Lietuvos Rytas 2009-10, team profile
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2008-09 RESULTS
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Eurocup
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Regular Season
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3-3
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Last 16
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4-2
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Final Eight
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Champion
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Baltic League
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Regular Season
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14-4
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Playoffs
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Champion
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President's Cup
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Champion
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Lithuanian League
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Regular Season
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18-2
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Playoffs
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Champion
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Cup
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Champion
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Coming off its best season ever, Lietuvos Rytas hopes to do even better in its third Euroleague campaign in five years. Lietuvos Rytas comes off a dream season with five titles won – the Baltic President's Cup, Baltic League, Lithuanian League, Lithuanian Cup and its second Eurocup trophy. Names like Chuck Eidson, Mindaugas Lukauskis and Marijonas Petravicius has entered L. Rytas's history books in golden letters. Before this historical season, L. Rytas had twice played in the Euroleague and reached the Top 16 each time in addition to winning the ULEB Cup crown in 2005 and reaching the final in 2007, just 10 years after the club’s foundation. L. Rytas was formed 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. 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. More titles came in 2002, when L. Rytas again 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 and reached the quarterfinals, but the next year the club went all the way, beating Makedonikos for the title and a ticket to the 2005-06 Euroleague. Then in the continent’s top competition, L. Rytas advanced to the Top 16 before losses against Final-Four bound Tau Ceramica and soon-to-be champ CSKA Moscow prevented L. Rytas from making the playoffs. The team bounced back to lift both the Baltic League and the Lithuanian League trophies. L. Rytas returned to the ULEB Cup Final the next season, losing against Real Madrid, but received a ticket to the Euroleague again. The club also repeated as Baltic League champs. In 2007-08, L. Rytas was again a Euroleague force, advancing to the Top 16 before injuries derailed its playoff hopes. Despite losing three domestic finals against Zalgiris in that season, L. Rytas bounced back stronger than ever. Eidson became the 2008-09 Eurocup MVP while Petravicius earned Final Eight MVP honors as L. Rytas rallied past Khimki in unbelievable fashion to win its second continental title. L. Rytas added four more domestic titles for a dream campaign. With ambitious management that knows no limits and a strong fan base that bolsters the club at every home game, L. Rytas will be a contender for every title yet again next season.
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Euroleague.net
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