Maldunas banking on making the FIBA Europe Cup with Nevezis

KEDAINIAI (FIBA Europe Cup) - It took a summer in a suit and tie and a desk job in a bank for Gabrielius Maldunas to land the opportunity he was looking for on the basketball court.

Having thanked basketball for the good times, the 24-year-old announced early retirement in July but had a change of heart at the end of the summer after FIBA Europe Cup side Nevezis Kedainiai came with an offer he could not refuse.

After spending his first two seasons as a professional in the Spanish second division, LEB Gold, the Lithuanian big man, who graduated from the prestigious Dartmouth College, felt that his basketball career had run its course.

"I had a strong professional rookie season in Spain but did not have as much luck in my second year. My thinking was that if I can't get a good deal neither in Lithuania nor somewhere else, it would be a good time to use my diploma," Maldunas told FIBA.basketball.

"Basketball was always my Plan A, but I also wanted to have a backup plan available to make a career in a different line of work, like finance for example. At the beginning of the summer, I had a decent, stable offer from the Nordea bank on the table and took it up. For the summer, I had already become a banker (laughs). That's when my agent notified me about the offer from Nevezis, which was really tempting."

While not the biggest of clubs in Lithuania, the side from Kedainiai are entering the season with much higher goals and ambitions after missing out on the LKL Play-Offs for the past three seasons.

"I have not had the opportunity to play in Lithuania for a decade and I have always wanted to play in LKL. Just to see what the level is like back home and how I would fare. It was a chance to play in front of family and friends. Having the chance to play in the FIBA Europe Cup, providing we make it through the Qualification Rounds, only added to the attractiveness of the offer," he said.

"I'll have the opportunity to work in banking for the rest of my life and you have a very limited time to play basketball professionally. I decided to come back to Lithuania and play at least a year here. And hopefully more after that."

The season for Nevezis is just around the corner, with the first official game against Rilski Sportist in the FIBA Europe Cup Qualification Round 1 scheduled for Wednesday evening at home in Kedainiai. The return leg of the tie will be played in Bulgaria a week later.

"We have been training for over a month now with the training camp getting underway on August 10. Over that time, we have had time to start to get a feel for each other. During friendly games, when we followed coach Ramunas Cvirka's orders, we looked good on both ends of the court and beat teams like Dnipro and Neptunas," Maldunas spoke about the preparations for the season ahead.

"We are a slightly smaller team and don't have very tall big men. I'm playing at the center spot and I'm just 6ft 9in (204cm). We will have to play as a team and try to make up for the centimeters as a group. There are individually gifted players like Malcolm Grant and Valerii Likhodey, but we will still have to play as a team to be successful."

If the Lithuanian team were to get past the Bulgarian barrier in the Qualification Round 1, Swedish Basketligan runners-up Sodertalje Kings would be their next opponent in the Qualification Round 2.

"We were focusing on trying to polish our own game before looking at the opponents, but we know there can be a lot of surprises in the FIBA Europe Cup. You can get an opponent who builds a strong roster for that specific season and get you eliminated," the Nevezis newcomer was cautious about their opponents en route to a place in the main phase of the competition.

"I would really like to make the Play-Offs in the LKL and qualify for the FIBA Europe Cup Regular Season. It would be a good goal to start off with and then we will see how the season goes. I think we can have a good season if we keep the look of the roster and stay clear from injuries."

FIBA