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Fuenlabrada Montakit

The Montakit Fuenlabrada is playing really poor in Spain so far. They are only 4-8 and are currently 13 of 17 in the league. That is one more reason, why Eurocup is so important to this team. They are currently 4th in their group with a 3-4 winning ratio. However, they have won all 3 games at home, and lost their 4 away games. That should give fans of Fuenlabrada some positive thoughts before the last game versus Lietuvos Rytas in Spain. Fuenlabrada is a complete home team and they will be trying to prove it one last time in Eurocup. If not their journey in Europe will come to an end.

Leaders of the Fuenlabrada:

It is hard to determine the leaders of Montakit Fuenlabrada as this team is constantly trying new schemes. 10 players had a chance to be in starters at least once in 7 of Fuenlabrada's games so far. It means the coach has trust in most of his guys, as 12 guys are averaging at least 15 minutes per game. Even though, this team is quite equal, there some players who are a little bit more equal than others.

Marko Popovic. Legendary Croatian, who is best known for his three point shooting. At his old age, he is still capable of something. He averages 14.2 points per game, which is the most in the entire Fuenlabrada team and shoots three-pointers at 41 percent. It is that type of player, who can win a game on his own on any given day. At his peak, he was one of the most important players of strong Euroleague teams, and Rytas has to remember that. Also, Popovic will know how to play against Rytas, because he was a player of another Lithuanian team Kaunas Zalgiris for many years.

Diagne Moussa. 2.11 meters center from Senegal is the main option of Fuenlabrada when it comes to inside the paint basketball. He averages 8.4 points, gets 5.6 boards, and blocks one shot per game. The numbers are not that impressive, but he is also important for this team on the defensive end. He will have his tasks to defend against Rytas best big guys, and that will influence the outcome of this game.

Ivan Paunic. This man does not have fancy statistics, but is very important in Fuenlabrada and he has played the most minutes in Eurocup in the entire team. This forward is as universal as it gets in this Spanish team, so when he has a good day, he can score, assist, and rebound.

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Founded in 1983, Fuenlabrada started to compete at a local level. The club joined national competitions two years later and worked its way up, reaching the first regional division in the late 1980s. By 1991, it already became Baloncesto Fuenlabrada and a year later, it merged with Club Baloncesto Torrejon de Ardoz to compete in the Spanish second division.

Fuenlabrada acquired Club Peñas Recreativas de Huesca's rights to earn the right to compete in the Spanish first division in the 1996–97 season. The club went down to the second division, but inked scoring machine Velimir Perasović and returned to the elite level a year later. With Perasović, Carlos Cazorla, Ferran Lopez and Salvador Guardia as its main pillars, the addition of Nate Huffman allowed Fuenlabrada to make it to the Spanish League playoffs in 1999. Perasović kept filling the baskets for several seasons, leading Fuenlabrada to two more playoffs appearances in 2001 and 2002, helped by David Wood, Chuck Kornegay and a young José Manuel Calderón and coached by Óscar Quintana.

Fuenlabrada made its ULEB Cup debut in the 2002–03 season, in which Herrmann was chosen as the Spanish League MVP. The club returned to the Spanish second division in 2004 but came back, for good, a year later. Players like Saúl Blanco, Jorge García, Kristaps Valters and Brad Oleson kept Fuenlabrada in the first division for years without much trouble. The club returned to the Spanish League playoffs in the 2010–11 season with Salva Maldonado as head coach and a young Gustavo Ayón as its star center. After four seasons fighting to avoid relegation, Fuenlabrada bounced back last season. Led by Marko Popović, Jonathan Tabu and Ivan Paunić, Fuenlabrada made it to the Spanish League playoffs, earning the right to return to the EuroCup 13 years later.

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Vilnius Lietuvos Rytas

After the tragic season last year, Lietuvos Rytas has done a lot of rebuilding this year. The most mentionable signing was David Logan - once, one of the best players in Europe. That had to bring changes to Vilnius and, even though, they are playing much better this season, the results are still to come. They are 3-4 in Eurocup and another loss against Fuenlabrada will probably mean that this year's European journey is over. That would also mean that Tomas Pacesas will have to end his journey as Lietuvos Rytas coach. So, a lot will be at stake, and no more mistakes can be made.

We also have to note that Rytas was super unlucky in this Eurocup tournament as they easily could have (and should have) been 6-1 instead of 3-4. However, reality is - the last game is the most important so far. A positive thing for Rytas is that they destroyed Fuenlabrada in first game 101-84.

Leaders of Lietuvos Rytas:

5 players are averaging over 10 points per game and a couple more are close, and can surprise on any given day. Only 5 Lithuanians are playing in this Rytas' team and that is a first time that Rytas has had so few Lithuanians since forever. Yup, this year's team is focused on foreigners, especially - Americans.

David Logan. His defense is not that great at age 33, but Logan's offense is still superb for this level of basketball. He is averaging 19 points and almost 7 assists per game, and is the main option on clutch moments. His drives to the basket are still rapid enough to destroy defenses. Also, if you leave Logan open beyond the arc that usually means three points. That is why this player is one of the hardest to defend in all Eurocup, and Rytas will be counting on him in this decisive game.

Arturas Gudaitis. This young player struggled in his first seasons playing for Zalgiris and Rytas. He is still considered one of the most talented basketball players from Lithuania and this season shows us why. Gudaitis scores 14 points, grabs 8.7 rebounds, and adds 2 blocks per game. He is also amazing on the defensive game with his quick movement and superb stamina. On top of that, Gudaitis is one of better players to play pick'n'roll as his speed is stunning for a big guy.

Drew Gordon. A big guy from America has started all 7 games as a starter this year. This man averages a double-double per game and that is stunning results in 30 minutes per game. Not only does Gordon play an important role in this Lietuvos Rytas team, but he is also Rytas' spiritual leader on the court. He loves to dunk, scream, and hustle till the last second. All the top plays of Rytas are made by Gordon's slams and alley-ops.

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BC Lietuvos rytas, also known as Rytas, is a Lithuanian professional basketball club based in Vilnius, Lithuania. The club, founded in 1997 on the basis of another club, BC Statyba, is one of the most successful Lithuanian basketball clubs. Rytas, among other titles, have won two Eurocup titles, five Lithuanian League titles, three Lithuanian Cups and three Baltic Championships. Lietuvos Rytas plays their home games at 11,000-seat Siemens Arena and 2,500-seat Lietuvos rytas Arena. They also had a daughter club Perlas which was used for the development of young players, but after two seasons in LKL it was dissolved.

Lietuvos Rytas basketball club is connected with the Lietuvos rytas newspaper and owned by newspaper editor Gedvydas Vainauskas who is also the president of the club.

Some of the greatest Lithuanian basketball players have played for Lietuvos Rytas over the years including: Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Ramūnas Šiškauskas, Arvydas Macijauskas, Jonas Valančiūnas, Martynas Gecevičius, Renaldas Seibutis, Simas Jasaitis, Robertas Javtokas, Darius Songaila, Marijonas Petravičius, Rimantas Kaukėnas, Rimas Kurtinaitis, Gintaras Einikis.

Lietuvos Rytas plays in the Eurocup, Lithuanian Basketball League, and King Mindaugas Cup.