For many basketball fans in this country (and most of the surrounding ones), the memories of the confrontation between CSKA and Zalgiris of the 80s have a special road. If these six unforgettable super finals did not happen, basketball, most likely, would not have the current popularity. The magnificent “algiris” of Sabonis, Khomichyus, Kurtinaitis and Jovayshi then not only shook CSKA’s intra-Soviet hegemony, but also became a phenomenon on a European scale.
Life does not stand still. After a sensational, but unconditional victory in the Euroleague of 1999, the Kaunas people slowly moved to the category of strong middle peasants of the main club tournament in Europe. Now in Zalgiris, as in all the best houses of the Old World, star legionnaires are making the weather: striker Hanno Mottola, the freaky playmaker Marko Popovich and tank-like center Tanok Bird, expelled with shame from Dynamo. The black American is the captain of the team! Nonetheless, Byrd did not turn into the successor of Valderas Homichus, not from floundering: four years of service, the “Silver Ball” for getting into the second symbolic Euroleague team.
At the same time, to say that they put an end to the education of their own talents in Kaunas is inappropriate. The famous school holds the brand and works with impressive returns. In particular, convinced voices are heard in Lithuania - finally the heir of Sharunas Jasikyavichyus is found! Blood kinship and nepotism, despite the presence of Vitalis Jasikyavichyus, the younger brother of Šarūnas, as part of Zalgiris, had nothing to do with it. It's about Mantis Kalnietis, who in the first year after signing a professional contract in Lithuania grew up in hope No. 1. The point guard started season 05/06 in the double and the infirmary, and finished in the starting five of the national team at the World Cup in Japan. There, a 195-centimeter playmaker regularly went out to the site and, by the way, was not an iota inferior in speed of thought and running to the supersonic Brazilian from Phoenix Sans Leandro Barbose. In addition to Kalnietis, the bright future is predicted by the versatile striker Jonas Machiulis and the “big” Paulus Jankunas, the fifth among the collectors of Euroleague-05 rebounds.
The Soviet slogan “We have a young road” is quite the motto of not only the selection, but also the personnel policy of the Kaunas club. The playing career of the algiris coach Ainars Bagatskis, not daring to resist the family name that was disposed to this, was really rich in various achievements and glorious days. The “Latvian shooter”, for example, had the opportunity to become the second Euro 1997 sniper. However, the Bagatskis coach was not even one and a half years old. In 2005, he began this stage of his career by combining business with pleasure, becoming a playing coach of the Riga Barons. But even before the end of the season, sneakers exhausted in parquet battles were still hung on the notorious nail. After all, it was difficult to resist Antanas Sireyk who had moved to UNICS to the coaching post of Zalgiris; This strategic step of the leadership did not give an immediate result. In total, for the third time since the emergence of the Lithuanian sovereign championship, algiris lost the league title. However, the credit of trust on the part of the club management has spread to the new season, which has so far been proceeding with varying success. Bagatskis still lacks experience with the situation, voice and tablet. With an impeccable debut in the national and Baltic leagues, the start of Zalgiris in the Euroleague 2006/07 turned out to be unimportant - three losses in four matches.
The victory over CSKA will surely become indulgence for Bagatskis and will result in a softening of the tone of the comments of the Lithuanian media. For such victories in Lithuania everyone forgives everyone. Soviet classics, after all. Old abacus.
Nikita GOLOVANOV