Žibėnas, proud of his talent in Vilnius: “Today was the morning of August’s birthday / News

Augustas Marčiulionis, who led the unstoppable section to the victory of Vilnius “Rytas”, became an inspiration for the entire team.

The 18-year-old defender scored 11 points in four minutes at the start of the third quarter, bounced two balls in attack and opened the capital’s club in a close battle with Panevėžys “Lietkabelis”.

According to Giedrius Žibėnas, Rytas strategist, January 30, 2021 can be marked as the birth of Šarūnas Marčiulionis’ son in the local club’s main team.

“Today was the morning of August’s birthday in Vilnius,” Žib dijonas told a news conference. – I must say the best words to you, today he took the team out at a very important moment, it allowed not only to gain an advantage, but also to believe that we can knock down “Lietkabelis”. His contribution is huge, we are proud of him. “

Marčiulionis, who started the duel from the first minutes, scored 17 points in 16 minutes (5/7 double, 2/2 trit., 1/2 penalty), bounced 3 balls, made 3 assists and scored 19 utility points.

The latter and the point indicators are the defender’s new records in the LKL championship. His +/– score was the best of the team (16).

Rytas, who won an emotional duel with a potential rival for second place in the regular season, extended the LKL win series to five in a row.

So far, Žibėnas, who has overcome the most serious challenge with the team, was happy with the improvement of the defense of “Rytas”, who brought down the powerfully fallen “Lietkabelis”.

“The game was really important in the sense of the table, but not only in that”, continued the helmsman of “Rytas”. – Our ambitions were damaged a lot in the first game, we lost 19 points (deficit). Today, we really wanted to show who we are and I think we have partly succeeded. We wanted to control the game from the defensive side.

Lietkabelis scores more than 83 points on average, today we managed to cut 11 points. In the last four games, they threw 96.5 points. We are very proud of what the players have done, because allowing them to score 72 points when they play with the main lineup is strong.

– For both you and the team, this was probably the biggest challenge after the change. Was there anxiety about how you would look on the field?
– My biggest fear is having a very, very weak training. If we train well, with good energy and are prepared, I am not afraid before the game. I want to instill in the players that with each training step by step we have to move forward. There has to be anxiety, but the players have shown great concentration today, they have followed the defensive plan and it is very easy for me to work with those players.

– Nenad Chanak mentioned that 12 matches and energy say everything about the match in your attack. How did you manage to inspire the team in the fight when the front line was weakening?
– When there are not several people, the players simply mobilize, they know that they will have to do someone’s work, share minutes and responsibilities. As a result, players go, climb, show character. The further away, the less basketball there are just jokes and zeros. There is an effort and a mindset.

– The team with Ryan Boatright performs worse than with other players. He immerses himself in speeches with colleagues, referees. How much destruction does all this bring?
– We need to address this. We also don’t like what you see from the side, but leave it within our team and we will try to fix those things. Clearly, facial language must be different in these matches.

– Debuted by Rapolas Ivanauskas. How do you manage to integrate it into a team?
– Definitely Rapolas will help us. We want you to adapt to the team, you still feel tired after flights. He is very ardent to help us. We see how much energy it will bring, and we want to use it much more in the next match in Šiauliai, and we will.

– Will Martynas Echodas return to the selection window?
– A very difficult question. We’d like him to start playing sports next week, but we definitely won’t force him and there’s certainly no need for that. It will be determined by the word of the doctors.

– The contract with Keith Benson expires. What is your destination?
– We will decide after this game, it will be clear in the management today or tomorrow.

– What is the impression of your last most successful stage?
– He had to play better because Echodo was not, Keith was the main center, he really helped in attack, but we have a lot of problems with him on defense.

– Would your wish be to keep it once you are integrated into the team, or would it be better to keep an eye on someone else after all?
– You know, I might want a lot. I would like to have better control of the defense, so I would like a different style of player, but that is not my sole decision for everyone and we will discuss it with the team.