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Photo: BNS
BNS photo
For 5 years in a row, the King Mindaugas Cup has had an inseparable partner in the quarterfinal series. Spells drawn in December saw Vilnius “Rytas” and Utena “Juventus” meet again to enter the final four.
- The BasketNews.lt website will traditionally help to watch the first matches between the teams in Utena, starting today at 6.30 pm.
Colones are launched this season
Match progress:
0: 0, 1 min: The ball of discord is won by the guests.
0: 2, 2 min: The game starts Echod with a difficult colon.
0: 4, 3 min: Ndouro’s pirouette under the basket.
0: 7, 3 min: Boatright serves the ball to Echodu, who pushes it from above with a free kick.
2: 9, 4 min: Tough points benefit Crawford. The echo responds with a colon.
5:11, 5 min: Goudelocko floateris. Gecevičius responds with a three point answer.
The quarterfinal series will be played from two games and the team with the most points will advance to the four finalists.
The retaliatory duel between the teams “Rytas” and “Juventus” will take place on January 16 in Vilnius.
In total, both teams met 4 times in the KMT quarterfinal stage. 3 of them were won by Vilnius residents, but for the first time, which took place in 2017, Juventus basketball players triumphed sensationally (87:84). At that time, the series was still being played from a match.
Kristjan Kitsing, who suffered meniscus trauma during training and Rokas Gustys, who has been suffering from shoulder trauma for some time, will not be able to help Rytas today.
Vaidas Čepukaitis, hailing from Kėdainiai “Nevėžio-Optibet”, should make his debut in KMT’s duel with “Rytas” in the Utena team this season.
The 207 cm 31-year-old midfielder, who has been in the Juventus jersey for three seasons, has signed a contract until the end of the season and will replace the injured Julius Jucikas on the front row.
It is worth mentioning that with 21 points (9/12 double), 7 rebounds and 24 utility points, Čepukaitis was the main blacksmith of the historic Juventus victory, when on February 14, 2017, the people of Utena brought down the then “Lietuvos rytas” and entered the Final four of the KMT.
“It would have been better to have already received ‘Žalgiris”, Žydrūnas Urbonas, Utena’s strategist, wryly greeted after the drawing ceremony.
At the time, Rytas defender Mindaugas Girdžiūnas did not overemphasize that he would have to fight Juventus again in the quarterfinals, and expressed his faith in his team.
“It happens that we meet all the time, but personally I do not emphasize it, I am just looking at the stage that needs to be crossed. I certainly believe that we will cross this stage again,” said Girdžiūnas.
Before the duel, Utena club forward Žygimantas Skučas guaranteed that there would be a fierce fight on the parquet.
“First of all, we must not lose each other, but we have lost each other five times this season, and then we have met again. We have to look at ourselves, we have to get back to rhythm. The opponent plays very wavy, but we have similar problems. In a duel like this, you just have to fight, there isn’t much left. I don’t know how it will end, but I can promise a fight, “said Skučas.
“We will try to give 110 percent of our energy. At least when it comes to energy and fighting, it must be the maximum,” Juventus captain Marius Runkauskas agreed with Skučas.
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