BC Lietkabelis

The history of basketball club Lietkabelis began in 1964. The club's name did not change for 32 consecutive years. The home-court games were played in Aukštaitija Sports Palace, which was opened in 1965. The construction of the palace was initiated by V. Variakojis. Most of the team's players contributed with their own hands to the palace's construction process. At that time, the team was represented by such sports masters, such as S. Atraškevičius, J. Balakauskas, A. Butkūnas, V. Juchnevičius, E. Kuodys, A. Matačiūnas, R. Petrauskas, R. Sargūnas, V. Stalilionis, J. Zičkus, E. Žurauskas, V. Variakojis and others. Until the establishment of the Lithuanian Basketball League in 1993, Lietkabelis was among the country's strongest basketball teams. During these times, Panevėžys club, trained by R. Sargūnas and V. Paškauskas from 1964 to 1996, became Lithuania's champions twice (1985, 1988), won third place three times (1983, 1984 and 1991) and qualified into the Lithuania's Cup competition finals two times (1985, 1986). Other performances are as follows: 1964, 1965, 1968 and 1989 – 5th places, 1966 and 1969 – 6th places, 1970, 1971, 1980, 1986 and 1993 – 7th places, 1973 and 1977 – 11-12 places, 1975 – 11th place, 1976 – 9-10 places, 1979 – 9th place, 1981 – 8th place and 1982, 1987, 1990, 1992 – 4th places.[3]

From 1978 to 1986, Lietkabelis represented Lithuania in USSR I division tournament (second-tier competition in the Soviet Union). In more than three decades, many notable basketball persons played for the Panevėžys’ team: Algimantas Baziukas, Algirdas Brazys, Raimundas Čivilis, V. Dambrauskas, A. Kairys, M. Karnišovas, Jonas Kazlauskas, Algirdas Kriščiūnas, Rimas Kurtinaitis, Vitoldas Masalskis, O. Moisejenka, Gintaras Leonavičius, Rolandas Penikas, Algimantas Pavilonis, A. Šidlauskas and others. Notable boarding sports school members, who later been a part of the Lithuania national basketball team, trained their skills in Lietkabelis. Such players are: Gintaras Einikis, Dainius Adomaitis, Alvydas Pazdrazdis, Romanas Brazdauskis, Gvidonas Markevičius and others. The team long-time was coached by V. Stankevičius, a Lietkabelis factory director. The factory was team's main sponsor.[3]

Dainius Šalenga as a Lietkabelis member in 2015

In 1993, basketball club Lietkabelis was one of the eight Lithuanian Basketball League founders. From 1996, after three decades, Lietkabelis factory left basketball world. The team's names were changing constantly: Kalnapilis (1996–1999), Sema (1999–2000), Panevėžys (2000–2001 ir 2004–2007), Preventa-Malsena (2001–2003), Aukštaitija (2003–2004) and Techasas (2007–2012). From January 2012, club's name reverted to the legendary one – Lietkabelis. In 20 LKL seasons the team's jersey was worn by such notable Lithuanian basketball players: Gintaras Bačianskas (19,7 points per game in LKL), Gintaras Kadžiulis, Kęstutis Kemzūra, Mindaugas Lukauskis, Paulius Staškūnas, Žydrūnas Urbonas and others.[3]

In the 1999–2000 season, Panevėžys team (named Sema at that time) participated in international tournament – FIBA Korać Cup for the first time after the country's independence. In 2004–2005 season and from 2007 to 2012, Panevėžys team participated in Baltic Basketball League’s second division (renamed to BBL Challenge Cup in 2007). They also played in the BBL Elite Division from 2005 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2014. During ten years in this league, the team achieved first place twice in the BBL Challenge Cup (in 2005 as Panevėžys and in 2012 as Lietkabelis), they also won bronze medals twice as well (in 2008 and 2011 as Techasas). They won the BBL Elite Division, they won the bronze medals in 2016. In the LKL, the highest the team achieved was the quarterfinals, though they did come close in 2007 to reaching the semifinals, losing a very tough series to BC Šiauliai 1:2. In 2016, they also had a tough series against BC Lietuvos rytas, fighting hard in a losing sweep, though only lost the two away games in Vilnius 74:79 and 78:83.[3]

In October 2008, the brand-new Cido Arena was opened in Panevėžys, which has 5656 seats for the basketball spectators. It became new Panevėžys basketball team home-hourt, replacing the Aukštaitija Sports Palace after 43 years.[3]

On 29 July 2015, the club was invited to join the FIBA Europe Cup tournament, which is the alternative version of the 2nd tier European tournament EuroCup, organized by FIBA.[4] However, just before the drawning ceremony, it was announced that 56 teams would participate instead of 64 and Lietkabelis was not one of these.[5]

On 21 July 2016, Lietkabelis was invited to play in the 2016–17 EuroCup season. The club previously registered again in the FIBA Europe Cup.[6] Following it, the team signed notable veterans: Mindaugas Lukauskis, Kšyštof Lavrinovič and Darjuš Lavrinovič who formed the core of the team.[7] The positive preseason resulted in record sales of over 700 season tickets just on the sales opening day.[8] The LKL season began historically by defeating Žalgiris Kaunas 90–86 for the first time after 16 years.[9] This season became the best one in club history - Lietkabelis had astonishing victories over Žalgiris, BC Lietuvos rytas and BC Neptūnas, the top teams in Lithuania. In the playoffs, Lietkabelis beat BC Vytautas in the quarterfinals 3:0, then shocked Lietuvos rytas 3:1 in the semifinals before losing to Žalgiris in the LKL finals 1:4.[10] Lietkabelis also reached the 2017 King Mindaugas Cup finals, also losing to Žalgiris 63:84.[11] During the season, and the playoffs, Lietkabelis broke many attendance records in Panevėžys.

The debut EuroCup season performance was not less pleasant for the club. On 12 October 2016, Donatas Tarolis buzzer-beater guaranteed Lietkabelis first 89–88 EuroCup victory in the history of the club against KK MZT Skopje.[12] Lietkabelis continued their success in Zagreb, defeating the Croatian champions KK Cedevita 80–76. Another remarkable play was performed by Donatas Tarolis, whose put-back slam secured the victory with just 13 seconds remaining.[13] On 23 November, the record of attendance was achieved, with 4427 spectators during the second game versus Cedevita, though Lietkabelis lost a tough rematch 68:69.[14] Lietkabelis qualified to the Eurocup Top16, with a 3–5 record in the group stage with another win against MZT Skopje, though lost both games to the top teams in the group - CB Gran Canaria and BC Nizhny Novgorod. Lietkabelis played in Group F against former tournament champion BC Khimki, and German giants Bayern Munich and ratiopharm Ulm. While Lietkabelis did not manage to defeat Khimki and Bayern, they won both games against a powerful ratiopharm Ulm team, and finished the Eurocup Top16 phase with a respectable 2–4 record.[15]

On 13 June 2017, it was announced that in the 2017–2018 season Lietkabelis for a second straight time will participate in the EuroCup competition.[16] Consequently, the team successfully extended contracts with the Lavrinovič twins, signed former long-term Lithuania men's national basketball team member Simas Jasaitis and candidate of the national team Adas Juškevičius, who later played during the EuroBasket 2017.[17][18][19] The team retained their respectable status by starting the 2017–18 LKL season with a perfect 8–0 record and the 2017–18 EuroCup season by defeating the Israeli League champions Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. 86–72.[20][21] The struggles began for the team after the second game in the Eurocup - a crushing away defeat to Bayern Munich 57:93. After a loss at home to Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia 75:82, Lietkabelis rebounded with a surprising away win against Galatasaray Odeabank 78:73 and a win at home against KK Budućnost 86:79, after a strong performance by Adas Juškevičius, who scored 32 points and hit 9 three-pointers, 7 of which came in the first quarter. After the first round of the Eurocup, Lietkabelis had a 3–2 record. The second round became a disaster – Lietkabelis lost an away game to Hapoel 81:93, followed by a loss to FC Bayern 87:88 at home. Head coach Artūrs Štālbergs was shockingly fired after a few upset losses in the LKL, replaced by assistant Vitaliy Cherniy. Lietkabelis shocked Grissin Bon with an 85:82 away win in Reggio Emilia after the changes, but that did not save the team. Tough losses to Galatasaray 77:84 at home, and 62:76 to KK Budućnost in Podgorica left Lietkabelis with a 4–6 record and a game out of the Top16 round, ending the competition in disappointment.

In the LKL, after an 8–0 start, which included dominating wins against Lietuvos rytas 97:81 at Vilnius and a home win over Neptūnas 88:76, Lietkabelis climbed to 1st place in the standings. The streak was snapped by Žalgiris in Kaunas, 90:92. After a shocking loss to BC Vytautas, the last place team in the LKL, coach Štālbergs was fired. Assistant coach Cherniy briefly took over, before Ramūnas Butautas took over as head coach. Point guards Gary Talton and Adas Juškevičius left the team, and were replaced by the talented Arnas Velička and Dominik Mavra. In the 2018 King Mindaugas Cup, Lietkabelis defeated BC Pieno žvaigždės 86:76 in the quarterfinals, qualifying to the Final Four. Facing Žalgiris in a previous year's finals rematch, Lietkabelis lost 74:88, and defeated BC Dzūkija in a hard-fought game 81:78 to win third place. What followed was a string of losses in the LKL, with Lietkabelis quickly falling out of contention for first place in the standings. Losses to Lietuvos rytas and Neptūnas meant the team finished only fourth in the regular season, a disappointing finish. In the playoffs, Lietkabelis defeated BC Šiauliai 3:1 in the quarterfinals, thanks to veteran leadership and a great series by team leader Žanis Peiners. In the semifinals, Lietkabelis faced Žalgiris - by this point, Lietkabelis was no match against the LKL champions and one of the best teams in the Euroleague, and lost the series in a disappointing 0:3 fashion. In the third place series, Lietkabelis faced BC Neptūnas, coached by Kazys Maksvytis, who a season before coached Lietkabelis to the Eurocup Top16, and the finals of both LKL and KMT. After winning the first game in Klaipėda, 83:69, Lietkabelis lost at home 69:71. Donatas Tarolis had the best game of his career, finishing with a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds. Neptūnas went on to win the next two games, 79:71 at home and a second 89:78 win in Panevėžys. Lietkabelis suffered disappointment, losing the series 1:3, and finishing in fourth place.

The finish in the LKL prevented Lietkabelis from playing in the Eurocup. The team then moved to FIBA, to the Basketball Champions League. Initially, Lietkabelis was supposed play in the qualifying round, but after one of the teams, Eskişehir, announced withdrew from the competition, Lietkabelis earned a place in the 2018–19 Basketball Champions League regular season, joining group C along with defending champion AEK Athens, Antwerp Giants, ČEZ Nymburk, Montakit Fuenlabrada, Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem, JDA Dijon and last year's Euroleague participant Brose Bamberg. Much of the roster of the previous season left, with the biggest losses being the Lavrinovič twins, Peiners, Lorenzo Williams. Simas Jasaitis remained with Lietkabelis, and was named the team captain. Lietkabelis then signed solid players like point guard Jamar Wilson, center Mike Morrison, guards Fran Pilepić and Paulius Valinskas from Žalgiris, forwards Vytenis Lipkevičius and Saulius Kulvietis and center from Juventus Mindaugas Kupšas. Longtime club player Ernestas Ežerskis also returned to the team. Longtime assistant Gintaras Kadžiulis was named the head coach. Despite having one of the strongest teams in the LKL, by November, Lietkabelis was only in fourth place. In the Champions League, Lietkabelis suffered losses at home to Antwerp Giants 87:91, and away losses to Hapoel Jerusalem 67:81 and Brose Bamberg 77:82, only scoring one win against ČEZ Nymburk at home, 97:86. At this point, Lietkabelis was 1–3. Changes were made, first by bringing in Jonas Vainauskas, the man behind much of BC Rytas success, as sports director. After the loss in Bamberg, Gintaras Kadžiulis was replaced in the coaching position by Nenad Čanak. Vainauskas as sports director only lasted for two months - until his termination on 28 December 2018. During his tenure, Vainauskas made a lot of changes within the team - Lipkevičius, Ežerskis, Morrison and Pilepić all left and were replaced by guards Stefan Sinovec, Marko Čakarević, Davis Lejasmeiers, center Žiga Dimec and new point guard Vaidas Kariniauskas, who played for the team in the 2014 season, Vainauskas also wanted to release Wilson, but he remained with the team. The results were mixed - in the Champions League, the changes helped the team finish the first round strong, with home wins over JDA Dijon 78:62, and Montakit Fuenlabrada 78:67, with only one loss away to champions AEK Athens, 59:65, and with a 3–4 record, were in a playoff position. During Vainauskas tenure, Lietkabelis also defeated Rytas in an away match in Vilnius, 94:83. During December–March, turmoil followed - Kariniauskas was released in controversial fashion, the results continued to decline at an enormous rate. Lietkabelis only won two games out of seven in the second round of the Champions League, finishing with a 5–9 record, fifth place, and out of the playoffs. In the LKL, Lietkabelis struggled so much, that cross-town rival BC Pieno žvaigždės actually tied for fourth place and for a brief time, Lietkabelis fell to fifth. The signing of Ike Iroegbu helped the team. Lietkabelis won third place in the King Mindaugas Cup. Success against BC Neptūnas and BC Rytas, who Lietkabelis beat in the season series, helped Lietkabelis regain fourth place, at 23–13. Valinskas heavily improved during this time, becoming one of the team leaders. Lietkabelis beat Pieno žvaigždės 2:0 in the quarterfinals. In the LKL semifinals, Lietkabelis was no match against Žalgiris Kaunas, losing 0:2. In the third place series, Lietkabelis lost to Neptūnas 0:3.

During the summer, Kupšas, Dimec, Wilson, Tarolis, Valinskas and Iroegbu all left the team. Lietkabelis signed Martynas Sajus, Femi Olujobi and Željko Šakić as the front court. Lietkabelis also signed Tomas Lekūnas, from BC Pieno žvaigždės, and Tomas Dimša from BC Juventus, and Gabrielius Maldūnas from BC Nevėžis, who had great games against Lietkabelis in the previous LKL season. Ken Brown was signed to replace Wilson as the new point guard. Margiris Normantas was signed after a great showing in the pre-season. Marius Valinskas, brother of Paulius, signed to a long-term contract in the summer. Coach Čanak remained with the team. Lietkabelis qualified for the 2019–20 Basketball Champions League by defeating Keravnos in the qualifying round, on aggregate 148-137 (71-55 away, and 77–82 at home). Playing in Group A, along with Türk Telekom, Dinamo Sassari, Baxi Manresa, Unet Holon, SIG Strasbourg, Filou Oostende and Polski Cukier Toruń, Lietkabelis started the regular season 0–4. Brown was released due to erratic play, and Paulius Valinskas returned to the team in November. Lietkabelis then made a miraculous comeback in the competition, sparked by amazing play by Šakić and Dimša, and on the final day of the regular season, an away win over Unet Holon 69:68, helped Lietkabelis reach the Champions League playoffs for the first time in club history, with a 7–7 record. Olujobi was released and replaced by Gilvydas Biruta, while Rihards Kuksiks replaced Lekūnas, out due to a season ending injury. In the Champions League, Lietkabelis lost to Casademont Zaragoza 0:2, and were eliminated from the tournament. Owing to the Coronavirus pandemic, the LKL season was ended prematurely - in a hugely disappointing development, Lietkabelis suffered what at first seemed an insignificant loss to BC Pieno žvaigždės before the pandemic - the loss, though, allowed Rytas Vilnius to finish the season second, one win over Lietkabelis, who finished in third place. In the King Mindaugas Cup, Lietkabelis also won third place.

• Lithuanian SSR Championship

Winners (2): 1985, 1988