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Photo: S.Gvildys
Photo S.Gvildys
Virginijus Šeškus, who has worked at LKL for a decade and is called the symbol of Prienai basketball, decided to rest at the Prienai Skycop club after the 2018-2019 season and left the big basketball court.
The holidays did not last long and in the summer of this year it was announced that the 53-year-old strategist would return to training and take the reins of the Jonava team that competes in the National Basketball League (NKL).
“On the one hand, it is a dear job, on the other hand, it is misery. I have lived as a person for a year, but I miss that mess, the waste of nerves, ”said the strategist, who has twice won the Lithuanian Basketball Federation Cup (LKF), about the price of returning to the position of coach.
Šeškus, who has always had good negotiating skills and extraordinary eloquence, brought to the team a team of well-known basketball players: Tomas Delininkaitis, Laimonas Kisieliai, Darius Tarvydas, Ignas Labutis, Giedrius Staniulis and Giedrius Staniulis.
When asked how he managed to attract such famous names to Jonava, the coach, who has an NKL champion title in his collection, said nothing but past connections helped him.
“Most basketball players have played for me in Prienai before. Of course, it is necessary to harmonize the details on financial matters. I think that our salaries, as NKL, are not low. You can really eat delicious food for them,” said the coach.
The return to basketball was fierce. Under his leadership, the Jonavis began the season with a failure in the King Mindaugas Cup (KMT) tournament against LKL’s Pasvalys “Milk Stars” club (77:89), and at the start of the NKL season, after a Persistent fight, they fell to the basketball players “Šilutė” (73:75).
According to the coach, these are the consequences of a late finish and short preparation.
Today, Saturday, Jonava will face Joniškis Delikates at home, and this match will be broadcast live on Info TV.
Returning to the website “nklyga.lt”, Šeškus spoke about the beginning of the season, unusual positions of the players, the main competitors in the fight for the championship title and the preparations for the next matches.
– How do you assess the team’s preparation for the season?
– Can be evaluated ambiguously. It was a challenge to have a team that continues to this day and we are still looking for reinforcements. We only did serious training because when we got together, there was never a training, a friendly tournament in Jonava was waiting for you. After that, the KMT matches “Milk Stars” and matches “Šilutė”. At this rate, we can’t do normal training, but we look forward to the start of next week, when we have a few days off and a little work to do.
– What other position would you like to occupy?
– We miss the player and the midfielder a lot. We will talk to the club management, maybe we will try to fill ourselves with younger players to bring some energy to the team. A player is especially needed. We lack a field general who can lead the team, because now the preliminary players of the team do not make any effective passes in the match, which makes the game much easier for other teams.
We are exploring the foreign market and we have some good deals, but everything is hampered by a pandemic. If we want to bring a basketball player from the United States, there are many additional problems with testing and isolation. Europe remains and we look there, but we do not rule out the possibility of inviting a Lithuanian. We want as many Lithuanian teams as possible.
– He returned to basketball after a year on vacation. How does it feel to go back to work at your beloved job?
– On the one hand, it is a dear job, on the other, it is misery. I lived as a person for years, but I missed that annoyance, the wear and tear on my nerves (laughs). When you go through the season without basketball, you must enter. Basketball players also need to get back on track after injuries and longer breaks without basketball. For us, coaches are no exception.
– The core of the team are known basketball players who have played LKL before. How did you attract them?
– Most basketball players have played for me in Prienai before. Of course, it is necessary to harmonize the details on financial matters. I think our salaries, like NKL, are not low for them either you can really eat delicious food. They also didn’t get many offers from other teams this offseason and landed here as a result. Of course, by inviting such capable players, we take a great risk, because if they had received better offers, I don’t know what would have been done. Other teams from the National Basketball League started meeting earlier, and since the Lithuanian market is small, we would have had to handle the leftovers.
– For some players the contracts are open and they can walk away with a better offer. How much do you think the composition of the team will change throughout the season?
– I don’t think I can change much. The most we can lose is a single player. There are those open contracts, but we talk to basketball players and the most important thing is to create good conditions so that they don’t have to leave. The players themselves are reluctant to go abroad due to the bad situation of the coronavirus. They themselves understand that Lithuania is far from the worst place to stay this year.
– Given the deterioration of the pandemic situation in Lithuania, how much do you believe in a quiet season without breaks?
– I think that in case of a strong deterioration of the situation, the season can be stopped, but not for long, about three weeks. In my opinion, we have to finish the championship, because the situation in Lithuania is one of the best. There are not many illnesses in men’s teams. Clearly playing NKL is a bit more difficult if something happens.
There are costs to do the tests, the teams would have to buy them from their budgets, although the clubs don’t have a lot of money anyway. The situation in LKL is different, the league is in charge of doing the tests there. But we have to believe that everything will work out, because if we don’t believe, we won’t get anything from nothing.
– The core of the team: veterans. What will be the outline of your game?
– You know how they speak in Lithuania. Basketball ferret: run and shoot (laughs).
– Met quite late. How much of an impact does this have at the beginning of the season?
– It has a lot of impact. Our grandparents still need time to recover. Players from other teams moved more in the various three-to-three tournaments during the summer and moved less away from basketball. And ours will still need some time to achieve the desired shape. However, there is a lack of form in all leagues: both the LKL and the Euroleague have a lot of feelings, which shows the delay in preparation.
– When do you think the real capacity of the team will be seen?
– I would very much like to believe in the first week of November. We still have a good two weeks to go.
– Darius Tarvydas, Gediminas Žalalis and Laimonas Kisielius compete in various positions so far. How do they manage to adapt to these conditions?
– Very difficult. Due to a lack of preparation, we are playing various combinations so far, but with players moving through positions in this way, it is still quite difficult for them to adapt over and over again. Many things do not work and now there is a situation where we cannot afford anything. We only have one pronounced center: Giedrius Staniulis, but he has a hard time getting in. Ignas Labutis also does not find his place on the site, so we have to look for alternatives and change position. We have no choice.
– You started the new NKL season with a loss to team Šilutė. What do you think was missing before the victory?
– At the end of the match, there was a lack of cool mind and precision. I spoke to the players about this today and we agreed that we did not stick to the match plan and in the end, with the advantage, we just couldn’t move on. The teams know our true capacity, they think we are favorites and they play against us with more motivation than usual, and we still have to reach that level.
– On Saturday expect a match with Joniškis “Delikates”. What will be the main highlights of the duel?
– Joniškis’ team played very weakly in the first game of the season, so I emphasize to the men that they cannot relax and need to play their game. Since we don’t prepare for the season, every game is a good exercise for us because we need to perfect the combinations as soon as possible and move on.
– What are the club’s goals this season?
– The main objective is the four finalists, the secondary objective is to win the league. Very simple.
– Who are your main opponents in the fight for the champion title?
– In my opinion, one of the main competitors is Šakiai “Vytis” and Marijampolė “Sūduva-Mantinga”. Of course, it is not necessary to cancel “Šilutė”, “Telšiai” and “Gargždai”. This year, the level of NKL has risen and anything can happen.
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