BADALONA (Spain) - If Rytas Vilnius became Champions of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, for the first time in the club's history, it is especially thanks to Simonas Lukosius.
The 23-year-old guard had a Reggie Miller kind of night in Badalona, coming up clutch with a competition-record seven threes in the BCL Final, being named MVP of the Final Four.
Moments after the team's captain Arturas Gudaitis lifted the trophy in front of thousands of partying Rytas fans, Rytas' No. 41 took the mic to describe everyone behind such an unbelievable win. Starting from the coach.
He's the reason we're here. Unfortunately, he wasn't named Coach of the Year. But he's gonna be way happier about this trophy.
He's my boy. We've played together for three or four years when we were little kids. It's crazy to have us here today, to be playing together and have such chemistry. At such a young age, to be able to control a team like this from the point guard position and win the BCL is special. I'm excited for his future as well.
Every team needs somebody like him. You see how he played for us in overtime, that's a man who knows how these games go. His importance was crucial for us.
He has been in the same situation as I. I'm half German, and he's German; we've been here since the beginning of the season, and we both have had ups and downs. It's very special to achieve it with him, and to see how he fought his way from a rotation player, being in and out of the lineup, to our starting four, period. He's performing, a crucial player for us.
I think he's the unvoted MVP of the Season, and he should be the MVP of the Final Four as well. He's a special talent, one of the most talented players I've ever seen with my own eyes. I'm excited to see what's in the future for him. I'm glad to be a part of his career and to have played with him.
He's the newest addition to our team, but he has been the perfect addition. He has blended in so well. Obviously, he's been here before, and he knows the system and the coaching staff, but he just bonded in perfectly. He added so much for us in this Final Four. Without him, we might not be standing here as Champions.
He's a great dude and a crucial player. What he did against Galatasaray MCT Technic in our most important game of the season, what he did in the Quarter-Finals... He always came through for us. He's a very talented five-man. Those floaters and threes, they always come up big in every game.
That dunk surprised me. I haven't seen him get up like that for a couple of weeks! He's one of the closest guys I'm with in this locker room. He's a great guy, what an amazing player. To have such inconsistent minutes, to struggle with injuries, getting out of the lineup but still coming in and playing this Final Four the way he did... he was amazing for us.
I don't know if I can add anything. The whole world knows how special he is and how much talent he has. That's a man whose mentality is crazy, and it's gonna take him everywhere he wants to go.
Speedy is amazing: everything you want in a point guard. He's a coach on the court. He put us in the right positions and made some crucial shots in this game. We wouldn't be here without him.
I think everything he does on the court speaks for him. He's a crazy player, I'm so glad I never have to be guarded by him because he's on my team. An amazing guy for the locker room as well, he's what keeps us together. I can't say enough about him.