RYTAS (Vilnius) - With the idea of growing the sport globally, FIBA is developing a new youth event, called the FIBA Next Gen Hoops Invitational.
The first edition will see the two-time Youth BCL champions Rytas Vilnius taking on a team called the Grind Session across two games in Lithuania on June 4 and 5.
Rytas Vilnius
Considered one of the two giants of Lithuanian basketball, alongside Zalgiris, Rytas Vilnius have been on a roll lately, winning two of the last three Lithuanian Championships, taking their tally to seven LKL titles.
They have been a regular in the Basketball Champions League, too, but are yet to reach the Final Four there. However, this team has been nothing but dominant in the Youth Basketball Champions League.
Rytas Vilnius are back-to-back champions of the Youth BCL, picking up the spiky trophy in Debrecen, Hungary and Manisa, Türkiye over the past two seasons.
It is of no surprise, given the club's history with elite talent.
Sarunas Marciulionis and Arturas Karnisovas were among the most prominent youngsters in the Soviet Union in the 1980s, Ramunas Siskauskas, Arvydas Macijauskas and Sarunas Jasikevicius all wore the jersey in the 1990s and 2000s, while the most notable NBA player from this academy is Jonas Valanciunas.
The roster
Among the players on the roster for this event, plenty have already tasted success, lifting the Youth BCL trophy back in April.
The biggest star of the team is the two-time Youth BCL MVP Ignas Urbonas, a jack of all trades on the court, finishing the Youth BCL with 20.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game, done in just 24 minutes of action.
His right hand during that tournament was Gabrielius Bubnys, a sharp shooting big who knocked down 60 percent of his three-pointers (on four attempts per game) en route to 18.3 points in 19.5 minutes of playing time.
Arminas Vilkas and Matas Deniusas were also averaging double digits for Rytas at the Youth BCL event, but their true strength is their depth.
Most of these guys were born in 2007, and have spent their entire careers so far playing together and sharing the minutes and scoring duties throughout the roster.
That's our way of saying coach Gintaras Kadziulis has done a sublime job with this generation. With his staff and the Head of Youth Program Matas Karolis Urbonas, the plans are already turning to the future, as 2009-born Gabrielius Buivydas and 2010-born Raigardas Ciunys are both on the list for these two games.