Already this Friday and Saturday, basketball fans will be able to watch basketball duels not only on TV screens, but also feel the real flavor and atmosphere of basketball in the “Švyturios” arena – the tenth tournament of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation (LKF) honorary president, national basketball legend Vladas Garasts Cup tournament will take place .
Friday from 18:00 “Wolves” basketball players who have a lot of ambitions in the European Basketball Cup tournament, coached by Kęstutis Kemzuras and Estonian basketball greats – Tallinn “Kalev” will compete.
8 p.m. the renewed Klaipėda “Neptūnas” and the legendary Latvian team – Riga VEF will rub shoulders.
Saturday from 18:00 the losing teams will meet for third place, and from 8 p.m. the winners will meet for the trophy of the Vlad Garast Cup.
We will see a powerful “Neptune” newcomer
American Sterling Gibbs, who arrived in Klaipėda a few days ago, should already compete in the ranks of “Neptūnas”.
“He has already passed his medical and trained with the team on Wednesday. During the Vladas Garast Cup tournament, we should already see Gibbs on the field”, said the manager of the Klaipėda “Neptūnos” team. coach M. Brazys.
2022-2023 In the season, this “Neptune” legionnaire played in the top league of neighboring Poland, where he scored 18.1 points per game (3rd in the Polish league), 2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in 25 games played, and made three-pointers with 42.9 percent accuracy.
True, there are also losses in the ranks of “Neptūnas” – Ignas Sargiūnas suffered an injury (broken rib) during training.
“All players, except for I. Sargiūnas, should appear on the field. We are waiting for this tournament, we are preparing. The climate in the team is excellent. We are in a fighting mood. Of course, the quality of the game is still lacking, but the motivation and desire are pushing through the edges. We will see how we will succeed”, said M. Brazys.
“Neptūnas” looks at this tournament not only as a good training, but also wants to get back the trophy they won in 2016.
Then the Neptunians defeated Vilnius “Lietuvos ryta” in the final with a score of 82:68.
M. Brazys worked as an assistant coach, and the manager. Dainius Adomaitis took the position of coach.
For M. Brazi to win this trophy, Mr. in the coach’s chair would be double joy and good motivation for the start of the 2023-2024 basketball season.
“At the beginning of the season, you always want those good emotions. If we could do it again, it would be a great gift for Klaipėda fans,” said M. Brazys.
He also added: “I want to feel that great atmosphere of the “Švyturis” arena again, the support and unity of the fans. Klaipėda has amazing fans. We are really looking forward to the Vlad Garast Cup tournament to meet the fans again and feel that special atmosphere. We want to create a celebration for the fans in every match”, emphasized M. Brazys.
Rehearsal before the Champions League matches
According to Heikos Rannula, the coach of the Estonian champions – Tallinn “Kalev”, coming to Klaipėda and fighting against teams of such a high level is a joyful event.
“Good rivals, high level. It will be a good rehearsal for the FIBA Champions League qualifying tournament. We’ll be able to evaluate our new players, see our strengths and weaknesses, and a win would be the icing on the cake. It’s always fun to win,” emphasized the coach of the Estonian champions.
He is thinking about the winners’ trophy and big goals for 2023-2024. The “Wolves” team, managed by Gediminas Žiemelis, is looking forward to the European Cup season.
“The goal, no matter who we play, is to fight with all our strength just to win.” It is necessary to instill the mentality of winners from the beginning of the season,” emphasized Kęstutis Kemzūra, who coaches the Wolves team.
Both he and M. Brazys admit that the battles of the World Basketball Championship only motivate the players even more.
This is especially motivating for the Riga VEF team, whose national team is fighting fantastically in the World Championship: they eliminated the French, the Spanish from the championship, and in the quarter-finals only lost 79:81 to the Germans in the last second by 2 points.
“Latvian basketball is on the rise and we must defend that honor,” said representatives of Riga VEF.
Possibilityto buy cheaper tickets
The friendly Vladas Garast Cup basketball tournament will last for two days.
The losers of the first match will fight for the 3rd place the next day, and the winners for the
the main trophy – the V. Garast Cup.
All spectators of the match (except VIPs) will enter Švyturios arena through Club entrance no. 3,
from Dubysa st. sides Here visitors will find a spacious free parking lot,
cozy environment, places with the best visibility.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.kakava.lt or at the box office https://kakava.lt/kasos.
Tickets will be more expensive on the day of the event.
Tournament schedule (day ticket is valid for both matches of the day):
September 8 (Friday)
18:00 Wolves – Kalev
20:00 Neptune – VEF
September 9 (Saturday)
18:00 For the III place
20:00 Final
#weekend #Švyturios #Arena #basketball #performance #fight #Vladas #Garast #trophy
– 2024-04-06 21:39:45
