Javtokas to strengthen Zalgiris

After a great season in the domestic leagues, Zalgiris decided to strengthen up the team’s front court for next year by signing the Lithuanian national team’s captain Robertas Javtokas to a two-year deal with an option in the team’s hands to extend it for an extra year. The 31-year-old big man will arrive in Kaunas after a season in Power Electronics Valencia, with which he reached the quarterfinals stage in Euroleague.

Javtokas has previously played for teams such as Khimki, Dynamo Moscow and Panathinaikos Athens, but he is mostly associated with his time at Zalgiris’ main rivals Lietuvos Rytas, where he spent six years of his career. The experienced big man was also the captain of the Vilnius team for quite a long while, too.

“I grew up with Lietuvos Rytas and I will always remember that time, but I’m a professional and I choose the best available offer. Zalgiris showed in interest and Lietuvos Rytas didn’t, Zalgiris will play in Euroleague and it’s still not clear whether Lietuvos Rytas will. They have their own players, their own centers and are dealing with their own problems,” Javtokas said after agreeing with Zalgiris.

The Lithuanian center averaged 8.2 points and 5.3 rebounds for Valencia last season in Euroleague, while his statistics in the Spanish ACB were fairly similar – 7.8 points and 5.8 boards per game.