A. Jomantas: “My whole career was running before my eyes”

After a long break, Vilnius “Rytas” presents the third episode of the “Me2U Iš arti” season. The documentary features the results of December, the last match of Artūrs Jomant’s career, his path in his hometown club, his commitment to new duties at Ryte and Marcus Foster’s return to the capital, longing for Vilnius and the fans.

The month of December was memorable for the people of Vilnius – very important victories were achieved in the Champions League against “Opavos” club and the leaders of their group, Dižina JDA.

His last career match on December 17. Vilnius “Ryto” legend Artūras Jomantas also marked the victory. A. Jomantas finished his 22-year-long basketball career wearing the jersey of his hometown Mažeikiai team.

“It was difficult to think only about basketball, about the competition with Klaipėda. My whole career was running before my eyes.” – A. Jomantas spoke about the last match of his career. – “There were thoughts – how it will be, what will happen, what will happen after that. The last introduction, the last hearing as a player from the coach before the competition. A lot of recent times, which until then was a natural, understandable thing for me all my life,” shared the retired basketball player sincerely. – “It was not easy. It’s really not easy.”

December 20 the basketball world heard the news – legendary basketball player Artūras Jomantas joins the administration of Vilnius “Ryto” and will take up the position of sports director.

“After talking with the leaders of Mažeikiai, they said go, of course go,” said A. Jomantas about the conversation with the leaders of Mažeikiai. – “After this conversation, it was really a great relief that they still understand me as a person who is pursuing some goals and wants to take that next step to the next stage,” Jomantas shared. – “After coming here, first of all, it was necessary to feel and see how work is done here, who is responsible for what, what are the processes” – he said about coming to Vilnius “Ryta”. – “A hard-working, young team that wants to win, works well on the field, tries hard” – said A. Jomantas about the team and working with it. – “It’s nice to see how they work during training,” said the new sports director of “Ryto”.

A. Jomantas, who wore shirt number 21, is a true legend of Vilnius “Ryto” team, because he played here for almost 10 seasons. For the first time, Joma put on the black, white and red shirt back in 2006. and played in the capital until 2013. After several seasons in Pasvaly, Alytus and half a year in Šiauliai, he returned to Vilnius in 2015 and played until 2018.

During the interlude, the fans of Vilnius “Ryto” team received another fantastic news – last season’s leader Marcus Foster returned to the team.

“It’s a wonderful feeling,” commented Marcus Foster about his return to Vilnius “Ryta”. – “When I found out that the team was really interested in me and wanted me to come back, I knew that there was only one option. That choice was to return to “Ryta”, Vilnius, – said M. Foster. – When I was in China, I watched a few matches and realized that I missed the atmosphere, the fans, the teammates, the coaches, the staff. All of them are part of “Ryto” and I miss them, said the player who returned to Vilnius sincerely.

Last season, the 28-year-old forward led the team, averaging 20.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 15 Champions League games.

You can watch the entire episode of “Me2U Iš Arti” on Ryto’s YouTube account: