LKL final. 2009-2010

[straight forward]

May 4 is the start of the final.

Rytas has home court advantage, but facing injury problems.



I would bet that if Milko Bjelica and Jomantas will get back into the decent condition, and if Miloševič will get some credit while Gecevičius resting, Rytas will win it no-matter what attitude and attempt Žalgiris will bring.

The last game showed that motivated and sparkled Žalgiris had a tough night in Vilnius, where Rytas was lacking Bjelica, Jomantas, Miloševič and Sinica.

Žalgiris really has to surprise if they want to control this match-up.



Motivation (Euroleague ticket) and homecourt advantage is favor for Rytas, I don't mind them winning, I want two teams in Euroleague

[TalkBasket]

To me it would be a surprise if Rytas doesn't win it. With all their main playing being healthy they shouldn't have too much trouble. Žalgiris will probably take a win or two at home. I'd say 4-2 or 4-1 for Rytas. Last year Rytas managed to lose hopelessly in Kaunas after winning a home game by around 40 points so there might be surprises.



Anyway, Lithuanian basketball will benefit more if Rytas wins LKL and qualifies to EL directly. And that's what is most likely to happen.

[TalkBasket]

LKL Finals start today with the game in Vilnius. The game will start 18:10 CET and it should be live [url="http://www.lrytas.lt/gyvai/"]here[/url].

[TalkBasket]

[size="3"]Coachless Zalgiris ties LKL Finals series[/size]



After the firing of Darius Maskoliunas on Tuesday, Zalgiris was left not only without a head coach but without any coach at all. Former assistant coach Gvidonas Markevicius was offered a head coach position but he turned down the offer and left the club instead. Zalgiris's captain Dainius Salenga was formally the head coach of the club in the game four of LKL finals.



In spite of all of the above Zalgiris managed to tie LKL finals at 2-2 after beating Lietuvos Rytas 83-70 in Kaunas. The hosts took control early in the game and never let their arch rivals to come too close. The Greens held their double-digit lead for most of the game. The winner was clear before the final whistle.



The fans of Zalgiris protested against the club's owner Vladimir Romanov during the game by showing big banners with the messages related to Romanov.



Game five of the series will be played in Vilnius on Monday.

http://www.talkbasket.net/news/coachless...-3039.html

[Sagenas]

Today Lietuvos Rytas could win LKL final. <img src='http://www.talkbasket.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> I hope to see them as champions this evening and Gecevičius will be mvp of the finals <img src='http://www.talkbasket.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />)

[TalkBasket]

The winner will be decided in game 7 after all. Žalgiris defeated Rytas [url="http://www.lkl.lt/rungtynes/20100520/zalgiris-lietuvos-rytas/"]77-63[/url]. The game was rather entertaining as it was really close for most of the time. I wonder how Kurtinaitis feels after being defeated twice by a team without a coach.



By the way, it was the 13th meeting between these two teams this season already! The schedules must be reviewed because that's just too much.

[MaccabiTA]

13th?! Holly shit!

But 13... It somewhat takes the sting off this classic match.

Btw i'm not sure if it's right but I just read in Israel that Marcus brown is the new zalgiris coach?

[straight forward]

[quote name='MaccabiTA' date='21 May 2010 - 12:08 PM' timestamp='1274436538' post='21222']

13th?! Holly shit!

But 13... It somewhat takes the sting off this classic match.

Btw i'm not sure if it's right but I just read in Israel that Marcus brown is the new zalgiris coach?

[/quote]



Yes he is. With Romanovas being the boss of Žalgiris, we have some surprises every day. For example, now he's going to buy all the left tickets for the last game in Vilnius. Media guessing that he will give these to Žalgiris fans...

[Sagenas]

It's just like a circus. <img src='http://www.talkbasket.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> Romanov and co are doing such a bullshit... I think that rumors about bought finals were that thing which helped to Žalgiris because Lietuvos Rytas was like a sleepy child. :/ damn that moron Romanov...he is destroiying Lithuanian basketball...

[TalkBasket]

Today game 7 of LKL finals will be played in Siemens Arena @ 18:05 CET. It will be available live [url="http://www.lrytas.lt/gyvai/"]here[/url].

[MaccabiTA]

It's not working.. all I can see is some kind of play-by-play or something like that.

Link anybody?

[TalkBasket]

[size="3"]Lietuvos Rytas retain LKL title[/size]



Lietuvos Rytas won its second straight LKL title after defeating Zalgiris [url="http://www.lkl.lt/en/game/20100524/lietuvos-rytas-zalgiris/"]80-71[/url] in Game 7 of LKL Finals in a packed Siemens Arena. It was the first time in club's history that Rytas won two consecutive LKL titles.



Zalgiris, supported by three thousand visitng fans from Kaunas, had a better start as they built small lead in the first quarter. The hosts managed to respond late in the first quarter as they narrowed the gap to just a single point.



The second quarter was as close as the first one but it was Rytas who left the court at the half with a one-point lead. Rytas up 35-34 after 20 minutes of play and the most important part of the game was still left to be played.



Milko Bjelica who was the game's top scorer with 24 points helped Rytas start the second half strongly. While Zalgiris struggled to find their way to the basket, their arch rivals took full advantage by extending their lead to 11 points before the final quarter.



Starting the fourth quarter with a 11-point deficit Zalgiris needed to come closer as soon as possible. But the plan didn't work and instead Rytas reached a 15-point lead. Aleksandar Capin tried to keep his team in the game with a couple of late three-pointers though it wasn't enough.



There were some interesting quotes in the press conference after the game. Rimas Kurtinaitis, head coach of Lietuvos Rytas, whose contract with the club runs out this summer declared publicly that he is willing to stay in Vilnius if he receives and offer from Rytas.



Meanwhile Vladimir Romanov, the owner of Zalgiris, did not want to talk much. 'Lithuania was once again robbed', was his reaction to the game before he left the press room.



By winning LKL Rytas secured a place in next year's Euroleague group stage as they got Euroleageu B license. Zalgiris hold A license which also puts them directly into group stage.

http://www.talkbasket.net/news/lietuvos-...-3051.html

[Sagenas]

Oh yeah. <img src='http://www.talkbasket.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> We are the champions <img src='http://www.talkbasket.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />))) Lietuvos Rytas!

[straight forward]

Martynas Gecevičius was named MVP of the finals. Well deserved!