, it's never dull when Kenan's around.
Moving on to the paint fillers - our "five" men. One of the major reasons for our position in the Euroleague right now is Marijonas Petravicius. The big fella's ability to out-run and out-rebound the other centres, coupled with how well he finishes at the basket, have helped us to victory in many games. Probably Marius's biggest strength is his basketball IQ. He understands that setting a good pick and running your lane hard has its rewards. I have played with many guys who miss that point miserably. Away from basketball, the big boy's pretty laid back, and although he gets sick of the Aussie guy blabbering, he's normally up for a bit of poker on the PSP, something he is new to. Unfortunately for me, he's a quick learner!
The next BIG boy is JP Batista, a native of Brazil. JP came here last year after completing four years at Gonzaga University in the States. This has been a tough season for him right from the beginning. In one of his first practices this season, he hurt his ankle pretty good. After a lot of rehab and hard work, he is fully fit and trying to find his spot in the rotation. It is a difficult situation, but JP has handled it very professionally, and that's a credit to him.
Last but not least is Michailis Anisimovas. Misha is a young guy with a lot of natural talent and is very athletic for his size. With a bit of hard work, I think Misha could become an imposing figure in Rytas's frontcourt for years to come. The language barrier causes some problems with communication between Misha and myself. Most of our conversations are conducted with our hands or with a teammate translating. However, it never ceases to amaze me how his English improves ten-fold when there is some trash talking to be done!
So there you have it, I have done my best in this and past blogs to introduce the players of Lietuvos Rytas. I hope you've enjoyed it. Thanks for reading.
Take care
POSTED BY
Matt Nielsen, Vilnius