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Photo: D.Lukšta
Photo D.Lukšta
The conflict between the Lithuanian Basketball Federation (LKF) and the Lithuanian Basketball Coaches Association (LKTrA), which has emerged in recent weeks, appears to be disappearing.
At a press conference held at the Basketball House in Kaunas on Wednesday, LKF General Secretary Mindaugas Špokas stated that the hatchet was buried between the two countries and that future problems would not be addressed in the press but in closed discussions.
The dispute arose over a new coach licensing regime. Previously, the LKTrA stated that it had rejected this proposal because it did not create any added value for professionals, but the LKF appealed, arguing that the inactivity of the LKTrA had brought about the necessary changes.
LKF also stated that the new licensing procedure would allow coaches to pay a lower annual fee, and seminars organized in conjunction with FIBA would be free for professionals.
“We discussed inside that such things should be dealt with internally,” Špokas said. “Everyone expressed their position, both the members and Vydas Gedvilas, who said there were more misunderstandings here.”
“We have now decided that at the next executive committee meeting, Gedvil and the coaches association will present their vision of how to adapt to the amendments to the law and how the interests of strategists will be protected. That was our whole discussion of the same coaches, I realized that we all want to help. Ask now to hear them, how they see our help and what steps they have taken.
Due to all the confusion in the press, Gedvil admitted that neither of us nor any of them will go to the public with such statements, ”continued the LKF Secretary General.
Speaking to journalists, Špokas also shared the current situation regarding Lithuania’s opportunities to host the European Championship selection bubble and the requirements for this issue, revealing the sentiments of isolated Barcelona coaches Šarūnas Jasikevičius and Darius Maskoliūnas.
“A couple of arrows were shot from Gedvil’s side.” Do you think this is related to your ambitions to become LKF president?
– Vydas himself should be asked here. We have elections (for the position of president of the LKF), I am also talking about elections to the Seimas, so I do not want to be anyone’s tribune. We have discussed that if there is a problem, it is dealt with in the executive committee.
Today, the executive committee was started by an association of referees, not coaches, because there was disagreement over the payment of the referees of the National Basketball League (NKL). This was the essence of the meeting, but since we had a problem with the coaches association in the public space, it was important for us to find out who and how, so we discussed that if there are certain problems, we meet here and talk and make decisions .
It also looks very ugly from the side that the community itself does not receive misleading information. I think that both Vydas and the members of the executive committee and we as a federation have decided to explain everything in here.
– Could you comment more on what was discussed in today’s session?
– We have made a very important decision: in February, given the current situation, we will begin to develop a new four-year strategy on how 3×3 basketball will be integrated. We will probably also talk to LKL about the Olympic team, because we have a selection of players from the LKL teams and it is important to us, because we also have five-versus-five and three-versus-three basketball, which has a chance to enter the Olympics.
We need to write everything as we see the situation on paper. The pyramid has always been simple, speaking of men’s basketball: student league, RKL, NKL and LKL, we still have the Champions League, the European Cup, the Euroleague is still in the NBA.
Our goal is for young players to get to the top as quickly as possible. And the higher the level of players we have, the stronger the national team will be. RKL and NKL were intermediate links where 16-year-olds start playing RKL and 18-year-olds play NKL, which is normal.
Now we see that the separation of RKL and NKL is not that great, so we should find more attractive stocks to keep the development level of young players high. For example, if the NKL regular season ends in February, our real question is, what would that kid do for three months without top-level basketball? Because all this is a continuous link for the preparation of the U16 or U18 teams. It is our wish that seasonal employment is normal enough.
In the past we used to limit a lot to avoid overloading the kids, but now we see that if the basketball player who plays the NKL ends the regular season in February, he should realize it only in the Student League.
The wish is that that training pyramid (of young players) rises to the top and is not the example of Latvia when young basketball players gain experience for token money that goes abroad.
– What is the current situation regarding the organization of the Eurocup selection bubble in Lithuania?
– We will have a vote tomorrow. I cannot evaluate the competitors, but I think we have the best conditions to have a bubble in Lithuania. We would help both Vilnius and the whole country on the economic principle. We are pleased that the municipality (of Vilnius) contributes with the infrastructure.
For the first time, we do not need to ask the government for any financial support, because we believe that everything will be generated automatically. We have only asked the government for one thing: COVID-19 testing. If (the tests) were started by our will, it would be a cost to us (LKF), because all the equipment would come tested and with negative results, and in the course of the (bubble), if there was a desire to test on the part of state, then you would have to pay. If such a position were expressed by FIBA, then FIBA itself would pay.
We also have exceptional conditions. As the requirements to this day are higher than in the state, no basketball player and member of the organization will be allowed to leave the city. Bubble participants can only go to training sessions and games. We will have to guarantee security in the hotels, which will be practically completely isolated for our tournament teams. Therefore, everyone in such an environment will have to spend 7-8 days.
– Why was Vilnius chosen over Kaunas?
– Both Kaunas and Vilnius were analyzed as potential cities, because both have suitable scenarios. Kaunas has a great disadvantage: “Žalgiris” plays Euroleague matches with “Zenit” and does not ensure the conditions for the presence of teams.
Also, “Žalgiris” has a training center and base right here (in the “Žalgiris” arena), and the FIBA requirement is that the (training) base must be exclusively for teams, that is, those who they participate in the bubble and there can be no outsiders in any intersection zone. and in the building in general.
– How much would it cost to maintain this bubble and what would be the economic benefits?
– The total amount would reach about 280 thousand. but most of the costs will be covered by the participating teams and FIBA.
The 280 thousand. EUR remains for Vilnius, the city municipality and the government according to the taxes collected.
– Will spectators be admitted to the game?
– Spectators will be the theme for the last week because we want to have an event. According to FIBA, it is up to the state to decide whether there can be spectators or not. To this day, we can fill half the sand with them, which is about 6.5 thousand. people.
Still, we will make the final decision a week before the event, because the scariest thing is, if you sell a ticket and then you need to manage it, return it. Why burden and annoy that person if it can be avoided? And that last week we will consult with the Government, the Ministry of Health, and if that is realistic, we will.
BNS photo
– Have basketball players already expressed their desire to come to the national team?
– Yesterday we also spoke with coach Darius Maskoliūnas. There are players and there is a lot of desire. Everybody wants to come back and when the situation is uncertain, nobody knows what will happen next week because we can probably be more guaranteed for our bubble than for the current international championships.
You see what is happening in the Euroleague, the European Cup, the Champions League. This bubble already comes with requirements and you will stay up all week. What I like is that it is an invaluable experience for us, because we go according to UEFA and FIFA standards and you have seen that the selection windows go towards them, everything is coordinated, tests are done where they are needed.
Why can’t we do it now? Let’s not forget to play at home, which is probably the best we can do for every athlete. Let’s remember the last window at home when we played with the Czechs, so we would like to start this particular window on the same lines.
I will say even more that FIBA has already accepted that the February window will follow the same principle and there we no longer have a plus: we do not have a two-house game where we can specifically claim. But if we organize the selection well and there are no questions about hotels, buses and similar requirements (one could also expect to have a selection window next).
I will mention that the teams’ vehicles will also be completely separate. Test cases are also provided for drivers if they change their shifts. The bus will never change, but drivers can change, who will also need to be tested for coronavirus. Thus, the costs grow in the same company that rents the bus. We will also have representatives from FIBA, so we estimate that the total would be about 150 people at a time. We cannot speak of added economic value because unfortunately they will not be able to leave the city, but it will be a good opportunity to earn money for the hotels.
All of this (bubble principle) is extremely unique. The Euroleague has also considered it, but has not done it, or can do it yet. So I think we will serve Žalgiris and Rytas if we have to go to a public space somewhere and show that we can organize such an event.
First we want to do the right thing (make a bubble) and then fulfill it. In terms of time, last week was cosmic because we had to make decisions very quickly.
– Did you talk to Coach Maskoliūnas about his health?
– Hello, you just investigated yesterday. We as human beings always want to ask ourselves what that feeling is (having a coronavirus), having said that, the feeling when you know that something is always wrong. No complications, of course, your personal matter here, but the very fact that when you get caught (coronavirus), you realize that the world is not as simple as we imagine when you are healthy.
We also talked about the players, we joked yesterday: Darius always has a great sense of humor and we asked him if he could recover to the selection window, which answered how long do you want to imprison me here. Logically, I think the solution to your tests under the Spanish procedure will probably be 14 days of recovery. And when he’s fully recovered, the coach can join the team. So the process is not that simple.
– Perhaps you asked the coach about the well-being of Šarūnas Jasikevičius?
– As far as I understand, Šarūnas, like Darius, is at home, but you should ask them more, because this is his personal matter.
From what I understand the situation, they are both completely isolated at home and on the mend. We hope you get back to the training process as soon as possible and help your team.
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