Lithuanian champions were among the first to finish their home work in the strongest tournament of the Old Continent before the EuroLeague season, which will start in more than two months.
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Kaunas “Žalgiris”, presenting a thicker wallet than ever, has gathered a deeper and more luxurious player collective than ever before.
- Guards: Nigel Williams-Goss, Saben Lee, Carsen Edwards, Sterling Brown, Marius Grigonis, Deividas Sirvydis, Dovydas Giedraitis;
- Forwards: Arnas Butkevičius, Edgaras Ulanovas, Dustin Sleva;
- Centers: Jonas Valančiūnas, Ąžuolas Tubelis, Marekas Blaževičius;
- Head coach: Tomas Masiulis.
Martynas Gecevičius has twice won the EuroLeague title in the past with Piraeus “Olympiacos”, and for the past two seasons, after each “Žalgiris” game in the EuroLeague, he has rated the performances of players and coaches.
This time he also evaluated the off-season work of the Kaunas team with a grade.
“I would write 9, or maybe even 9+,” M. Gecevičius said with a smile to 15min. “If the roster is finished, I look simply – there is still a lack of an athletic center forward. That is my phobia because such players are needed in the EuroLeague. Yes, Ąžuolas Tubelis will play somewhat as a center forward, it is a fact that he will cover this position somewhat and defend in switch defense. But when you acquire Jonas Valančiūnas and replace Laurynas Birutis with Marekas Blaževičius, it is natural that ‘Žalgiris’ lacks a more mobile center forward. It is obvious that the games will start with Ąžuolas and Jonas, and Ąžuolas will have many responsibilities. What would happen if he suffered some injury? There are definitely question marks, so a grade of 10 just doesn’t fit. The work on paper looks more than solid, but how it will be on the court, only time will tell.”
Ignited by Sylvain Francisco’s star, “Žalgiris” recorded a record number of wins (23) last season and finished the regular season in a position (5) that Kaunas had never reached before in the new format EuroLeague history.
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In pursuit of a place in the final four, “Žalgiris” lost 1-3 in the quarterfinal series against Šarūnas Jasikevičius’s coached Istanbul “Fenerbahçe”.
M. Gecevičius believes that Tomas Masiulis’s men can make noise again in the 2026-2027 season.
“I guess that ‘Žalgiris’ will finish the regular season in the top eight. It could be 6th, 7th, or 8th place. I predict that ‘Žalgiris’ will be somewhere there. I think TOP 8 is a very realistic option,” shared his thoughts with 15min M. Gecevičius, who has become one of the most prominent voices in the country’s basketball media in recent seasons.
