Rytas basketball players have officially turned the page to the new season. The capital’s club gathered for their first joint practice, where team veterans, newcomers, and youth system players all took to the floor.
Head coach Nedas Pacevičius shared the team’s initial working mood:
“The mood is very good, truly. Today my first words to the team were that I personally felt I missed the process a little bit, and all those faces in general. It’s great to see both new faces and those we worked with last year – the players, the coaches. The emotions are great, but as always: the first few weeks are always like this, and later on you enter that routine which becomes somewhat monotonous, but our job will be to make sure it doesn’t become that way,” said Rytas head coach Nedas Pacevičius.
Team newcomer Cassius Winston, having finished his first practice with the squad, also shared his positive impressions about the team and life in the capital:
“I feel good. I feel good. It was fun out there, getting out there with the guys, just meeting everybody, the coaching staff, and just getting up and down, getting the season started. They’re cool, yeah. They’re cool, funny, hard-working, so it’s gonna be a fun season. I’m catching up on sleep right now, relaxing. It’s a lot colder than I would like, but it’s been fun. The city’s great, my family loves it, so it’s been good,” Cassius Winston smiled after practice.
During the first practice, the players worked without contact – full focus was placed on physical conditioning and a smooth introduction to the system.
At the moment, the Vilnius side is not training at full strength, as five players are currently defending the colors of their national teams. Gytis Radzevičius, Matas Jogėla, and Augustas Marčiulionis are working in the Lithuanian men’s national team camp, Kay Bruhnke is wearing the German jersey, and newcomer Ricky Lindo is competing for the Panamanian team. These players will join the club once their national team window commitments conclude.
“We don’t have much time until our first game, but we are grateful to our youth system, which really rescues us in this situation. Especially during these first few days, both the older and younger players come in with great energy. We hope to maintain it for as long as possible,” head coach N. Pacevičius commented on the youth players’ contribution. “Obviously, those players will get a few days off because they carry a significant workload with their national teams, and they will join us after our first friendly game.”
Rytas veteran Gytis Masiulis also shared his thoughts on returning to the court:
“It’s really nice to be back on the court and meet up with my friends. The first practice was introductory. We worked a bit on the physical side, put up some shots, didn’t overcomplicate things with tactics, but it feels great to be back out there. It was quite a long summer break, so I really missed basketball, and we got back to work in great spirits,” said Rytas veteran Gytis Masiulis.
Rytas will spend the first phase of their pre-season in the capital, and at the end of the month, the team will traditionally travel to Druskininkai for an intensive training camp and another friendly match.