Klaipėda’s “Neptūnas” started the LKL small final with a confident victory, in which they compete with Panevėžys’ “Lietkabelis” for bronze medals.
Read more F. Merz fears a far-right «big bang» in German regional elections
As 15min already wrote, on Saturday in the first match in Klaipėda, the hosts won 86:73 and took a step in the best-of-three series – 1-0.
“The start of the match was not bad, we somewhat imposed our game, we somewhat predicted what “Lietkabelis” wanted to play. Most importantly, there was very good and positive energy, understanding,” – said “Neptūnas” coach Gediminas Petrauskas, satisfied.
He was happy with the first quarter, during which “Neptūnas” pulled away by as many as 18 points, and Arnas Velička scored 11 points.
G. Petrauskas noted that later in the game, his men would lose a large lead a bit too quickly.
“We understand that we are not the team that will constantly increase the lead from 15-17 points to more, but we give up the lead too quickly – in 45-50 seconds the difference decreases to 10 points – we catch a downward wave too quickly,” – said G. Petrauskas. – “This is worrying, but a cooler head, a created shot, allowed us to create a safer lead again.”
Over the past six years, “Lietkabelis” has won five sets of bronze medals and once adorned themselves with silver.
Read more Latvians dashed medal hopes: Lithuanian basketball players fell in a fratricidal battle
“To win awards this year, different energy is needed,” – said Nenad Čanak, the long-time coach of “Lietkabelis.”
“Today the match was won by a much better team,” – said the Serb. – “As I said before the match, this will be a game where everything will be determined by energy. On Monday, we have to play with a completely different attitude if we want to win the series.
I believe that we will wake up and play with more fighting spirit and more energy.”
N. Čanakas was most disappointed with the first quarter.
“The problem was the first quarter when we fell behind by 19 points. After that, it was very difficult against a team like “Neptūnas”. It wasn’t that we missed any crucial shots. We just played poorly in the first quarter,” – emphasized the “Lietkabelis” coach.”
The second small final match will take place in Panevėžys on Monday, and then the series will return to Klaipėda on Thursday.
On Sunday, the LKL final between Kaunas “Žalgiris” and Utena “Juventus” basketball players begins in Kaunas. They will also fight for gold in a best-of-three series.
Read more Lukashenka spoke out on sending troops to Ukraine: also appealed to Lithuanians
