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Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Halfway through, and not unhappy
Well, here we are at the halfway mark of the group stage and although there is a lot of work to be done we are obviously not unhappy to be sharing the first spot in Group B. After enjoying early success and then losing two in a row to a hungry Efes and a talented Unicaja, it was good to bounce back with such a convincing team win against Cibona.
In keeping with my previous blogs, I'm going to continue to introduce my teammates. This time it's all about our perimeter players.
Starting off with Mindaugas Lukauskis, who is a veteran of Rytas and has been a part of lots of success here. He lifted the ULEB Cup trophy in 2005 and was part of the last Euroleague team of Rytas that did so well. Minda's athleticism makes him an exciting player to watch as he's always good for a few steals and dunks down the lane. Joining him in the starting lineup is one of our star recruits, Chuck Eidson. After being on the receiving end of some of his offensive talents last year with Strasbourg, I much prefer watching Chuck dunk on some big guy or turning a guy inside out and knowing those points are going to my team. I also think he has done a great job of fitting in after early injuries hampered his start to the season. Next Arturas Jomantas, the boy from Mazeikiai. Watching Joma's development over the last three years has been impressive. He's gone from a guy who didn't quite make our squad in 2005 to being Euroleague MVP for Week 2. With hard work, I believe his rise will continue.
Last but not least, we have the hometown hero, Martynas Gecevicius. He joined our squad in the middle of last year as our 13th man. I was quite surprised they gave this spot to a 28-year-old guy instead of a kid. I was soon informed that I had misjudged his age by a decade and although he shaves daily was just a spring chicken of 18 years. Martynas is a phenomenal shooter, which was highlighted by him winning the Three-Point Shootout last year in the Baltic Basketball League, and with the experience he will continue to show his talent. I believe he will grow into a very important player for Rytas for many years to come.
As this is my last blog until the new year, I would like to wish everyone a Merry Xmas and give a special HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY to my little girl Gemma on December 27.
Take care.
POSTED BY
Matt Nielsen, Vilnius
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