A real celebration arrived in Utena at the end of the season, with the “Juventus” team overcoming two higher-budget clubs considered favorites in the series against the Utena team.
The Utena basketball players, who finished seventh in the regular championship, eliminated Vilnius “Rytas” (2nd place in the regular season) 2-0 in the quarterfinals, and defeated Klaipėda “Neptūnas” (3rd) 3-1 in the semifinals.
“Juventus” reached the LKL final for the first time in the club’s history, which will start on Sunday in Kaunas with the first best-of-three series match against Kaunas “Žalgiris”.
Until now, the highest place the Utena team had reached was third in 2015, and they broke into a joy dance with the fans after winning the last semifinal game 103:90 on Wednesday in Utena against “Neptūnas”.
Utena’s “Juventus” reached the LKL final for the first time in history
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After the game, conversations revolved not only around basketball but also about Ivanas Vranešas’s offense – as reported by 15min, the 30-year-old Croatian legionnaire was stopped by the police about half a day after “Juventus” won the second quarterfinal game against “Rytas”.
On May 24 at 7:50 a.m., the basketball player was driving under the influence within the city limits of Utena. I. Vranešas was found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.64‰.
The Utena County Chief Police Commissariat (VPK) Communications Department confirmed the detention of the Croatian athlete to 15min.
The Utena club was aware of the player’s offense but did not inform the public about it.
“Juventus” sports director Eimantas Skersis, asked on Monday whether the Utena club took action after clarifying I. Vranešas’s situation, said: “Yes, we did. We gave him a bicycle. Seriously, we gave him a bicycle.”
Jokes on this topic flowed even after the third victory against “Neptūnas”.
“Hey, who’s driving?” – I. Vranešas asked E. Skersis, and there was a lot of laughter in the locker room.
The club’s sports director also laughed: “Not me. This week – not me.”
One of “Juventus” leaders, Lukas Uleckas, when asked by basketnews.lt how he would celebrate the victory, said: “Ivanas Vranešas went out to celebrate after ‘Rytas’, it was even embarrassing – he blew only 0.62‰ (laughs). Let’s say Ivanas wouldn’t embarrass himself: if he drinks, he drinks.”
I. Vranešas himself blamed others for drunk driving.
“It was a provocation, someone tried to do it,” delfi.lt quoted the Croatian. “I am going through a difficult period in my life now. These things have spread everywhere – Lithuania, Greece, Croatia, Serbia. It’s not pleasant because from day one I have been a professional, my teammates can confirm that I am constantly in the arena, working extra. But I am human, I made a mistake, we will celebrate the victory. I paid the fine and accepted all the consequences.”
Understand instantly
Road police statistics show:
In 2023, 162 traffic accidents occurred due to drunk drivers, 14 died, 202 were injured
In 2024, 166 traffic accidents occurred due to drunk drivers, 10 died, 201 were injured
In 2025 (data for January-November), 112 traffic accidents occurred due to drunk drivers, 10 died, 137 were injured
“Juventus” coach Laimonas Eglinskas commented more seriously on the player’s drunk driving.
“He no longer has a car, he has a bicycle. Of course, you can’t ride a bicycle drunk. That’s not flattering, no one should do that. If you are drunk or sleep-deprived, you have to think about yourself and others. There are stories where this ends tragically. Now he has a bicycle,” said L. Eglinskas.
The 37-year-old coach noted that the victory against “Neptūnas” should be celebrated moderately because the final against “Žalgiris” awaits.
“We will celebrate moderately. We want something more. We know what awaits us on Sunday, we want to challenge them. In the last games, we were combative. Their strength is a deep roster. They have EuroLeague, EuroCup players, some of whom they can even leave unregistered. That is their brutal advantage. We will have a few days to prepare. We need to recover after such a series. We want to celebrate, but do so moderately,” said L. Eglinskas.
