By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
After the first three rounds in the Basketball Champions League, Rytas Vilnius has a 1-2 record, but brighter days are laying ahead for the defending champions of Lithuania thanks to American guard Marcus Foster.
He started the season on the right foot and excelled in the victory against Zalgiris in the Lithuanian derby with 34 points. Foster is averaging 17,4 points per game in LKL and is among the top five scorers in BCL with 23 points on average.
“I think BCL is improving in ma
ny ways, just because of the teams which have a great history. Also, there are a lot of great players. The Basketball Champions league used to be like an American league, where a lot of Americans played really well, but now you see plenty of European players also playing amazingly. That just shows how great players each country has“, Foster talked for the Rytas website about his experience in the Basketball Champions League.
Rytas is sitting in fourth place in the Group H of BCL, with Perister Bwin (2-1), Lenovo Tenerife (2-1), and Bnei Ofek Dist Herzliya (1-2) ahead.
“BCL always helps me to prepare for the Lithuanian basketball league, but playing in the Champions League gives me a different look. The Lithuanian league is a little more physical, so it’s maybe harder to score, but in the Champions League, we have a pretty good group. Right now I’m just playing great basketball and taking good shots, when my opportunity comes, I make the big plays“, Foster added.
Rytas started the season with two losses but managed to bounce back with a couple of important victories, such as against Zalgiris, and now has a 5-3 score in LKL.
“As a team, we just always stayed together and let each other know that just when we took 2 losses that don’t mean the Champions league season is over. We still have a lot of great games to play and show people who we are. Our schedule is tough, we started with two road games and when opponents come to our arena it’s hard to play in Vilnius also. So that’s a good dynamic for us to have“, Marus Foster concluded.