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Renaldas Seibutis interview
#1
Quote:Anyone who saw Olympiacos star Renaldas SEIBUTIS bury his three-pointer in Thursday night's Euroleague quarter-final Game 2 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv will know the sky is the limit for this young Lithuanian.

The Israelis had just closed to within 57-53 and were upping the tempo when Seibutis drilled a trey to stop the run. The Greek giants eventually prevailed 76-70. Seibutis only scored five points, but points aren't everything. Otherwise, Olympiacos coach Jonas Kazlauskas would not have played him almost 25 minutes. The 1.96m guard first hit the radar in international basketball when he was voted MVP of the FIBA U21 World Championship in Argentina last year after leading Lithuania to the gold medal. Seibutis capped a terrific tournament by sinking two free throws in the final against Greece with no time remaining to earn his side a two-point win. Seibutis, 20, told PA Sport: "Basketball is and has always been a passion for me.

"The night before the U21 finals, I dreamed about that situation, that I'm standing on the line shooting free throws to decide the game.

"Coach called me before I took the shots and calmed me down.

"He said not to worry and even if I miss, we will win the game in overtime.

"After that, it was easier to score."

From the land of hoops

Basketball is the number one sport in Lithuania but in Seibutis' native Palanga, a city on the shore of the Baltic Sea, there is no top flight team. Seibutis, who fell in love with the sport at a young age, still made a name for himself. He joined Sakalai, a small club in the top tier, earned a spot in the rotation and averaged 7.6 points per game in the 2003/04 season. The following campaign he made it into the starting five and poured in 19.5 points per contest. Seibutis' career only really began to take off, though, when he was called into the Lithuania U21 team. There were still doubters about his ability to make it in Greece following his move last summer, but he has more than justified Olympiacos' decision.

"Of course it's difficult to always have to prove myself and move from one team to another," he said. "Especially now when I'm a foreigner, but it's natural.

"Everywhere it's like that. Everybody needs to improve and prove themselves, and that's what I'm trying to do myself."

Seibutis' decision to join Olympiacos at such a young age marks him out as different. Many of Lithuania's top youngsters spend at least a season in American college basketball or with one of the nation's big two clubs - Zalgiris Kaunas or Lietuvos Rytas. Not Seibutis. He went straight from the minnows of Sakalai to the slumbering giants of Greek basketball. One of the reasons he made that decision was Olympiacos coach Kazlauskas, a fellow Lithuanian. His presence, alongside another compatriot in Eurelijus Zukauskas, were reassuring factors in Seibutis' decision to leave his home country so early in his development.

"Kazlauskas was one of the biggest reasons why I chose to come here, and having Zukauskas here was also a big help," he said.

"Kazlauskas is one of the best coaches in Europe, and there are a lot of things I can take from him, but also from my team-mates.

"Before I came to Olympiacos, I knew it would be difficult, but I'm happy I made this move."

"We have a good organisation, and very good coaches."

The season has felt bizarre at times, like when he was called on to face Rytas in Lithuania in front of 11,000 fanatic fans.

"It was very strange to play against a Lithuanian team, especially when we went to play in Vilnius, but this year is very different for me in many aspects," he said.

"My first game against Panathinaikos in the big Greek derby, the first game in Barcelona, to play against Maccabi - Euroleague champs. Everything was still new to me.

"It was strange. I came from a team where we had maybe 800 fans at a game. Here we play in front of 4,000-5,000 fans, sometimes more and millions are following the team."

There did not appear to be any stage fright at the start of the season. Seibutis, in the second week of the Euroleague, scored 13 points in a big win over Euroleague champs Maccabi, and then in the re-match in Tel Aviv, he added 11. Some of his best displays came when the club was trying to reach the Top 16. He scored 16 points in the home win over Cibona Zagreb and added 15 in a big win at Armani Jeans Milano. They eventually made it, and then qualified for the quarter-finals. Giannis Sfairopoulos, the assistant coach at Olympiacos, is convinced Seibutis has a chance to become one of Europe's top players.

"He's a big talent and a hard worker," he said. "He has a big opportunity now.

"I believe he will have big success and make it higher.

"He needs a while more to become stronger, physically and mentally. That will help him grow up and make him tougher.

"He made one big step already. He's a good kid who always wants to learn and improve."

Fans in Lithuania will be watching closely. There are a lot of questions about the make-up of their team at the FIBA World Championship in Japan. Seibutis opted to concentrate on Olympiacos last summer instead of playing at EuroBasket 2005 but a youth movement is underway in the national team. It's hard to see him not travelling to the Far East to once again put his skills to the test on the international stage.
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#2
he looks very perspective Smile but I think he needs more weight. Kazlaukas knows how to do a star of young and perspective players...
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