BC Lietuvos rytas
| BC Lietuvos rytas | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Nickname | Rytas | ||
| Leagues |
LBL Eurocup | ||
| Founded |
1964 (as Statyba) 1997 (as Lietuvos Rytas) | ||
| History |
Statyba (1964–1997) Statyba-Lietuvos rytas (1997–1998) Lietuvos Rytas (1998–present) | ||
| Arena |
Siemens Arena (capacity: 11,000) Lietuvos rytas Arena (capacity: 2,500) | ||
| Location | Vilnius, Lithuania | ||
| Team colors |
Black, White and Red | ||
| President |
 Gedvydas Vainauskas | ||
| Team manager |
Martynas Purlys | ||
| Head coach |
  Marcelo Nicola | ||
| Championships |
2 Eurocup 5 Lithuanian Championships 3 LKF Cup 1 North European League 3 Baltic Championships 1 Baltic Presidents Cup | ||
| Website | bc.lrytas.lt | ||
| Uniforms | |||
| |||
BC Lietuvos rytas, also known simply as Rytas, is a Lithuanian professional basketball club based in Vilnius, Lithuania. The club, founded in 1997 on the basis of another club, BC Statyba, is one of the most successful Lithuanian basketball clubs. Rytas, among other titles, have won two Eurocup titles, five Lithuanian League titles, three Lithuanian Cups and three Baltic Championships. Lietuvos Rytas plays their home games at 11,000-seat Siemens Arena and 2,500-seat Lietuvos rytas Arena. They also had a daughter club Perlas which was used for the development of young players, but after two seasons in LKL it was dissolved.
Lietuvos Rytas basketball club is connected with the Lietuvos rytas newspaper and owned by newspaper editor Gedvydas Vainauskas who is also the president of the club.
Some of the greatest Lithuanian basketball players have played for Lietuvos Rytas over the years including: Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Ramūnas Šiškauskas, Arvydas Macijauskas, Jonas Valančiūnas, Martynas Gecevičius, Renaldas Seibutis, Simas Jasaitis, Robertas Javtokas, Darius Songaila, Marijonas Petravičius, Rimantas Kaukėnas, Rimas Kurtinaitis, Gintaras Einikis.
Lietuvos Rytas currently plays in the Eurocup, Lithuanian Basketball League, and LKF Cup
History
The origins (1963–1997)
In 1963 first basketball team from Vilnius, called Žalgiris, was formed. Next year it changed its name to Plastikas. The same year, 1964, Plastikas players joined a new team, called Statyba. This name was used for over 30 years.[1]
Jonas Kazlauskas, Rimas Girskis, and then head coach Rimantas Endrijaitis led Statyba to a third place in the 1979 Soviet Union Championship.[2] Three years later, Šarūnas Marčiulionis joined the team and became its leader. In 1987, Artūras Karnišovas joined the team at the age of 16. In 1994 Statyba won bronze medals in first LKL season.
In 1995 biggest Lithuanian newspaper Lietuvos rytas started sponsoring Sūduva Marijampolė, a basketball club from Marijampolė, Lithuania. The partnership lasted for two seasons, during which the team was known as Lietuvos Rytas Marijampolė and played in the second-tier Lithuanian league, the LKAL. A notable player for the team was teenager Darius Songaila. However, after 1996–97 season partnership ended.[3]
At the same time Statyba faced with financial difficulties and was at the verge of bankruptcy. The team needed new investors and in 1997 Lietuvos rytas bought the club. However, new owners didn't want to continue Statyba history and started anew – the team was renamed to Statyba-Lietuvos rytas, then just Lietuvos rytas. The newspaper's investment helped the club to establish itself as one of two best in Lithuania, the other being BC Žalgiris from the country's second-largest city Kaunas.
First successes (1997–2004)
During its first season, Lietuvos Rytas managed to repeat Statyba's biggest achievement in LKL and won bronze. Next season was even better - Rytas won LKL silver, losing only to reigning Euroleague's champions BC Žalgiris.
However, the biggest success at that time came in 2000, when Vilnius' side, led by the so-called "big three" — Ramūnas Šiškauskas, Andrius Giedraitis and Eric Elliott, also combined with youngsters Arvydas Macijauskas and Robertas Javtokas, managed to win LKL. The team was coached by Šarūnas Sakalauskas. It was the first time in the history of the Lithuanian Basketball League when Žalgiris did not win the LKL title. Also, Rytas reached the Saporta Cup semifinal, where they met last season Euroleague runner-up Kinder. After an upsetting home win 70–60, Lietuvos rytas lost in Italy 71–83, with Šiškauskas missing a three-pointer which would've won the two-game series for his team.
The next season, due to the split between the FIBA and ULEB, Rytas played in the FIBA Suproleague, making to the, but losing in quarterfinals to Anadolu Efes S.K.. The team won third place in the NEBL, a step down from the previous seasons second place. In the LKL finals, Žalgiris defeated Lietuvos rytas in tough five game series 3:2.
In 2002 Lietuvos rytas repeated their triumph, this time in a dramatic seven-game final series with the last game decided in overtime. The team played without center Robertas Javtokas, who was seriously injured in a motorbike crash.[4] Lietuvos rytas also won the NEBL title in 2002, becoming the last team winning the tournament. The team held first place in the group stage of the Saporta Cup, but lost in the quarter-finals to Hapoel Jerusalem B.C..
Over the next two seasons, Lietuvos rytas lost both times in the LKL finals to Žalgiris. They had more success in Europe, though, finishing in second place in the FIBA Eurocup regional stage (though losing to KK Hemofarm in the final stage). The team also succsefully debuted in the ULEB Cup, making to the quarterfinals, but losing to Hapoel Jerusalem B.C..
Foreign coaches era (2004–2008)
2004–05 - ULEB Cup Champions
After not winning any title in the past two seasons Lietuvos Rytas decided that change was needed and started recruiting foreign coaches, first of them being Serbian Vlade Đurović. Midway through the season, team leader Frederick House suffered a season-ending injury,[5] head coach Đurović resigned and was replaced by Slovenian Tomo Mahorič. Despite this, newcomer Tyrone Nesby, Latvian playmaker Roberts Štelmahers and an inspirational Lithuanian trio: Robertas Javtokas, Simas Jasaitis and Tomas Delininkaitis led the team to the victory of 2005 ULEB Cup, beating Pamesa Valencia in the semifinals and Makedonikos in the final. This victory granted them a place in the Euroleague, the continent's primary basketball club tournament. Lietuvos Rytas won second place in both the LKL and BBL finals.
2005–06 - Euroleague debut
Before the 2005–06 season, Croatian specialist Neven Spahija became the head coach of the team. Lietuvos rytas started the 2005-06 Euroleague season well. After losing their first two matches, Rytas matched the Euroleague record by winning seven consecutive Euroleague fixtures, defeating such teams as Winterthur FCB, champions Maccabi (twice) and Efes Pilsen. Those wins allowed Rytas to advance to Top 16 phase, where they won three times out of six, beating Tau Ceramica once and Brose Baskets twice. However, that was not enough and Lietuvos rytas was eliminated from that year's Euroleague.
After winning the Baltic Basketball League title, Lietuvos rytas won their easiest finals series, crushing Žalgiris 4–0. Despite winning the Lithuanian title, Lietuvos rytas did not acquire the country's spot for 2006–07 that was reserved to the archrival Žalgiris.
2006–07
Although the coach and three leading players: Robertas Javtokas, Simas Jasaitis and Fred House had left the team during the interseason, the 2006–07 ULEB Cup season was rather successful for Lietuvos rytas as well, despite that two coaches were replaced during the season: Sharon Drucker from Israel was replaced by Slovenian Zmago Sagadin and the latter to his assistant coach Aleksandar Trifunović from Serbia. The roster was strengthened during the season when promising NBA player Kareem Rush arrived to lead the team to the ULEB Cup final where Lietuvos rytas was defeated by Real Madrid. However, Real Madrid's victory at the ACB semifinals and of one of four spots reserved for Spain allowed Lietuvos rytas to take part in the Euroleague 2007-08 season as the ULEB Cup finalist. On April 27, 2007, Lietuvos rytas won their second consecutive BBL title, Kareem Rush was named the Final Four MVP. The LKL finals and LKF Cup finals were both unsuccessful, though, as Žalgiris won them both.
2007–08
Lietuvos Rytas was very successful in the regular season of 2007–08 Euroleague, beating teams like Unicaja Málaga or Armani Jeans Milano. Very notable victories were achieved against future Euroleague finalists of that season, Maccabi Tel Aviv. On November 1, Lietuvos rytas defeated Maccabi by 18 points at home for a third time in a row as Artūras Jomantas led the team with 19 points and became the week's co-MVP with Erazem Lorbek, both having performance index ratings of 29. The fourth victory in a row over Maccabi (away, by 5 points) was due to spectacular performances by Hollis Price (19 points) and Chuck Eidson (28 points).
A road victory against Cibona Zagreb on January 31, 2008 completed the Euroleague regular season for Lietuvos rytas and allowed them to remain at the first spot in the Group B securing a favorable position in the first pool before the Top 16 draw together with CSKA Moscow, Real Madrid and Panathinaikos Athens. Their 11–3 record was the team's best regular-season performance ever, and the best by a Lithuanian team in Euroleague at the time. However, the team wasn't as successful in the Top 16 and with record of 2–4 did not advance to playoffs.
Lietuvos rytas were the runner-up at all: the Lithuanian Basketball League, the Baltic Basketball League and the Lithuanian Cup, losing each time to Žalgiris.
Rimas Kurtinaitis era (2008–2010)
The 2008–2009 season was met by the team with a significantly reduced budget, putting a greater emphasis on young and perspective local players. Nevertheless, Lietuvos rytas managed to win the first Baltic Basketball Presidents Cup. In October 21, 2008, Lietuvos Rytas had a first chance ever to play against NBA basketball club Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. Lietuvos Rytas lost that game with result 106:126.[6]
However, as many other Baltic professional sports clubs, Lietuvos rytas had to face the blow of financial crisis in late 2008 and early 2009. Having lost two of its foreign leaders [7] Lietuvos rytas still managed to reach the second phase of Eurocup finishing second in their group with three home wins and three away losses. Head coach Antanas Sireika resigned and was replaced by a former Lietuvos rytas' player Rimas Kurtinaitis for the second half of the season. The team has started second phase of the Eurocup with only two foreign players, Chuck Eidson (a teammate of Petravičius at South Carolina) and Milko Bjelica on its roster which had been refreshed with promising Lithuanians. However, that was enough and Rytas successfully advanced to Final 8. Chuck Eidson was named the regular season MVP.
The Final 8 started with a victory against Benetton Treviso in quarterfinal on April 2, 2009. Two days later the team won semifinal against Hemofarm Vršac and made the third consecutive appearance in the ULEB Eurocup finals. Mindaugas Lukauskis has made a decisive three-pointer and that allowed him to become the only player to participate in the final three times in total and, later, the only two-times ULEB Cup champion. Going into finals, Rytas was considered underdog against rich Russian team BC Khimki. However, terrific performances of Steponas Babrauskas (18 points) and Marijonas Petravičius (20 points) allowed the team to overcome the odds and win the final. Lietuvos rytas made an outstanding 15:0 run, having left their rivals empty for 6 straight minutes in the third and fourth quarters. Rytas became the first team to reclaim the Eurocup title, while Marijonas Petravičius became the Final 8 MVP.
Lietuvos rytas was very successful in matches against archrival Žalgiris too. Firstly, it won the 2009 LKF Cup, with Mindaugas Lukauskis scoring the game-winning three pointer with 2 seconds left.[8] Next was the Baltic Basketball League final game - it was won by Lietuvos rytas on April 25, 2009 over Žalgiris, 97 to 74. Chuck Eidson scored 41 points and was announced the MVP.[9] It was the third BBL title for the club, compared to Žalgiris' two. The final trophy of the season was the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). Lietuvos rytas swept past all the teams in the playoffs and qualified to the finals. There Vilnius team confronted their rival Žalgiris Kaunas and won the series 4 to 1, the final match taking place on May 18. This was the 4th time Lietuvos rytas became the LKL champion. It was the 5th trophy of the season for the team from 5 possible ones.
After the season team leaders Marijonas Petravičius, Mindaugas Lukauskis and Chuck Eidson left the team and Lietuvos rytas acquired new perspective players to replace them. The team began their 2009-2010 season with a dramatic loss to their rivals BC Žalgiris 78 to 83 in BBL Cup finals. Lietuvos rytas also participated in the 2009 Gomelsky Cup, in which the team claimed third place after a near-loss game against Triumph Lyubertsy 94 to 90.
Lietuvos rytas was not successful in Euroleague – they lost the deciding game against Unicaja Málaga, took the 5th place in Group B and did not advance to the Top 16. However, their fierce battles with BC Žalgiris continued. After winning the LKF Cup by the score of 77:65, Lietuvos rytas, having problems with players injuries,[10] suffered a loss in the BBL Finals to their rivals from Kaunas, 66 to 73. However, Lietuvos rytas took revenge and won the LKL trophy, beating Žalgiris after a thrilling series 4–3. It was the second consecutive LKL title of Vilnius' team. After the conclusion of the season, head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis left the club to be replaced by Croatian Dražen Anzulović.
Big dreams, small achievements (2010–2014)
2010–11
The Euroleague 2010–2011 season was the fourth one for Lietuvos rytas. After an unsuccessful start of the season, Dražen Anzulović was replaced by the team's former coach Aleksandar Trifunović. The result being 0-4 in their Group C, the team signed free agent Lithuanian star and a former team member Šarūnas Jasikevičius. After winning 3 of 3 last Euroleague group phase games, Rytas qualified for the Top 16 stage in the fourth berth during their last games. At the New Year's Eve Jasikevičius was replaced by a former member of the team Simas Jasaitis, also a free agent.
The Top 16 phase was the most successful for the team from all its 3 attempts. Playing in the Group E Lietuvos rytas defeated Caja Laboral at home, Panathinaikos Athens and Unicaja Málaga on the road. The last round remaining, the team had a chance to finish first in their Top 16 E group. However, Lietuvos rytas lost to Caja Laboral and took the third place in the group. The 9th place in Euroleague is the highest achievement for Lietuvos Rytas in this tournament in whole club history.
However, the remaining part of the season was unsuccessful for the club as Lietuvos Rytas lost in the semi-final at the Baltic Basketball League and finished only in 3rd place for the first time in club history. The Coach Trifunović was replaced by assistant coach Darius Maskoliūnas. The game improved, but the team ended up losing to Žalgiris in the LKL finals, 4 games to 1.
2011–12
After dismissing Milko Bjelica, Kenan Bajramović, D.J. Strawberry, Cemal Nalga and losing team leader Martynas Gecevičius, Lietuvos Rytas replaced 8 players and opened a new page in club history. The beginning of the season was not very successful as Lietuvos Rytas didn't win Euroleague's qualification tournament which was organized in Vilnius. Lietuvos Rytas won their first two matches against Budućnost and Cibona Zagreb, but lost the final game against Galatasaray with a score of 63:71. Because of that, Lietuvos Rytas had to play at the second-tier European competition - EuroCup. The team, led by Renaldas Seibutis, Jonas Valančiūnas and Tyrese Rice, made it to the EuroCup quarterfinal round for the fifth time in a row and defeated BC Donetsk there, but lost to Valencia Basket in the semifinals. Rytas finished third after defeating Spartak 71:62.
Lietuvos rytas finished 3rd in the regular season round of VTB United League and qualified for the eighth-final. They defeated BC Nizhny Novgorod there and advanced to quarterfinals where they met BC Khimki. Khimki were reigning Eurocup and VTB league champions and they were considered heavy favorites, but, unexpectedly, Rytas won the series 2:1. The Final Four tournament was organized at Siemens Arena. After a tense semifinal Lietuvos Rytas lost to CSKA and went on to win 3rd place against Lokomotiv-Kuban.
Despite two 3rd places in international competitions, Rytas lost the LKL final series to Žalgiris 0:3. This was the worst domestic season in team's history - Rytas lost all 6 of its matches (5 in LKL and 1 in BBL) to its rival. Following the conclusion of the season, Tyrese Rice, Lawrence Roberts, Aleksandar Rašić and Jonas Valančiūnas left the team.
2012–13
After losing most of their leaders during the summer, Rytas formed a younger squad. Players like Nemanja Nedović were expected to be the future of the team. However, the season was not very successful. It started with loss of Lithuanian Supercup to BC Žalgiris. After struggling to find rhythm in the opening months, Lietuvos Rytas released coach Aleksandar Džikić, promoting Maskoliūnas as head coach. Though the game has improved, thanks to the solid play of Leon Radošević, Renaldas Seibutis and Nemanja Nedović, the Euroleague season was finished only with a 2-8 record. The team did not fare much better in the VTB United League. After Leon Radošević and Predrag Samardžiski were released, Rytas signed Milt Palacio, Tomislav Zubčić and Patrick O'Bryant. However, the rookies didn't help much and Rytas still missed the VTB playoffs, with BC Donetsk defeating Rytas in the deciding game. Coach Maskoliūnas was fired then and replaced with Dirk Bauermann. Rytas started to play much better then, and in April scored a shocking away win over BC Žalgiris (first one in almost 2 years). Rytas made the LKL finals for the 15th time in a row. However, BC Žalgiris easily swept Lietuvos Rytas 4-0 in the final.
2013–14
Due to the unsuccessful past season, the manager decided to almost completely rebuild the team: eight players left after the team lost LKL finals to the rival Žalgiris. Former team leader Martynas Gecevičius was recalled after two seasons break and a notable point guard Omar Cook was signed.[11] Because the team was second in the domestic league, it had to hope for a Euroleague wild card. The team did not receive it, and had to participate in Euroleague's qualification tournament once again, which was held in Vilnius.
This time, Rytas, led by Renaldas Seibutis and Martynas Gecevičius, was successful: it won three games in a row (against VEF Rīga, EWE Oldenburg and Telenet Oostende), and qualified for the Euroleague.[12] To strengthen the team roster before Euroleague games, Lietuvos rytas signed former NBA and Lithuania national team player Darius Songaila.[13] On October 18, 2013, Lietuvos rytas started 13/14 Euroleague season with a tremendous victory against Panathinaikos Athens with the result 84–83[14] after Renaldas Seibutis winning shot in OT.[15] The game was named as the Euroleague's Game of the Week and re-broadcast in over 150 countries worldwide.[16] However, after this, the level of play for the Lithuanian team dropped significantly and Rytas was not able to win any more games. 6 games were lost by 10 points or more and it turned out to be worst Lietuvos rytas season ever in Euroleague. Following the fiasco, coach Dirk Bauermann was replaced by Croat Aleksandar Petrović.[17] The change helped and on December 22, 2013, Rytas crushed its rival Žalgiris with the result 90–58.[18] After being eliminated in the Eurocup playoffs by KK Crvena zvezda, Lietuvos rytas also sufered a shocking defeat in the LKF Cup finals, losing to BC Prienai 91:92, leading to the firing of coach Aleksandar Petrović, who was replaced by Dainius Adomaitis.
Despite two victories against biggest Rytas rival Žalgiris during regular season, the LKL playoffs were an disaster for Lietuvos rytas. Due to rare situation in LKL standings, Rytas and Žalgiris met in the semi-finals and not in the finals for the second time since 1998. Darius Songaila 28 points led Rytas to first series victory in Vilnius with result 90:85,[19] however then Rytas lost to Žalgiris in Kaunas with result 57:72 and series tied at 1-1.[20] Third crucial game was played in Vilnius, however it was not successful for the home team. Despite having 7 points lead multiple times, Rytas lost to Žalgiris with result 71:73 and did not qualified to the LKL Finals for the second time in club history.[21] Team captain Steponas Babrauskas described it as an tragedy,[22] moreover one of team leaders Renaldas Seibutis injured his eye after contact with Vytenis Lipkevičius and due to required surgery missed the rest of the season.[23] The disastrous season continued for Rytas in the VTB playoffs-after defeating BC Triumph in the first round, Rytas lost to BC Nizhny Novgorod in the semifinal round, losing a chance to play in the 2014-2015 Euroleague season. Rytas finished in 3rd place in the LKL, winning the series against BC Prienai 3:0 and winning the bronze medals-this was the team's worst season since the 1998-1999 season.
Restart (2014–present)
2014–15
After terrible LKL season last year, taking only 3rd place, Rytas lost all chances of qualifying into the Euroleague that year. He was not even invited to the qualifying tournament as before and had to return to the second-tier European league EuroCup. As a result of this, the club changed firmly. Firstly, club biggest stars Renaldas Seibutis, Omar Cook and Darius Songaila left the team. Secondly, the team played most of its games in the newly reconstructed Lietuvos rytas Arena instead of the Siemens Arena. Thirdly, Rytas withdrew from Russian VTB League. Virginijus Šeškus, a former multiple LKL bronze medalist with BC Prienai, was signed as a head coach of the team, along with his past team members Artūras Valeika and Mindaugas Lukauskis, who played six seasons in Rytas previously. Club owner Gedvydas Vainauskas shortly afterward said that enthusiastic V.Šeškus reminds him former team coach Rimas Kurtinaitis, who has lead Rytas to the biggest victories in the club history.[24] Lithuania national team member Adas Juškevičius and former NBA player Travis Leslie were signed as well.
On October 15, 2014, Rytas powerfully started the EuroCup season by 92–65 crushing Serbian powerhouse Partizan Belgrade.[25] They have finished first round with 8-2 record and took first place in the group. On December 16, 2014, team roster was strengthened with addition of Kšyštof Lavrinovič, who has signed two-year deal with Rytas.[26] Later, on January 5, 2014, another Lithuania national team member Simas Jasaitis also signed with Rytas for the third time in his career.[27] Lietuvos Rytas started the LAST-32 stage in Eurocup by winning against the best team in Poland, Turów Zgorzelec which was relegated to Eurocup after winning only one game in Euroleague's regular season.[28] Despite successful start, Rytas lost three games of six in the second stage and qualified into the next round by taking 2nd place in the group only after the crucial smash-up of Telenet Oostende 111–83 at the last game in Vilnius. Due to questionable shape of the team, Virginijus Šeškus was fired as head coach.[29] Despite fired as head coach, Šeškus stayed in Rytas as an assistant of the new head coach Marcelo Nicola.[30][31]
On February 20-22, Rytas participated in 2015 LKF Cup. They defeated Dzūkija 78–63 in the quarter-finals and Šiauliai 71–61 in the semi-finals, however at the finals Rytas lost season's first trophy to principal rival Žalgiris 76–82 and extended trophies drought.[32]
On March 4, 2015, Lietuvos rytas played first game of the Eurocup playoffs versus Pınar Karşıyaka. Despite having the double-digit lead multiple times, Rytas failed to secure it until the final seconds. The match finished with result 81–81 and the series winner was to be decided in Turkey.[33] Despite the affirmative thoughts and the mighty moods, on March 11, Rytas players failed to show any positive signs in the game. The deficit was already shattering after the first two quarters (34–53). The final result was 97–81, ending the two-times Eurocup champion Rytas journey in the international competitions early that year.[34]
In LKL, Rytas started ambiguously. On October 19, 2014 they suffered first defeat against Žalgiris 82–84 in Vilnius.[35] Although, they defeated the Euroleague participant BC Neptūnas week later.[36] On November 15, 2014 during the game against Pieno žvaigždės second defeat happened.[37] Furthermore, on December 28, 2014, Rytas also suffered defeat to Neptūnas 90–94 in their home arena.[38] On January 1, 2015 Rytas failed to compete for the victory during the second game against Žalgiris in Kaunas, losing the game 77–91.[39] Though, on March 8, 2015 Rytas shown solid positive signs under the command of the new head coach. They absolutely crushed Žalgiris in Vilnius with result 93–66 and at times the Rytas lead was even 35 points.[40] Žalgiris assistant coach Šarūnas Jasikevičius described the game as a "shame". Following the fiasco in Eurocup, on March 15, 2015, Rytas tremendously defeated Neptūnas 87–86 for the second time in Klaipėda after the astonishing Mike Moser shot when there was only 0.6 second remaining, and firmly improved the chances of taking the first spot during the regular LKL season.[41] On April 13, 2015, Rytas defeated Neptūnas 84–75 for the third time, reaching the 16th straight victory in LKL, and guarantying at least second spot in the regular LKL season.[42] The winning streak ended on the final day of the regular season, with a tough 81:82 loss to Žalgiris.[43] With the loss, Rytas entered the playoffs as the second seed team.
De facto BC Lietuvos rytas anthem
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"Laikas būti pirmiems"
 De facto BC Lietuvos rytas club anthem |
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Marijonas Mikutavičius, the creator of de facto Lithuania national basketball team song – Trys Milijonai, also created a special song to the BC Lietuvos rytas team, following its success in LKL and the very first steps in the prestigious Euroleague. The song is called "Laikas būti pirmiems" (English: Time To Be First) and is widely regarded as the club's anthem. To this day it is still played after the successful club's games or just at the time-outs during the home games.
Players
Current roster
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.
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Roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Depth chart
| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Bench 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Antanas Kavaliauskas | Kšyštof Lavrinovič | ||
| PF | Gediminas Orelikas | Mike Moser | Arturas Valeika | |
| SF | Simas Jasaitis | Mindaugas Lukauskis | ||
| SG | Martynas Gecevičius | Travis Leslie | Edvinas Šeškus | |
| PG | Adas Juškevičius | Billy Baron | Žygimantas Janavičius |
Squad changes for/during the 2014/15 season
Note: exact date is listed for players who joined or left during season.
In
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Out
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Honours
Total titles: 14
Domestic competitions
- Lithuanian Championship
- Winners (5): 2000, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2010
- Lithuanian Cup
- Winners (3): 1998, 2009, 2010
European competitions
- ULEB Eurocup
- Small Triple Crown (unofficial)
- Winners (1): 2009
Regional competitions
- North European Basketball League
- Winners (1): 2002
- Runners-up (1): 2000
- Baltic Basketball League
- Winners (3): 2006, 2007, 2009
Preseason competitions
- 1 BBL Presidents Cup: 2008
Season by season
Important people and venues
Captains
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Managers
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Presidents
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Venues
| Seasons used |
Venue | Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–1998 | Ekinsta Sports Hall | 1,000 | |
| 1998–2004 | Lietuvos rytas Sports Arena (Olimpiečių street) |
2,000 3,500 |
At first capacity of 2000, later expanded to 3500. |
| 2004–present | Siemens Arena | 11,000 | Used for all Euroleague/Eurocup/VTB games and some LKL games |
| 2004–present | Lietuvos rytas Arena | 1,700 2,500 |
At first capacity of 1700, later expanded to 2500
Used for most LKL games and practices. |
Notable players
In Statyba
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|
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In Lietuvos rytas
To appear in this section a player must be either:
- A player who has played at least 3 seasons (if foreign player) or 4 seasons (if Lithuanian player) for the club.
- A player who has won individual award.
- A Lithuanian player who has played for the Lithuanian national basketball team.
- A foreign international player who had significant impact (was a leader) in the club.
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Notable coaches
The following head coaches won at least one major trophy when in charge of Rytas:
| Name | Period | Trophies |
|---|---|---|
| Alfredas Vainauskas |
1997–2001 | LKF Cup |
| Šarūnas Sakalauskas |
1998–2001 | Lithuanian Basketball League |
| Jonas Kazlauskas |
2001–2004 | Lithuanian Basketball League, North European Basketball League |
 Tomo Mahorić |
2005 | ULEB Cup |
 Neven Spahija |
2005–2006 | Lithuanian Basketball League, Baltic Basketball League |
 Aleksandar Trifunović |
2007–2008 2010–2011 |
Baltic Basketball League |
| Rimas Kurtinaitis |
2008–2010 | 2 Lithuanian Basketball Leagues, 2 LKF Cups, Baltic Basketball League, ULEB Eurocup |
Individual awards
Euroleague
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50 Greatest Euroleague Contributors
Nominated:
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Eurocup
Eurocup Performance Index Rating Leaders
Best Eurocup Coach of All Time |
Lithuanian Basketball LeagueLKL Finals MVP
Three-point Shootout Champions
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Baltic Basketball LeagueFinal Four MVP
NEBLFinals MVP
FIBAFIBA's 50 Greatest Players (1991)
FIBA Europe Young Men's Player of the Year Award
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Matches against NBA teams
Sponsorships and partners
As of January 2014:
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Video game
Lietuvos rytas basketball club was featured in the NBA 2K15 video game.[45]
References
- ↑ Statyba history, bcstatyba.lt (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Lietuvos rytas Euroleague page, euroleague.net, accessed 31 December 2010. (English)
- ↑ Jonas Vainauskas about beginnings of Lietuvos rytas, krepsinis.net (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Javtokas injured, delfi.lt (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Fred House about his injury, eurocupbasketball.com, (English)
- ↑ Lietuvos Rytas - Golden State Warriors game at Oracle Arena, ESPN (English)
- ↑ Nielsen leaves Lietuvos Rytas, basketnews.lt (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Lukauskis three-pointer won the cup for Rytas, basketnews.lt (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Lietuvos Rytas wins 2009 BBL, lrytas.lt (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Lietuvos Rytas has problems with players injuries, sportas.info (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Lietuvos Rytas adds floor general Cook, euroleague.net (English)
- ↑ 2013 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Qualifying Rounds, euroleague.net (English)
- ↑ LIETUVOS RYTAS adds veteran forward Songaila, Euroleague.net (English)
- ↑ Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius vs. Panathinaikos Athens, Euroleague.net (English)
- ↑ Play of the Night: Renaldas Seibutis, Lietuvos Rytas (video) (English)
- ↑ Euroleague named Lietuvos rytas and Panathinaikos game as the game of the week, lrytas.lt (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Lietuvos Rytas hires Petrović, basketnews.lt (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Lietuvos Rytas beats Žalgiris, delfi.lt (Lithuanian)
- ↑ D.Songailos šou priartino „Lietuvos rytą“ prie LKL finalo (Lithuanian)
- ↑ „Žalgiris“ atstatė lygybę LKL pusfinalyje (5 video, foto, komentarai, statistika) (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Po įspūdingos kovos „Žalgiris“ žengė į LKL finalą (6 video, foto, komentarai, statistika) (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Babrauskas: „Tai yra tragedija“ (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Seibučiui sezonas veikiausiai baigtas – jo laukia akies operacija (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Virginijus Šeškus tapo biudžetą mažinančio „Lietuvos ryto“ treneriu (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Ant bangos: „Lietuvos rytas“ galingai startavo Europos taurėje (video, foto, komentarai, statistika) (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Kšištofas jau Vilniuje: „Man patinka Šeškaus stilius – greitas krepšinis“ (foto) (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Jasaitis papildė „Lietuvos ryto“ komandą (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius vs. PGE Turow Zgorzelec - Game - Welcome to Eurocup (English)
- ↑ Net ir po svarbios pergalės V. Šeškus neišsaugojo darbo „Lietuvos ryto“ klube (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Šeškų „Lietuvos ryte“ pakeis Motiejūną treniravęs argentinietis (Lithuanian)
- ↑ V.Šeškus lieka „Lietuvos ryto" trenerių štabe (Lithuanian)
- ↑ „Žalgiris“ susigrąžino LKF taurę (2 video, foto, komentarai, statistika) (Lithuanian)
- ↑ „Lietuvos rytui“ aštuntfinalyje su turkais nepavyko įgyti nė taško persvaros (Lithuanian)
- ↑ „Lietuvos rytas“ sudegė Izmiro pragare (statistika) (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Lietuvos rytas - Žalgiris (2014-10-19) (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Neptūnas - Lietuvos rytas (2014-10-26) (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Lietuvos rytas - Pieno žvaigždės (2014-11-15) (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Lietuvos rytas - Neptūnas (2014-12-28) (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Žalgiris - Lietuvos rytas (2015-01-12) (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Puikiai krepšį atakavęs „Lietuvos rytas“ nepaliko vilčių „Žalgiriui“ (foto, komentaras, statistika) (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Įspūdingo trilerio pabaigoje Moserio dvitaškis parklupdė „Neptūną“ (2 video, foto, komentarai, statistika) (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Pasipriešinimo iš „Neptūno“ mačo pabaigoje sulaukęs „Lietuvos rytas“ laimėjo 16-ą kartą paeiliui (video, foto, komentarai, statistika) (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Andersono dvitaškis dramatiškai padovanojo „Žalgiriui“ reguliariojo sezono nugalėtojų vardą (4 video, foto, komentarai, statistika) (Lithuanian)
- ↑ Rimas Kurtinaitis chosen as best Eurocup coach of all time, eurocupbasketball.com (English)
- ↑ „NBA 2K15“ žaidime – „Žalgiris“, „Lietuvos rytas“ ir daugybė lietuvių (Lithuanian)
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to BC Lietuvos Rytas. |
- Official website (Lithuanian) (English)
- BC Lietuvos rytas at Euroleague.net (English)
- BC Lietuvos rytas at LKL.lt (Lithuanian)
- BC Lietuvos rytas at VTB-League.com (English) (Russian)
- Lietuvos rytas players stats (1997-2008) (Lithuanian)
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