By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Zalgiris Kaunas is the latest Turkish Airlines EuroLeague side back in action with players working out and returning to familiar ground on the court. According to recent guidelines implemented by the Lithuanian government, athletes are permitted to resume practicing under restrictions from May 18.
Physical preparation coach Justinas Grainys walks through the training goals for attending players and keeping in touch with foreigners away from the team. In addition, captain Paulius Jankunas talks about staying in shape during the hiatus and the potential to resume the EuroLeague season.
Don’t forget to activate the subtitles on the latest Zalgiris TV installment.
Per Zalgiris: “As the Covid-19 pandemic situation gets better in Lithuania, and with the softened quarantine conditions, the Zalgiris players who remained in Lithuania got together for their first practice in Zalgirio Arena.
Taking into account all health requirements, Paulius Jankunas, Edgaras Ulanovas, Arturas Milaknis, Lukas Lekavičius, Marius Grigonis, Rokas Jokubaitis, and Karolis Lukosiunas joined the coaches after a two-month hiatus. Meanwhile, all the team’s foreigners and Martinas Geben are currently abroad and await a further decision by the EuroLeague.
For the entirety of the quarantine, the green-and-whites worked out with individual programs prepared by the physical preparation coaches and dealt with some of the minor injuries they had during the season.
“During the entire quarantine, we tried to individualize the workload, and push the players as much as possible in these conditions. Naturally, the first month was more for dealing with micro-injuries. Later on, we were just trying to roll with the situation. We’ll start a bit differently. It’s not going to be like we’re starting from zero since we’ve been working all this time. Today we’ll start the intro week, but already at a higher intensity,” – said the team’s physical preparation coach Justinas Grainys.
The teams await a final verdict on the season’s finish from the EuroLeague, which should be announced on the 25th of May. The EuroLeague’s Player Association (ELPA) actively participated in the discussions, and one of its members Paulius Jankunas revealed that optimism has gone down throughout this period.
“We missed the arena, the locker room, teammates, coaches. It’s a good feeling. When the quarantine started, and they paused the season, I was optimistic. But the longer it lasts, the optimism has dwindled… I don’t know if it’d be realistic right now. We’ll find out soon.”
If EuroLeague decided to continue the season, the teams would play the final 6 games of the regular season, followed by the playoffs.”