In the Lithuanian Basketball League (“Betsafe-LKL”) tournament table, the greatest intrigue remains between the 4th and 6th positions, which are claimed by Uniclub Casino – Juventus of Utena (15/11), “7bet-Lietkabelis” of Panevėžys (14/12) and Klaipėda “Neptune” (14/13).
On Sunday afternoon, the people of Panevėžys and the people of Ute have a very responsible confrontation, when the point will be very important for both teams.
In the first match between them, “7bet-Lietkabelis” won 91:88, in the second match, Uteniks took revenge 73:72. So it will be clear on Sunday who will have a very significant mutual advantage.
You can watch the match starting at 17:00 on BTV and GO3 channels.
“There is nothing to look too much at the table, and everything is so clear. Before the end of the season, there are slightly easier opponents. We were in a bit of a hole, so now our goal is to work harder, try harder and improve our game, which is what we lack the most. You just need to win the match and that’s all,” Panevėžys defender Paulius Valinskas told LKL.lt before the match.
When evaluating the future opponents, the people of Panevėžys also remained in the way of Mažeikiškis, Kėdainiės and Šiauliai. The Utena club will host “Ryta” of Vilnius, “CBet” of Jonava and will go to “Žalgiris” of Kaunas. Meanwhile, “Neptūni” has matches against Vilnius “Wolves” and “Šiauliai” clubs.
Until recently, Nenad Çanak was confused after the meeting with “Neptun” and could not find the reasons for his poor performance. Mr. Valinskas also claims that it is very difficult to distinguish something.
“Everything can be seen only in matches, training is a completely different thing. The coach was right: it looks like watching the video material, and some episodes are simply uncoachable, somewhere the reading of situations falters, somewhere there is a lack of extra effort – sometimes those details are missing. When we watch the material after the match, it seems that we are being punished for every little thing, there is irritation, looking for blame, although sometimes you need to look in the mirror,” he says.
At one time, the “Betsafe-LKL” Panevėžys team experienced a series of four losses. It is true that the opponents then included both “Ryto” and “Zalgiris” clubs.
“I don’t think it was very difficult, everyone is a professional who has seen both easier periods and losing streaks. There is nothing to hang your nose on, nothing is lost. Only when expectations are high do such losing streaks hurt more. That’s how basketball is, a very difficult year, a lot of things came together, and that’s the final result: lack of training, excess of injuries, all the changes cannot but affect the team. Especially in such a period, when both “Rytas” and “Žalgiris” and others want to win”, said Panevėžys defender P. Valinskas.
He does not hide that recently the team has also been missing Gedimins Orelik, who is one of the leaders of “7bet-Lietkabelis”.
“Of course, there are always key players missing, he is still a member of the starting five, his reading of the game is lacking, but you can’t help it, injuries are injuries, it’s hard to come back from them when you lose your rhythm. It’s not so easy that you can walk and play with a light hand, there are no miracles,” he says.
Commenting on the closest competitors, P. Valinskas admitted that “Neptūnas” played a really impressive stretch, when they defeated eight opponents in a row. Among the “victims” were the residents of Panevėžys.
“What catches the eye the most is a completely different intensity. Even the veterans – Gailius, Girdžiūnas, Janavičius – press all over the field. There are also corrections in the defense, against one player one defends one way, against another – differently. Plus, they play an impressive stretch offensively. It seems like they are experiencing a second youth. I don’t know if it’s just the change of coach or if their form has improved, but it’s all coming together. Of course, the team itself is somewhat shaken by the changes in the coach, everyone plays better in a short period of time, and whether they manage to maintain it is up to them. Everyone is watching themselves. The fact that the section they played was impressive”, says P. Valinskas.
The Uniclub Casino – Juventus team, similarly to the Panevėžys, has not shown a stable and good game recently. P. Valinskas believes that the reason for this was the change in the composition.
“My brother and I talk a bit. In fact, they were knocked out by both the loss of Vraneš and the addition of Starks, still changes in such positions change the style of play somewhat. Everyone needs to get used to it, it takes time. We all know that in the playoffs everything will be different – different concentration, intensity, preparation. It will be interesting to check in on Sunday and see how that playoff tree stacks up,” he said.
Mr. Valinskas is also looking forward to Sunday’s showdown with his brother Marius.
“It’s not so common to meet on the field, and in life, due to the intense schedule, we also don’t see each other very often. Of course, it’s a strange feeling to meet on the field, but at the same time, you forget everything when you start playing,” he smiles.
P. Valinskas himself faced challenges this season when he had leg problems, but recently he seems to have left the problems aside. This season, he is averaging 10.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 10.6 assists per 21 minutes.
“There is always a process, you only lick off the microtraumas completely in the summer. But the fact is, I feel much better now. At one point I didn’t even know exactly what was happening to me, it was a difficult period of 3-4 weeks, but step by step you are patiently trying to recover. Everything is better now,” he was happy.
“Long break”: Wolves lineup for next season – which players lived up to expectations and who disappointed, who is worth keeping, candidates to strengthen the squad in the summer, the question mark over Pacevičius’ future and the figure of Maksvytis
