“Techasas played really well and I’d like to congratulate them on that. We were surprised with the quality they showed, but I always believed that we could overcome the challenge,” Lietuvos Rytas head coach Aleksandr Trifunovic spoke highly of his opponents after the game.
Despite being clear underdogs, Techasas led for most of the game, mostly due to a terrific performance by Gintaras Leonavicius, who topped his side in scoring with 19 points. Darius Silinskis and Marius Valukonis added 12 each, but this wasn’t enough to pull off a massive upset.
“Everything has to be executed with perfection to have the slightest of chances against a side like Lietuvos Rytas. In the end, a couple of turnovers cost us a chance to go for the win. We didn’t finish the game well, but I’m still very satisfied and proud of how we fought against a stronger opponent,” Gintaras Leonavicius, the coach of Techasas explained.
Lietuvos Rytas was led by a tandem of Martynas Gecevicius, who scored a game-high 22 points, and Milko Bjelica, who finished the game with 19 points and 9 rebounds. Kenan Bajramovic had 13 points for the visitors as Jonas Valanciunas contributed with 10.
The team’s new acquisition Simas Jasaitis marked his return to his old club with a modest performance of four points and three rebounds in the 16 minutes he spent on the floor.
“Jasaitis hasn’t played five-on-five basketball for a long time and that was clearly visible. Simas is definitely not on the top of his game yet, but he’s in a relatively good shape,” said coach Trifunovic, who thinks there’s still enough time before Euroleague play resumes for Jasaitis to crack the team’s style of play.
