LKKA-Atletas might not have big aims coming into the Lithuanian League (LKL), but the second
division champions already started preparing for a tough season that lies
ahead.
Although
the team from Kaunas lost the promotion/relegation battle against Palanga, who
managed to save their LKL spot, LKKA-Atletas will replace Baltai Kaunas, who
have decided to pull out of the competition for undisclosed reasons.
“We
don’t want to be relegated straight away. My players will need to work three times
harder than the players, who have already showed they can play in the LKL. We
want to improve,” said the coach of the team Edas Nickus.
Having
started the pre-season earlier than anyone else in Lithuania, LKKA-Atletas will
travel to Italy, where they will face some of the top NCAA teams - Arkansas,
Purdue, Virginia Commonwealth, Tennessee and Georgia.
“There will be a lot of strong teams, so it will
be a really good experience for us. We have only practiced in the gym for a
week or so, therefore it will be a difficult test for us,” Nickus said.
