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It's a long way from Penrith to Vilnius |
Friday, October 19, 2007
Well, the Euroleague season is finally here! After getting through an off-season of injury rehab (not physically grueling but fairly mind-numbing) in Australia, I returned to Vilnius for a very extensive pre-season. This helped our team come together after the addition of several new players. From my own perspective, I’m looking forward to the start after getting a taste of the Euroleague two years ago, when our club made its debut and enjoyed considerable success. Although we have only a handful of players left from that 2005-06 team, our new guys are more than capable and ready to go. There is no doubt that depth will be one of the strengths of our team this year. I have played professionally for 12 years and have never played on a team where at every position there are two or three players that you can substitute and the quality doesn’t waiver. And with the amount of games ahead of us in the three leagues we compete in - the Euroleague, Baltic League and Lithuanian League - I think this depth will prove invaluable. If there is one strong point we could take from our Euroleague experience two years ago, it would be the composure and confidence we had on the road. We were able to win in some of the least-conquered gyms in Europe. Victorious visits to Barcelona, Efes Pilsen and Maccabi were unbelievable experiences that I hope we can emulate this year. I believe that for this team to fulfill its goals we need that same character away from Vilnius that we had two seasons ago. We have extremely loud and passionate fans and a fantastic arena, so we must take care of business at home; and if we can find wins away, who knows where it could take us.
So how does a boy from Penrith, Australia come to be playing in his third season for Lietuvos Rytas in the capital of Lithuania? Well, I started off my professional career in 1995 in the Australian NBL with the Sydney Kings. I stayed there until 2004, when after winning consecutive championships and taking the MVP award in Australia, I decided I wanted to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone. The decision was to have a crack at Europe. Following a solid 2004 Athens Olympic campaign, I was approached by PAOK Thessaloniki and realized this would be a great opportunity. Not only did I get to experience Greek basketball, but they were also in the ULEB Cup that season, which meant I would get my first taste of European club basketball. The atmosphere of some of those games was awesome and something I’ll never forget. Our team had reasonable success before getting knocked out of the elimination rounds by the eventual champions - the mighty Lietuvos Rytas. Following that season, I was approached by Rytas to join them. After experiencing the stadium, the crowd and the city of Vilnius when playing with PAOK - and knowing that Rytas were about to debut in the Euroleague - I considered it an absolute no-brainer. In my first in Vilnius, we experienced a lot of success, narrowly missing the Quarterfinal Playoffs in the Euroleague while taking both the Baltic and Lithuanian League titles off our friends down the road, Zalgiris Kaunas. Last year was reasonably successful, too, as we made the final in all three competitions - the ULEB Cup, Baltic League and Lithuanian League - even though we only took the Baltic title. With the domestic competitions already started and the Euroleague here now, I look forward to the experiences ahead. Of course, we plan to lift a few more trophies.
So, yes, I am long way from where I started, even though other Aussies like my mate David Andersen have taken the same route, and with great success. I think I speak for him, too, when I say it's great to be part of Euroleague basketball. At this time of year, with a whole intense season about the start, those feelings are even stronger. I can't wait to get started and share the ride with readers of this blog on Euroleague.net, so let the basketball begin!
Matt Nielsen - Vilnius, Lithuania |
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