February 08, 2012
Lietuvos Rytas team profile
Lietuvos RytasIn just its 10th season, Lietuvos Rytas is still young, but few clubs can be said to have achieved so much in so short a time. Since its foundation in 1997, the club has thrived under the sponsor whose name it takes, Lietuvos Rytas, the biggest newspaper in Lithuania. L.Rytas came to fill a hole left by what had been Vilnius's main basketball club, Statyba, which had finished third in the Soviet Union championship back in 1979. The new club has turned Lithuania's capital into a reference point in European basketball and reached its biggest success by winning the 2004 ULEB Cup. L.Rytas started making a name for itself when it made it to the 2000 Saporta Cup semifinals, reached the Northern Europe Basketball League (NEBL) final that season, and won the Lithuanian League, breaking a decade of domination by Zalgiris. New titles came in the 2001-02 season, when L.Rytas lifted the NEBL trophy and added another Lithuanian League crown. L.Rytas joined the ULEB Cup for the first time in the 2003-04 season, won its regular season group and made the ULEB Cup quarterfinals before losing to eventual champs Hapoel Jerusalem on points difference. That experience paid off when L.Rytas returned to the ULEB Cup and won its regular season group again. Its homecourt advantage in each playoff series proved decisive. At home, sellout crowds at Siemens Arena in Vilnius boosted the team into the ULEB Cup Final against Alfa Makedonikos. Once there, L.Rytas held off a furious Makedonikos rally attempt to win 78-74. As a result, Lithuania had two teams in the 2005-06 Euroleague, making it an historical season for a basketball-crazy country. Far from being a Cinderella, L.Rytas went on a seven-game winning streak in the 2005-06 Euroleague regular season, registering road wins against teams like Barcelona, Efes Pilsen or Maccabi Elite.
2006-07 RESULTS
ULEB Cup
R. Season
7-3
Playoffs
Final
Baltic League
R. Season
7-3
Playoffs
Champion
Lithuanian League
R. Season
14-2
Playoffs
Final
The team advanced to the Top 16 but losses against Tau Ceramica and soon-to-be champ CSKA Moscow prevented L.Rytas to make it to the playoffs. The team rounded its incredible season by lifting both the Baltic League and the Lithuanian League trophies, the latter conquered by sweeping Zalgiris in the best-of-seven title series. L.Rytas returned to the ULEB Cup final last season, losing against Real Madrid 87-75, but managed to return to the Euroleague since Madrid also earned a berth in the Spanish League. Moreover, L.Rytas defended its Baltic League title with a 77-81 win over Zalgiris in the final. It also returned to the Lithuanian League final, in which Zalgiris took revenge. Over the years, some of the top Lithuanian players have worn the L.Rytas jersey such as Sarunas Jasikevicius, Arvydas Macijauskas, Ramunas Siskauskas, Robertas Javtokas or Simas Jasaitis, as well as top foreigners Tyrone Nesby, Fred House, Matt Nielsen or Roberts Stelmahers. Above all, L.Rytas knows what it takes to shine in the Euroleague and is ready to do it again in front of thousands of diehard fans.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Euroleague.net
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