Well, I am sorry to say that EuroBasket 2009 is over for Lithuania. For sure, we had a really bad competition. We didn't play well and now we're eliminated, something that is certainly frustrating for us, for the coaches and for our fans. We really did work hard for a couple months beforehand and were prepared, but it didn't come together for us. We've got to try to take something positive out of this, hard as that is right now. We know how to win, but we have to know how to lose, too, and start getting positive for the future. The one thing I am sure about is that the Lithuanian national team is going to bounce back.

As you probably know, by losing our first two games of the second round, to Slovenia and to Spain, we were eliminated from the quarterfinals. Honestly, Slovenia was probably our worst game of the summer, including the friendlies. We seemed like we were ready, but when we got on court, we were always late, everywhere. We were one step late on everything defensively, and Slovenia took advantage every time. Give them credit, they played good that day, but we let them have too many opportunities. Against Spain, we started strong but then just had a huge slump in the second quarter, 23-0, something unheard of, really, especially since we had been winning by nine points until then. That turned it around for them, though. We didn't play well against their press. The problems started there for us, and we stopped scoring.... more

Hi again, Euroleague fans, this time from a bus caravan on our way from Wroclaw to Lodz, getting a look at the Polish countryside. This is the caravan you want to be in, because all three teams in these buses - Lithuania, Poland and Turkey - are heading to the next round. And it was NOT easy to get there, as anyone following our team knows. But we survived to play three more games, and hopefully we can turn things around. We need to play better if we want to keep going, and for us, there is no margin for more error after we lost to the teams in the other two buses in this caravan, Poland and Turkey.

It's been a tough first round, no doubt about it. We started against Turkey, which we knew was a good team. We were preparing for them, but we started rough and the game didn't go our way from the very beginning. Then, when we had a chance at the end, we couldn't pull it off. We were down 6 or 7 points, which in basketball is not a lot if you get some defensive stops, but we didn't. Our defense just didn't convert points. Turkey played better than us and they deserved it, but it was tough to lose our first game like that.

Then we had to turn around and play Poland, which playing well and doing so at home, with a huge crowd and great support. They came out strong, and just like in the first game against Turkey, went up on us 10 points in the... more

 Well, everyone, EuroBasket is finally here! I am sure that all of you are psyched to watch it as much as we, the players, are excited to play it. It seems like a long time since the pro season ended last spring and I was part of so many celebrations with Lietuvos Rytas. Our team won so many trophies - Baltic President's Cup, Baltic League, Lithuanian League, Lithuanian Cup and, of course, the Eurocup - that 2009 is already going to be a big part of my memories for a long time. Then, earlier this summer, I took on a new challenge by signing for two years with Armani Jeans Milano. Almost the same day, I started training with the Lithuanian national team to get ready for EuroBasket. Now that the tournament is here, I will be blogging every few days for Euroleague.net to tell you how it feels on the inside. I hope the blog will help you enjoy EuroBasket to the fullest!

For those of you who don't know me, this is my second time with the Lithuanian national team. The first time was at the last Olympics in Beijing, where despite losing out on the bronze medal in our last game, I had a fantastic experience. Some people are surprised when the find out I am almost 30 and two years ago was my first time on the national team. But that is probably due to the fact that I started playing organized basketball a lot later than other guys. I had grown up playing street ball, but didn't get on a team, really, until I was 17 years old. I have been... more