Utena residents handled Vilnius “Rytas” 2-0 in the quarterfinals, and now in the semifinals series to three wins, they defeated Klaipėda “Neptūnas” 3-1.
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Now in the final, they face the multiple champion Kaunas “Žalgiris”.
This probably wouldn’t have happened without L. Eglinskas. During the season, the coach dismissed from “Nevėžis” took over “Juventus” and finished 7th in the regular season.
Now he danced the victory dance with the team’s fans in the middle of the arena.
“It wasn’t me who led the team into history, but we all went to the final. Starting with the club officials, players, and us, the coaches. Everyone worked hard to get to this place.
The feeling is good. The euphoria has passed. There were tears and laughter after the game. My family came to the first game. We couldn’t lose because they were here. The phone doesn’t stop ringing, Netflix is offering to sign a contract. I hope Lithuanians hurry and offer a contract sooner,” commented L. Eglinskas at the press conference wearing historic “Juventus” jerseys.
One of the heroes of these games is Lukas Uleckas, who shot three-pointers accurately. He scored 21 points in 25 minutes (4/5 two-pointers, 3/5 three-pointers, 4/5 free throws), grabbed 5 rebounds, and made 6 assists.
“He got hooked, our team will play in the Champions League, in the same place as “Rytas”. I don’t know what else to want – Euroleague? With his skills and desires, he can definitely go far. It’s important to find your team and coaches. I hope he found it and won’t want to leave. We definitely want him,” said L. Eglinskas and added that the success of these games is not just the merit of the Marijampolė native. – I can’t single him out alone. All players played.
Ivan had a bad game last time, but now he came out and showed character. He fought for the ball, made shots. All important, every single one. Kenny Cherry, like a father, comes and calms everyone down. Today he hit an important three-pointer. This is something hard to describe.”
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For the first time reaching the LKL final, the “Juventus” club celebrated with fans in the middle of the court after the final siren. They filled the arena to capacity. Against “Žalgiris,” it is expected that the excitement will be even greater. L. Eglinskas has an idea prepared for the LKL.
“It’s important that we made them believe. When you lose, fans start to doubt. You always want to see such a crowd. We talked with Danas about what we will do next. Maybe we will have to light up a hippodrome, play like in Greece in an open court. We want everyone to fit, and that might be difficult. We’ll see if LKL allows playing outdoors,” the coach smiled.
Good mood prevailed not only in the arena but also outside it. It is obvious that today Utena is roaring. After the recent victory against Vilnius “Rytas,” Ivanas Vranešas especially mentioned this.
15min journalists Marius Milašius and Saulius Chadasevičius were the first to report that after the winning match against the capital club, the Croatian was caught by the police driving under the influence.
“He no longer has a car, he has a bicycle. Of course, you can’t ride a bicycle drunk. That doesn’t look good, no one should do that. If you are drunk or haven’t slept, you have to think about yourself and those around you. There are stories where it ends tragically. Now he has a bicycle,” commented L. Eglinskas.
How will “Juventus” celebrate?
“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 might not even register. 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 it moderately,” said L. Eglinskas.
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