Lietuvos
Rytas and Rudupis Prienai found out their opponents in Eurocup after a draw in
Barcelona on Tuesday, which divided the 32 teams into eight groups of four.
The Lithuanian League (LKL) runners-up Lietuvos Rytas were the first seed after falling one win short from making Euroleague in a Qualifying Round in Vilnius, while last year’s bronze medalists Rudupis were in the third pot.
The club from Prienai, which will be making a European debut this year, was drawn into Group C together with Aris Thessaloniki, CEZ Nymburk and Gasterra Flames, while Lietuvos Rytas ended up being allocated to Group F, which will also include Le Mans Sarthe, Azovmash Mariupol and Krka Novo Mesta.
The coach of the Vilnius side, Aleksandar Dzikic, wasn’t very satisfied with the results of the draw, as all of the opponents in the group pose a real threat and the distances to away games are rather big.
“Look at Azovmash – they’ve managed to bring together a very ambitious roster and have spent quite a lot of money during the off-season. Krka is not a major name in European basketball, but I know the environment there and their big goals, while Sarthe has a big Euroleague experience. These are very strong opponents for the first round group,” said coach Dzikic.
However, the Serbian specialist was most disappointed with the fact that Lietuvos Rytas will have to face his former club Krka, which Dzikic coached for the last two seasons.
“What I don’t like the most is that I’ll have to play against Krka. I don’t think it will be an extra challenge, but I just didn’t want to play against them already right now,” Dzikic said.
