G. Kravchenko, who plays in the Taurage team, defended the title of vice-champion

On May 4-5, the jubilee, 15th Lithuanian basketball veteran championship was held in Kaunas. Gintaras Kravčenka from Rokiškės, who plays in the Tauragė “Žemaitijas” team, returned with the medal of the runner-up on his chest.

Landed on the same ones

In the final, “Žemaitija” from Tauragė competed with “Silicio biotechnologii” from Vilnius and with the result of 65:70 had to admit the superiority of the rivals for the second year in a row. Last year, the difference in the lost final match was somewhat more solid – the representatives of Tauragė, who became vice-champions, lost with the result 48:76.

“Hell, we didn’t become champions this year either, but the result is already much softer – we missed only 5 points. This time, the people of Vilnius were already laughing about the need to run, because if the trends of the competition continue, maybe we will defeat them next year”, said G. Kravchenko half-jokingly, half-seriously.

Earlier, the athlete mentioned that not a single player of the Vilnius “Silicio biotechnologijos” team is a representative of professional teams such as “Vilniaus statyba” or even “Žalgiris”, so it is not a shame for them to lose.

It promises to play in a group of 80+…

In the regular season, “Žemaitija” from Tauragė played 6 matches: they won four and lost two. The opponents in the final went undefeated during the season.

G. Kravchenko, who “gave” his whole life to basketball, was happy with the title of vice-champion that he retained or – defended – in this year’s competition.

Rokiškėnas and his team, which includes not only local players from Tauragiški, but also a Klaipėda resident and a Pakruoji resident, are still playing in the 60+ age group: “There were two team seniors 75+ in this championship. This is what we joke about not only in the team, but also with our opponents: “Chebryte, will you participate in 80+, because we are already preparing for it”. After all, it’s fun when you’re the vice-champion in the 60+ group, which means you’re still capable of something.”

Next – a trip around the world

Narrating the echoes of the disappointing championship, G. Kravčenka was happy for the first time that the organizers organized a joint closing celebration of the season, which took place at the Raudondvaris estate: “Žemaitukų” concert, disco, communication between like-minded basketball lovers and conversations about… of course, basketball.

Despite the close of the season, basketball is not over yet. May 31-June 2 Tauragės “Žemaitijas” players will go to the Baltic championships in Latvia, and on June 20-30 – the European basketball veterans’ championship in the Italian city of Pesaro.

After joking that it’s not bad to travel around the world in the summer (last year, the veteran national team went to Portugal – author’s post), the basketball player smiled: when you have to play in the heat, it’s not so good.

“Although we are lucky: before we left for Portugal, it was about 40 degrees in the country, but when we arrived, the thermometer dropped to 25-28 degrees. We left – the temperature jumped again. In some years it was the same in Spain. Apparently, we are taking the northern climate to the southern countries”, – the athlete from Rokiškė ended the conversation with fun.