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Kaunas Žalgiris and Pasvalys Pieno Žvaigždės, Vilnius Rytas and Utena Juventus will also meet there. Klaipeda’s Neptune is still waiting for his opponent in the last couple of quarterfinals. Opponents of the port city team can be basketball players from Alytus “Dzūkija” or “Šiauliai”.
Before the start of the Citadele KMT quarterfinals at this stage, coach Mindaugas Brazys helped LKL.lt readers review the readings.
Kaunas “Žalgiris” – Pasvalys “Milk stars”. The forecast is an easy win for Žalgiris
Kaunas residents will begin the defense of the Citadele KMT trophy in Pasvalys. The Milk Stars team, which this year is showing its ambitions, will try to stand in his way.
In fifth place in the Betsafe-LKL rankings, the people of Pasvalys probably beat their nails after the lottery ceremony, especially seeing that a team from the worst-looking trio of Dzūkija, Šiauliai and Neptūnas will advance to the final four .
“Frankly, the only chance that they will have some kind of fight in the home game depends on the situation in Žalgiris,” M. Brazys expected no surprises. – If there are injuries or you want to save players, there may be intrigue in a match, but if that happens, Žalgiris will see it all one hundred percent in the second match. There shouldn’t be a lot of intrigue. “
Vilnius “Rytas” – Utena “Juventus”. Forecast: 55 percent. To victory in the morning
The pair, who have become a classic, will collect weapons for the fifth year in a row.
“It just came to our attention then. I would like Juventus to show a more solid game, because the coronavirus situation took them out of the crayfish, and participation in the 3×3 front does not help either. Players are taken from the team, the details of the game are quite different. The remaining players can not play five against five and play sports individually, they do not catch a normal rhythm. With such a pace, the Utena people would even be the favorite, ”said the specialist who worked on Rytas’ coaching staff last season.
Asked if the players weren’t upset about having to fight the same team for the fifth time in a row, the coach said such things could affect the outcome of the match.
“It’s a scandal, a lot of people start talking and tension arises. Be that as it may, those duels are always interesting. Sometimes a team can prepare more, another less, it is a more important match for the people of Utena, and the level of the teams is not very different, there is an interesting fight and an intrigue. An important factor will be Vaidas Kariniauskas, a person who can play in four positions without problems and do countless good things, ”said M. Brazys.
Panevėžys Lietkabelis – Prienai CBet. Prediction – Lietkabelis won’t miss the semi-finals at home
The last time these teams met was earlier this season, and then the Prienai basketball players, playing on the field, triumphed somewhat unexpectedly. Still, this time CBet was led to victory by Regimantas Miniotas, who scored 19 points, 12 rebounds and 32 utility points. When he went to Spain, CBet invited Gilvydas Birutas, but it may not be enough to stop the Panevėžys people who are in full swing.
“I praised CBet at the start of the season, they showed a great game with a small budget, little turnover and not the best team. In the current situation, the people of Panevėžys have improved the game a lot. The European Cup has given them a lot of experience and they already look pretty good.
It may be more difficult for Lietkabel on the road, but they should take the win and win at home, unless we see something similar to what we saw in CBet’s match with Žalgiris, where Prienai had to win the match. You will have to risk defending yourself against less throwing players. They apply their zonal defense, which guaranteed the victory at Panevėžys, but once the team goes up in that rake, it probably won’t be the second time and I think Lietkabelis will be ready for that. ”M. Brazys did not question the status of the favorites from Panevėžys.
Klaipėda “Neptūnas” – Alytus “Dzūkija” or Šiauliai “Šiauliai”. Forecast: Despite the rival, Neptune will be among the four strongest
So far this is not a pair, but a trio, as the second stage duel is still waiting for the people of Alytus and Šiauliai, which has risen to this day due to coronavirus cases.
“The teams are in a similar situation, they play little, their physical form will be similar. It’s hard to predict, because Šiauliai doesn’t show the kind of play that he should and Dzūkija has a very interesting chain of defenders. To this day, both teams have the same opportunities ”, M. Brazys did not highlight the favorites.
At the beginning of the season, Dzūkija crushed the opponents in the match between these teams – 102: 71. Perhaps this allows you to consider the residents of Alytus as insignificant favorites of this couple?
“It was one of the first games of the season, and Dzūkija was a team that had only met a week before the start of the regular season. There was the first sign that something was wrong in Šiauliai. Perhaps this says it is not a good opponent for the residents of Šiauliai. Here, a lot will depend on success, whoever gets sick or has less injured players will have an advantage, “said the coach.
However, whichever team enters the Citadele KMT quarterfinals, M. Brazys sees the triumph of Klaipeda residents in it.
I would make Neptune a favorite. They are already sick, they return, they play sports and play regularly. Žygimantas Janavičius has returned to the line-up, which is a small boost. This is a team that goes to games with young players, and they are already starting to give something back ”, expects M. Brazys the upward curves of the Klaipeda game.
The quarterfinal duel of the Citadele King Mindaugas Cup will be broadcast live on LRT Plus TV.
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