LTU - A Sireika balancing act

KAZAN (Superleague) - Antanas Sireika is confident he can successfully combine his dual coaching roles with the Lithuanian national team and Russian club side UNICS Kazan.

The 50-year-old, who will lead the Baltic giants at the FIBA World Championship in Japan later this summer, signed a one-year contract with the Superleague outfit last week. Sireika told Sport-Express one of his assistants will take charge of UNICS until he returns from the World Championship, which tips off in August.

"I've signed a one-year contract with UNICS and I hope there will be no problem with that," said Sireika, whose deal with the Basketball Federation of Lithuania expires after the 2008 Olympic Games.

"I'm preparing Lithuania for the World Championship and one of my assistants - either Valdemaras Khomichus or Gintaras Krapikas - will work with UNICS (in the meantime)."

Sireika, who left Zalgiris Kaunas in the middle of the recently completed campaign, takes over a team that should be one of the leading sides in Russia next season and he revealed the club's status within the city persuaded him to make the move.

He added: "The main reason why I've decided to take over UNICS is that the whole of Kazan pays great attention to the team."

Star names Petr Samoylenko, Yahor Meshcharakou, Saulius Stombergas, Sergey Chikalkin and Krystof Lavrinovic have already pledged their future to the team ahead of the new campaign, while the club have handed contracts to a number of their youth-team players.

Stombergas is the former captain of Lithuania who, along with Lavrinovic, played under Sireika on the national team's EuroBasket 2003 gold-medal winning side.

PA Sport