Just a day after the first reports about Lietuvos Rytas being close to adding two new faces for next season came to light, these talks indeed materialized. What came in as thunderous news about advanced negotiations yesterday, became fact today, as the club from Vilnius managed to wrap up deals with Serbian coach Aleksandar Dzikic and Macedonian big man Predrag Samardziski.
The representative of both the coach and the player, Misko Raznatovic, who is the head of the BeoBasket agency, met with club’s officials in Vilnius today and agreed on the final terms of both deals.
With Aleksandar Dzikic coming to take over the reins in Vilnius, it is still whether Darius Maskoliunas, who was given the control of the team after Aleksandar Trifunovic got the sack, will move back to the assistant’s chair or will leave the club entirely.
Lietuvos Rytas’ new strategist, Dzikic, has been enjoying success at Krka Novo Moesta, with which he won the Slovenian top flight last season and also triumphed in the EuroChallenge competition this year. The 40-year-old Serb was recently given the nod by Serbian basketball authorities to lead the Serbian U20 squad in the European Championship in Spain.
The 25-year-old Macedonian center Predrag Samardziski will join Lietuvos Rytas after a great season at Olin Edirne, averaging 12.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in the Turkish Basketball League (TBL).
The club from Vilnius was looking to change the view of almost the entire front court, as Milko Bjelica, Kenan Bajramovic and Cemal Nalga are all set to leave the team, while the future of Lithuania’s top prospect Jonas Valanciunas is still unclear.
