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233-398: In 1966 Neptūnas won the Žalgiris friendship championship and next year with the same roster became runners-up. Since 1970 there have been many changes in the team: coaches and players left the team and were replaced with new team members, so the team did not achieve better results. In 1975 Klaipėda's community decided to change the team from its foundations based on people from Klaipėda and

466-518: A 71–62 win against Spartak St. Petersburg . The team finished third in the regular season round of the VTB United League . They defeated Nizhny Novgorod and unexpectedly Khimki, the reigning EuroCup and VTB League champions, eventually finishing in third place. Despite two third places in international competitions, Rytas lost the LKL final series to Žalgiris Kaunas, with Žalgiris winning 3–0. Following

699-533: A cathedral and at least two parochial churches, but the development of the castle became the dominant priority. According to different sources, Memel received Lübeck city rights in 1254 or 1258. Following it Klaipėda's status was quite extraordinary as only three cities in the State of the Teutonic Order had Lübeck city rights. In the spring and summer of 1323, a Lithuanian army led by Grand Duke Gediminas came up

932-526: A commanding 3–1 series lead. With one last chance, Rytas fought hard in the fifth game in Kaunas, but a strong fourth quarter by Žalgiris Kaunas led to an 80–70 win, and winning the series 4–1. In the 2018 Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė , Rytas avenged their previous season defeat against Juventus Utena, winning in overtime 91–88 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, held in Klaipėda, Rytas defeated Dzūkija Alytus 81–61. In

1165-406: A controversial statement about black players on the team, drawing negative attention to the team from around the world. On 19 June 2017, famous poker player, businessman and European Parliament member Antanas Guoga bought fifty percent of the club from Sigitas Židonis and Remigijus Kazilionis. Two remaining stake owners Darius Gudelis and Vilnius City Municipality retained their rights to

1398-452: A disastrous 7th place in the standings. However, Neptūnas recovered - sparked by the return of Gailius, Neptūnas finished the regular season with four consecutive wins - an away win over SIG Strasbourg 90:80, a home win over KK Olimpija 82:74, getting revenge over Promitheas Patras with a dominating 82:69 away victory, and defeating Medi Bayeruth 83:73 at home, finishing with an 8–6 record. After Oostende lost at home to SIG, Neptūnas qualified to

1631-465: A dominating home win against Betaland Capo d'Orlando 99:62, Neptūnas lost the final two games of the regular season against P.A.O.K. 70:91 in Thessaloniki and against Iberostar at home, 67:83. Neptūnas finished the regular season with a 7–7 record, but made the playoffs. On February 13, Neptūnas suffered one of the most embarrassing losses of the season, losing to BC Dzūkija 77:85 in the quarterfinals of

1864-683: A few of them later departed to other countries. In 1736–1818 Klaipėda was part of Lithuanian Department which had over 340,000 residents. The recovering population was ravaged by the Imperial Russian Army during the Seven Years' War in 1756–1763. In 1782 Klaipėda had 5500 residents, in 1790 – 6300. In the General State Laws for the Prussian States (completed in 1794) the serfdom and privileged position of landlords and colonists

2097-467: A fort in 1252 called Memele castrum (or Memelburg , " Memel Castle "). The fort's construction was completed in 1253, and Memel was garrisoned with troops of the Teutonic Order , administered by Deutschmeister Eberhard von Seyne . Documents for its founding were signed by Eberhard and Bishop Heinrich von Lützelburg of Courland on 29 July 1252 and 1 August 1252. Master Conrad von Thierberg used

2330-589: A fortified defence system around the entire town, initiated in 1627, noticeably changed its status and prospects. In November 1678 a small Swedish army invaded the Prussian territory, but was unable to capture the fortress of Memel. By the beginning of the 18th century, Memel was one of the strongest fortresses ( Memelfestung ) in Prussia, and the town became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. Despite its fortifications, it

2563-519: A further direct line connected with Königsberg, that crossed the 4-kilometre-wide ( 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile) Memel Valley over three bridges before its arrival in Memel. During the second half of the 19th century, Memel was a center for the publication of books printed in the Lithuanian language using a Latin-script alphabet – these publications were prohibited in the nearby Russian Empire of which Lithuania

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2796-413: A hard-fought away loss to B.C. Oostende , 89:91, Neptūnas rebounded by scoring two wins - a home victory and revenge over SIG Strasbourg 92:83, and finally, an away win against KK Olimpija , 97:88, being led by Jerai Grant and a resurgent Delininkaitis. The win streak was stopped at home by Promitheas Patras B.C. , with Neptūnas losing the match 82:83 after some turnovers in the end. In the final game of

3029-614: A naval landing near the city's harbor. After the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, Memel became Germany's northernmost city. The development of the town in the 19th century was influenced by the Industrial Revolution in Prussia, as well as urbanisation. Even though the population of Memel increased fourfold during the 19th century, and had risen to 21,470 by 1910, its pace of development lagged in comparison. The reasons for this were mostly political. Memel

3262-453: A new ship canal between Pillau and Königsberg, which enabled vessels of up to 6.5 m draughts to moor alongside the city, at a cost of 13 million marks. Owing to the absence of heavy industry in the 1870s and 1880s, the population of Memel stagnated, although wood manufacturing persisted as the main industry. It remained the central point of the Baltic timber-trade. A British Consul was located in

3495-455: A new two-year contract with the club. It was his 11th season at Neptūnas. Vytautas Šarakauskas and Simas Galdikas stayed with Neptūnas as well, both signing two-year contracts with the club. One of BK Ventspils 's leaders Jerai Grant became the club's first foreigner in the summer of 2015. University of Rhode Island graduate Gilvydas Biruta , who represented the Denver Nuggets during

3728-452: A pleasure." — Daniel Ewing . On 19–21 February, Neptūnas competed in the newly formed Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė tournament. The team easily overcame BC Šiauliai 96–58 at the quarter-final, but was powerfully stopped at the semi-final by the upcoming champions Lietuvos rytas Vilnius 97–79. Still, they rehabilitated by winning the club's first Lithuanian Cup bronze medals after crushing Vytautas Prienai-Birštonas 88–51. Shortly after

3961-468: A population greater than 100,000, however, Klaipėda has the highest percentage of people whose native language is Russian. Until the 1970s, Klaipėda was only important to the USSR for its economy, while cultural and religious activity was minimal and restricted. The developers of a Roman Catholic church (Maria, Queen of Peace, constructed 1957–1962) were arrested. The city began to develop cultural activities in

4194-457: A powerful opponent Neptūnas won two quarters by one point (23–22, 14–13), however it was not enough to win the game as Neptūnas lost 72–83. After the season in the VTB United League , they were last in the group, however they were invited to continue playing in this league for another season. Despite poor results in the VTB League, where they finished with a dismal 3–15 record, Neptūnas recovered in

4427-464: A rematch from last season, which Neptūnas won, and the King Mindaugas Cup of 2019, where Neptūnas lost. Neptūnas won the series 3:0, with wins at home 89:77 and 84:77, and away 88:75. At the star of the 2018–19 Basketball Champions League , Neptūnas lost to Virtus Bologna in an away game, 78:83. Neptūnas got their first win by defeating Beşiktaş Sompo Japan 78:63 at home the next week. After

4660-515: A successful season during 2007–08 EuroLeague, defeating Unicaja Málaga and Armani Jeans Milano , and Maccabi Tel Aviv, the future EuroLeague finalist. Their 11–3 record was the team's best regular season performance ever, and the best by a Lithuanian team in Euroleague at the time. However, the team was not as successful in the Top 16 and with record of 2–4 did not advance to the playoffs. Lietuvos rytas were

4893-593: A third of its industry. Weimar Germany , under Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann , maintained normal relations with Lithuania. However, Nazi Germany desired to reacquire the region and tensions rose. Pro-German parties won clear supermajorities in all elections to the Klaipėda Parliament , which often clashed with the Lithuanian-appointed Klaipėda Directorate . Lithuanian efforts to "re-Lithuanize" Prussian Lithuanians by promoting

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5126-526: A two-seasons deal with the club. On August 10, Matas Jucikas signed a long-term (three-seasons) deal. On August 24, another Lithuanian, Mindaugas Kačinas , fresh out of the NCAA Division I US college basketball system at South Carolina , was signed. On August 26, Jimmy Baron became the last addition to the team's roster before the beginning of the season. On November 3, the front line was strengthened with Omari Johnson . On October 19, Neptūnas started

5359-466: A two-years deal. On August 10, 2017, the team signed Juan Palacios to replace Jerai Grant . On August 14, 2017, former team member Simas Galdikas returned to the team. Due to the departure of the previous long-term captain Martynas Mažeika , Simas Galdikas was chosen to replace him in the position. On September 21, 2017, Neptūnas began the 2017–18 LKL season by defeating BC Šiauliai 73–82. On

5592-421: A very long journey but what we accomplished was great. Salute to ALL the fans and people of Klaipėda, thank you very much for your support and generosity! Special thanks to my teammates, none of this was possible without the commitment we had for each other. Thanks to the coaching staff and organization for the opportunity to wear the jersey of NEP-TŪ-NAS. And if our paths never cross again, I'd like to say it's been

5825-494: A win streak in the LKL, climbing up the standings. They finished the regular season in fourth seed with 21 victories and 15 defeats balance. During the 2016–17 LKL Playoffs quarter-final Neptūnas eliminated Juventus Utena 3–0, and advanced into the semi-finals where they faced Lithuanian champions Žalgiris Kaunas . Game 1 of the series did not provide much intrigue in Kaunas , with Žalgiris desperately crushing Neptūnas 83–54. The view

6058-737: Is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the third largest city in Lithuania , the fifth largest city in the Baltic States and the capital of Klaipėda County , as well as the only major seaport in the country. The city has a complex recorded history, partially due to the combined regional importance of the usually ice-free Port of Klaipėda at the mouth of the river Akmena-Danė  [ lt ] . Located in Lithuania Minor , and

6291-464: Is also used as the coat of arms of the Klaipėda city municipality . The modern version was created by the designer Kęstutis Mickevičius . The modern coat of arms was created by restoring old seals of the Memel city (analogous with those used in the years 1446, 1605 and 1618). It was affirmed on 1 July 1992. A settlement of Baltic tribes in the territory of the present-day city is said to have existed in

6524-643: Is known to have stated: We find that the Memel Castle is built in the land of Samogitians. Neither Master , nor the Order was able to prove anything opposing. Nevertheless, no agreement was concluded and fighting continued until the Treaty of Melno in 1422 stabilized the border between the Teutonic Order and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for the next 501 years. However, two miles of Lithuanian territories, including Klaipėda,

6757-444: Is used for the development of young players and plays in the second-tier NKL . In 1963, the first basketball team from Vilnius, called Žalgiris, was formed. The following year it changed its name to Plastikas. In that same year, 1964, Plastikas players joined a new team, called Statyba . This name was used for over 30 years. Jonas Kazlauskas , Rimas Girskis , and then-head coach Rimantas Endrijaitis led Statyba to third place in

6990-467: The 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania , however soon World War II started and residents of Klaipėda were evacuated to Germany. In the aftermath of World War II almost all the new residents moved to Klaipėda from Lithuania, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine , replacing the former German-speaking population (after the war only six old residents remained in the city). Over the years the Lithuanian population in

7223-401: The 2015 NBA Summer League , also joined BC Neptūnas. Three times Polish league champion and experienced EuroLeague player Daniel Ewing became Neptūnas' main point guard on August 15, 2015. Neptūnas also signed multiple NCAA three-pointers record holder Travis Bader to strengthen the shooting guard position. On October 14, 2015, the new 2015–16 EuroCup season began with a loss to

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7456-554: The 2016–17 Basketball Champions League season with a close 67–65 away victory over Uşak Sportif . Neptūnas ended up as the second team in the group, with a 10–4 record and a first round playoff bye. In January, Tadas Klimavičius left after terminating his contract and signed with BC Vytautas . While the Klimavičius departure was not as significant, team star and leader Jimmy Baron signed with BC Lietuvos rytas in February, shocking both

7689-554: The ACB semifinals, and of one of four spots reserved for Spain, allowed Lietuvos rytas to take part in the 2007–08 EuroLeague as the ULEB Cup finalist. On 27 April 2007, Lietuvos rytas won their second consecutive BBL title; Kareem Rush was named the Final Four MVP . The LKL finals and LKF Cup finals were both unsuccessful, though, as Žalgiris Kaunas won both tournaments. Lietuvos rytas had

7922-532: The King Mindaugas Cup , Neptūnas dominated the group stage, and came close to eliminating future LKL finalists, BC Lietkabelis - Lietkabelis were the heavy favorites, but a narrow win in Klaipėda, 73-69, barely saved them from elimination as Neptūnas lead for most of the game in Panevėžys - where Lietkabelis had very few losses all season - before finishing the game with a 80-80 tie - the tie meaning Lietkabelis advancing on aggregrate, 153-149. Lietkabelis later went all

8155-620: The King Mindaugas Cup , while internationally in the FIBA Champions League since 2020–21 . Rytas have won two EuroCup titles, seven Lithuanian League titles, five LKF / King Mindaugas Cups and three Baltic championships . The team plays its domestic home games in the Jeep Arena and they share the ASG Arena with BC Wolves for their European home games. The club was founded in 1997 from another club, BC Statyba . Notable members of

8388-661: The King Mindaugas Cup . The loss was especially painful, because the final four of the tournament was held in Klaipėda. In the Champions League playoffs, Neptūnas suffered another heartbreak, losing the SIG Basket on aggregate 151:158, winning the first match at home 73:68, but losing a thriller at Strasbourg in overtime, 78:88. In the LKL, Neptūnas rebounded and defeated Lietuvos rytas 99:86 in Vilnius, thus showing signs of improved play. Neptūnas then signed center Jameel McKay , to help

8621-643: The Kingdom of Prussia was created and Prussian officials and intellectuals propagated a political direction which claimed that a new nation formed from Prussian Lithuanians ( Lietuvininkai ), Old Prussians, and German colonists. In the beginning of the 18th century 300,000 residents lived in the core of Lithuania Minor and up to 100% of peasant farms in the Klaipėda Region were Lithuanian, however cities in Lithuania Minor become centres of Germanisation , cultural assimilation , and colonization. In 1700–1721

8854-578: The LKL champions Žalgiris Kaunas that competed in the EuroLeague . Because the move to the 2,500-seat arena during the primary games was a failure, the club started playing many of their games at the Siemens Arena following an agreement with the arena which lasted until 2020. Billy Baron , Mike Moser, and Travis Leslie left, but Marcelo Nicola remained as the head coach. Due to the team's losing record at

9087-672: The Latvian Curonian language, it means mute, silent ( memelis, mimelis, mēms ), as a reference to peaceful flow of the Neman. This name was adopted by German speakers, and also was chosen for the new city founded further away at the lagoon. The name of the city in the Samogitian language is spelled slightly differently: Klaipieda . The most notable non-Lithuanian names include: Latvian : Klaipēda ; Polish : Kłajpeda ; Russian: Клайпеда ; German: Memel . The coat of arms of Klaipėda

9320-547: The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic . Klaipėda has remained within Lithuania since 1944. The city continues to experience sustained demographic decline due to flight towards the suburbs and other cities. The number of inhabitants of Klaipėda city shrank from 202,929 in 1989 to 162,360 in 2011, but the urban zone of Klaipėda expanded well into the suburbs, which sprang up around the city and surrounded it from three sides. These are partly integrated with

9553-578: The Neman and sieged the castle of Memel, while later he marched to other Prussian, Latvian, Estonian territories controlled by the Order, eventually forcing the Order to sue for a truce in October 1323. While planning a campaign against Samogitia , Memel's garrison of the Teutonic Order's Livonian branch was replaced with knights from the Prussian branch in 1328. Threats and attacks by Lithuanians greatly slowed down

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9786-708: The Polish kings (1466–1660), and they mostly moved to cities and towns. During the Second Northern War in 1656–1657, Lithuania Minor was damaged by Tatars detached from the Army of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . Following the Treaty of Oliva in 1660, Klaipėda become part of the Brandenburg-Prussia constituent state , which led to strengthened oppression of the locals of Lithuania Minor. In 1701

10019-689: The Prussian Law, all native citizens were initially called as Prussians, while only in the 16th century classification of the population by nationality began. In 1525–1818, Klaipėda was part of the Lithuanian Province (the term was used in state legal documents and Prussian monarchs decrees), which comprised the most Lithuanian territories of Lithuania Minor (the Klaipėda, Tilsit , Ragainė , Įsrūtis counties). There were few German colonists in Royal Prussia when Prussian monarchs were vassals of

10252-651: The Samogitia region, who also finished studies in the cities of Vilnius and Kaunas . There were young and prospective players, whose energy helped to reach better results in a period of two years, including 3rd place in Lithuanian Spartakiada; in 1981 and 1982 they became runners-up of newspaper Sport' s championship, and also in 1983 they became champions of the Soviet Union Professional Union championship. The Lithuanian Basketball Association

10485-472: The State of the Teutonic Order and Duchy of Prussia under the suzerainty of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , then the Kingdom of Prussia and German Empire , within which it was the northernmost big city until it was placed under French occupation in 1919. From 1923, the city was part of Lithuania until its annexation by Nazi Germany in 1939, and after World War II it was part of

10718-448: The State of the Teutonic Order , Old Prussians and Western Lithuanians were not allowed to engage in trade, crafts, and settle in cities. Thus, in the Duchy of Prussia , most of the cities' residents were Germans. Nevertheless, villages in Lithuania Minor were extensively inhabited by Lithuanians, and Klaipėda developed as one of the most important centres of Lithuania Minor. According to

10951-528: The Teutonic Order on Samogitia started. Vytautas the Great wanted the border to be the Neman River , while the Teutonic Order wanted to have Veliuona and Klaipėda in the right side of the river. Both sides agreed to accept the prospective solution of Emperor Sigismund 's representative Benedict Makrai on 1413. He decided that the right side of Nemunas ( Veliuona , Klaipėda) were to be owned by Lithuania. Makrai

11184-581: The Uprising of 1863–1864 part of the Lithuanian insurgents retreated to Lithuania Minor. In 1855 Vitė  [ lt ] was added to the city of Klaipėda, thus the number of population increased to over 17,000 and in 1875 reached ~20,000. Before World War I , the majority of Lithuanians in Königsberg Region (which included Klaipėda) integrated into the German nation. In March 1915 the population of Klaipėda

11417-522: The Valdas Vasylius winning shot 3 seconds away from over-time. This was the first EuroLeague game played in the Neptūnas home-court. On October 31, 2014, Neptūnas lost their third EuroLeague game only after OT 81–85 against one of the strongest tournament teams, Olympiacos Piraeus , two times EuroLeague champion over the past three years. Despite being competitive and cherishing a chance of qualifying for

11650-508: The Švyturys Arena being built in the city, the historical victories and achievements were yet to come. "It is sweet. Especially because of the way we achieved it. We were a young, talented, ambitious, but inconsistent team. Prienai ruined our feast in Klaipėda, so now we ruined their feast in Prienai. Prienai kindled hell at home, but we haven't heard it. We were pumped for basketball and it did not affect us." — Kazys Maksvytis , following

11883-406: The 13th century onwards, while Klaipėda is found in Lithuanian sources since the 15th century. The city was initially mentioned as Caloypede in the letter of Vytautas in 1413, and in negotiation documents from 1420, the city was named Klawppeda. In the Treaty of Melno of 1422, the city's name was listed as Cleupeda . According to Samogitian folk etymology , the name Klaipėda refers to

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12116-523: The 13th–15th centuries, Klaipėda was burned or ruined around 20 times. In the second half of the 15th century, the residents began to settle in a territory of the Klaipėda Old Town, which was on a peninsula of the right bank of the old Danė  [ lt ] . Soon, the reconstruction of the Klaipėda Castle began, and all residents moved to the peninsula. The development of Klaipėda

12349-511: The 16th century. Memel prospered during the second half of the 18th century by exporting timber to Great Britain for use by the Royal Navy . In 1792, 756 British ships visited the town to transport lumber from forests near Memel. In 1800, its imports consisted chiefly of salt, iron and herrings; the exports, which greatly exceeded the imports, were corn, hemp, flax, and, particularly, timber. The 1815 Encyclopædia Britannica stated that Memel

12582-807: The 1970s and 1980s, such as the introduction of the Sea Festival cultural tradition, where thousands of people come to celebrate from all over the country. Based on the Pedagogical University of Šiauliai and the National Conservatory of Lithuania in Klaipėda, the University of Klaipėda was established in 1991. Klaipėda is now the home of a bilingual German-Lithuanian institution, the Hermann-Sudermann -Schule , as well as an English-language University, LCC International University. In 2014 Klaipėda

12815-418: The 1979 Soviet Union Championship . Three years later, Šarūnas Marčiulionis joined the team and became its leader. In 1987, Artūras Karnišovas joined the team at the age of 16. In 1994, Statyba won bronze medals in their first LKL season. In 1995, Lietuvos rytas began sponsoring Sūduva Marijampolė , a basketball club from Marijampolė , Lithuania. The partnership lasted for two seasons, during which

13048-417: The 1995–1996 LKL season, Neptūnas progressed even further. With Svajūnas Airošius, Aloyzas Vasiliūnas, and Artūras Jakubauskas averaging double-digits in points and Eurelijus Žukauskas often adding solid double-doubles , the team qualified into the LKL playoffs for the first time with 17 victories as the 7th seed. But they were eliminated by the Lithuanian powerhouse Žalgiris Kaunas 0–2, after failing to guard

13281-403: The 2008–2009 LKL season finished almost identically when the club finished as the 5th seed, however the playoffs were drastically different. Neptūnas overcame the LKL quarter-final for the second time in history, beating Nevėžis 2–1. And after losing the semi-final to Žalgiris 0–2, Neptūnas returned to the bronze final for another try where they yet again faced a long-term rival BC Šiauliai. Despite

13514-612: The 2020–21 season, Neptūnas participated in the 2020–21 Basketball Champions League season Qualification Group D, where it defeated the London Lions 77–73 in the semi-finals, however the team failed to qualify to the regular season after losing the qualification final to the BC Tsmoki-Minsk 69–59, and played only in the Lithuanian League. In the LKL, Neptūnas became the surprise team of the year. Under coach Tomas Gaidamavičius ,

13747-581: The Basketball Champions League, Neptūnas defeated Happy Casa Brindisi 81–71 in the home opener. In the second game, Neptūnas faced JDA Dijon , also at home - despite the best efforts from Neptūnas, JDA Dijon took a huge lead at halftime, and won the game 89–75. Tied at 1-1, Neptūnas won the first away game of the tournament, beating PAOK 94–72 in Thessaloniki. Neptūnas then defeated Casademont Zaragoza 91–73 at home. Neptūnas lost to Telekom Baskets Bonn , 85–97, in an away game. Neptūnas finished

13980-547: The EuroCup Top 16 phase with a 3–5 record. After failing to progress into the EuroCup Playoffs, the club announced addition of guard Jimmy Baron from local rivals Neptūnas Klaipėda. On 10 February, Tomas Pačėsas was replaced by Rimas Kurtinaitis , who had coached Rytas to most of its titles previously. Under coach Kurtinaitis, Rytas defeated Pieno žvaigždės Pasvalys in the quarterfinals 3–0, but lost to Lietkabelis 1–3 in

14213-594: The Eurocup was a huge success for Rytas. In Bilbao, Rytas avenged their loss by defeating Bilbao Basket 96–79 led by Chris Kramer, who scored 27 points, and became the Week MVP. A home win against Partizan Belgrade followed, 93–75. Rytas lost to Lokomotiv Kuban 77–68 in an away game. Many changes occurred to the team at the same time. Marc Antonio Carter and power forward Robert Carter were released, and replaced by Mindaugas Girdžiūnas and Arnas Butkevičius , leaders from rivals Neptūnas Klaipėda, and Egidijus Mockevičius returned from injury. These changes helped, as Rytas won

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14446-410: The Eurocup, signed in August. D. J. Seeley replaced Rokas Giedraitis, who left to sign with Alba Berlin. Rytas also signed point guard Matt Farrell , scoring leader from the University of Notre Dame , but he was released just before the season for reported personal reasons. Talented young players Deividas Sirvydis and Marek Blaževič were signed to long-term deals. Norbertas Giga , former member of

14679-436: The Euroleague." — Kazys Maksvytis , after losing the club's first LKL final series 2–4. The 2013–14 season was not less memorable for Neptūnas. During the regular season, Neptūnas defeated LKL champion and constant EuroLeague participant Žalgiris Kaunas several times, with the results 81–73 at Švyturys Arena and 79–88 at Žalgiris Arena . In the regular LKL season Neptūnas took third place and met Šiauliai in

14912-521: The European USSR. Shipyards , dockyards , and a fishing port were constructed. Subsequently, by the end of 1959, the population of the city had doubled its pre-war population, and by 1989 there were 202,900 inhabitants. Initially the Russian-speakers dominated local government in the city, but after the death of Joseph Stalin , more people came to the city from the rest of Lithuania than from other Soviet republics and oblasts; Lithuanians then became its major ethnic group. Among Lithuanian cities with

15145-400: The FIBA Basketball Champions League instead of the EuroCup . On July 10, Neptūnas re-signed with the efficient center Jerai Grant for another season. On July 27, Larry Drew II , son of the prominent NBA player and coach Larry Drew , joined the team to replace Daniel Ewing who left the team. On August 4, former Lithuania men's national basketball team member Tadas Klimavičius signed

15378-430: The FIBA Champions Cup regional stage (though losing to Hemofarm Vršac in the final stage). The team also debuted in the ULEB Cup, getting to the quarterfinals but losing to Hapoel Jerusalem. After not winning any titles in the past two seasons, Lietuvos rytas recruited Vlade Đurović as a new coach. Midway through the season, Frederick House , the team leader, suffered a season-ending injury. Đurović later resigned and

15611-421: The LKL Finals after a one-year break. However, they decisively lost to Žalgiris Kaunas in the final. "I don't know how they got this information, but they tried to lure me. <...> Vilnius. Family. Challenge. Beloved team. BC Lietuvos rytas had more levers at his side." — Antanas Kavaliauskas , describing his "Loyalty..." message in Twitter , which he wrote after rejecting the identical contract from

15844-548: The LKL and BBL finals, losing to Žalgiris Kaunas . Before the 2005–06 season, Neven Spahija became the head coach of the team. After losing their first two matches, Lietuvos rytas matched the EuroLeague record by winning seven consecutive EuroLeague fixtures, defeating as FC Barcelona , champions Maccabi Tel Aviv (twice) and Efes Pilsen Istanbul. Those wins allowed Rytas to advance to the Top 16 phase, where they won three times out of six, beating Tau Ceramica Vitoria once and Brose Baskets Bamberg twice. However, Lietuvos rytas

16077-450: The LKL final series with a result of 4–2. Despite a sufficiently successful LKL season, Neptūnas had tough times in international competitions. In the second-tier European league EuroCup Neptūnas won four games out of ten and after taking fifth place of sixth in the group did not qualify into the second stage. Neptūnas also participated in VTB United League , however there, after winning five of eighteen games, Neptūnas did not qualify into

16310-435: The LKL playoffs in a dominating fashion 88–60. Yet after Šiauliai's 88–73 revenge two days later, the series was lost 1–2. It was the last game for Eurelijus Žukauskas in a Neptūnas jersey, who, after averaging 15.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.1 blocks, joined Žalgiris and soon became a EuroLeague champion and a multiple medalist with the Lithuania men's national basketball team . Another Neptūnas leader Artūras Jakubauskas left

16543-448: The LKL standings. However, financial problems surfaced - Neptūnas was badly beaten in the Champions League by defending league champion Iberostar Tenerife 67:90, and lost team leaders Mindaugas Girdžiūnas and Arnas Butkevičius , who left the team to sign with Lietuvos rytas. On December 14, 2017, team manager Artūras Žalys was fired and was replaced by a prominent Lithuanian basketball agent Virginijus Bulotas. This proved to be false, as

16776-420: The LKL standings. On November 3, Neptūnas picked up another shocking away win, beating rivals BC Rytas in Vilnius, 78:66. The seven game win streak ended on November 18, in a home defeat against BC Rytas, 78:93, also losing the 1st place in the standings to Žalgiris. Neptūnas recovered from the loss by crushing rival BC Lietkabelis 100:76 in Panevėžys, tying Rytas for second place in the standings. On January 6,

17009-502: The LKL, and in February, with an 11–9 record and 5th place in the standings, and an early exit in the Champions League also, replaced coach Rinkevičius with assistant Jurica Žuža . Under Žuža, Neptūnas qualified for the King Mindaugas Cup , by beating BC Dzūkija 92:89 away and 73:72 at home, avenging the loss in 2018, and qualifying for the Final Four tournament, held on Neptūnas homecourt Švyturio Arena . Despite promising statements from

17242-501: The LKL, thanks to very solid play from leader Deividas Gailius , finishing 3rd and winning the bronze medals for the first time in club history, in a competitive series against BC Prienai , winning 3–2. "Now we are loading our suitcases and are going back to Klaipėda, but not quietly, we are going there with a cup and raised heads. I think the fans were satisfied with the final series. <...> I hope that Klaipėda's team will climb higher step by step. <...> I think we can play in

17475-491: The Lithuanian Foreign Minister on 20 March 1939, demanding the surrender of Klaipėda. Lithuania, unable to secure international support for its cause, submitted to the ultimatum and, in exchange for the right to use the new harbour facilities as a Free Port, ceded the disputed region to Germany in the late evening of 22 March 1939. Adolf Hitler visited the harbour and delivered a speech to the city residents. This

17708-687: The Lithuanian language, culture, education were often met with resistance from the locals. In 1932, a conflict between the Parliament and the Directorate had to be resolved by the Permanent Court of International Justice . In 1934–1935, the Lithuanians attempted to combat increasing Nazi influence in the region by arresting and prosecuting over 120 Nazi activists for the alleged plot to organize an anti-Lithuanian rebellion. Despite these rather harsh sentences,

17941-440: The Lithuanian star and Olympic champion Rimas Kurtinaitis , who averaged 25.5 points over these games. Neptūnas continued to show progress in the 1996–1997 season, qualifying for the LKL playoffs again by accomplishing a solid 19–17 record, the first with over 50% victories ratio in the club's LKL history. Despite losing the first series game versus BC Šiauliai 80–69, on April 4, 1997, Neptūnas achieved their first-ever victory in

18174-879: The Lithuanians decided to stage the Klaipėda Revolt , take the region by force, and present the Entente with a fait accompli . The revolt was carried out in January 1923 while western Europe was distracted by the occupation of the Ruhr . The Germans tacitly supported the action, while the French offered only limited resistance. The revolt was supported by the Chief Rescue Committee of Lithuania Minor, chaired by Prussian Lithuanian Martynas Jankus , which operated since 22 December 1922 with its centre in Klaipėda. The League of Nations protested

18407-543: The NBA Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena 126–106. Head coach Antanas Sireika resigned and was replaced by Rimas Kurtinaitis , a former Lietuvos rytas player, for the second half of the season. Rytas successfully advanced to the Final 8. Chuck Eidson was named the regular season MVP. After victories against Benetton Treviso and Hemofarm Vršac, Rytas was considered an underdog against BC Khimki of Russia in

18640-464: The Olimpia Milano, he was replaced by Egidijus Mockevičius , who signed a three-year deal with the team on 30 September. However, Mockevičius was unable to play due to injury. In the LKL regular season, Rytas played its best season since 2015. Wins over rivals Neptūnas Klaipėda and Lietkabelis Panevėžys helped Rytas reach second place in the standings, behind Žalgiris Kaunas, with whom Rytas tied in

18873-602: The Prussian Lithuanians population was dramatically decreased in Klaipėda and other Lithuanian counties by the Great Northern War plague outbreak which killed 160,000 (53%) of residents in Lithuania Minor (more than 90% of the deceased were Prussian Lithuanians). Following it, the Prussian authorities organized a large-scale German colonization of Lithuania Minor. The colonists received various privileges, however they constituted for only 13.4% of residents and quite

19106-493: The Rytas system, returned in October. Kramer, who resigned in the summer, was named the new team captain. Rytas won the first game of the season, beating Juventus Utena, 87–57, in the start of the LKL. During the season, Rytas struggled against rivals Žalgiris , Lietkabelis and Neptūnas , which led to Rytas finishing third in the regular season with a 26–10 record, worst regular season finish in club history. Rytas faced Juventus in

19339-577: The TOP16 stage, Neptūnas failed to accomplish this in their debut EuroLeague season, winning 4 games of 10 total and taking 5th place in the group. It was just one step from the TOP16's qualifier Galatasaray , who also finished with a 4–10 record. As a result, Neptūnas was transferred to the EuroCup Last 32 stage. The EuroCup was just a terrible place for Neptūnas. There they won only once against Paris-Levallois Basket , suffered five defeats and took last place in

19572-543: The Top 16 stage with a 5–5 record. Seeley, Sutton (who was released in February) and Bendžius were the team leaders. Martynas Echodas was named the EuroCup Basketball Rising Star . In the Top 16 stage, now joined by Stipčević and Artsiom Parakhouski , Rytas struggled against Alba Berlin , which was led by former Rytas player Rokas Giedraitis , but wins over KK Partizan and AS Monaco helped them qualify for

19805-629: The Top 16 stage, and lost the LKF Cup final to Žalgiris Kaunas. Playing in the Group E in EuroLeague, Lietuvos rytas defeated Caja Laboral at home, Panathinaikos Athens and Unicaja Málaga on the road, finishing ninth, the highest achievement for the team in this tournament in club history. However, Rytas lost in the semifinals at the Baltic Basketball League, to VEF Rīga and finished in third place for

20038-479: The Top 16. Lietuvos rytas won the LKL trophy, beating Žalgiris Kaunas 4–3. It was the second consecutive LKL title for the Vilnius team. After the conclusion of the season, head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis left the club to be replaced by Dražen Anzulović . After an unsuccessful start of the 2010–11 EuroLeague , Dražen Anzulović was replaced by the team's former coach Aleksandar Trifunović, then Šarūnas Jasikevičius , and finally Simas Jasaitis. Rytas barely qualified for

20271-505: The VTB playoffs, with Donetsk defeating Rytas in the deciding game. Coach Maskoliūnas was fired and replaced by Dirk Bauermann . Rytas began to play much better, and in April scored an away win over Žalgiris Kaunas—the first in almost two years. Rytas made the LKL finals for the 15th time in a row. However, Žalgiris Kaunas easily swept Lietuvos rytas 4–0 in the final. Due to the unsuccessful past season,

20504-511: The Week MVP, helped Rytas win against Fiat Torino 101–68 at home. During the same game, however, Arnas Butkevičius suffered a broken hand, and was out for about five weeks. In the most important game of the EuroCup season for Rytas, they fell to Zenit 113–100 in an away game, losing any chance to qualify for the EuroCup playoffs. Coach Kurtinaitis and the team faced heavy criticism for the poor defence. In

20737-416: The away game against Ventspils 84:69 (Neptūnas had won at home 87:80 in the first round). Neptūnas suffered their first loss of the season at home against MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg 71:87 (Neptūnas lost the first round away game 83:95). In an away game against Gaziantep, Neptūnas were down by double digits for most of the game - but managed to force overtime, and lost 94:98 after coach Maksvytis got ejected. After

20970-492: The best of the new arrivals, brought Neptūnas back to LKL playoff contention, and having competitive matches against all top LKL teams. Neptūnas finished the regular season with a 16-17 record, and 7th place in the regular season. In the LKL quarterfinals, Neptūnas faced long time rivals and defending LKL champions BC Rytas - Rytas beat Neptūnas in a very tough, very competitive series, needing overtime to beat Neptūnas at home 107-99, and finishing Neptūnas 95-91 in Klaipėda, to win

21203-474: The boggy terrain of the town ( klaidyti =obstruct and pėda =foot). Most likely, the name is of Curonian origin and means "even ground"; it likely originates from a combination of "klais/klait" (flat, open, free) and "peda" (sole of the foot, ground), as a reference to relatively flat terrain of the original settlement's surroundings. The lower reaches of the river Neman were named either * Mēmele or * Mēmela by Scalovians and local Curonian inhabitants. In

21436-482: The bronze final last season, Neptūnas did not automatically qualify into the EuroCup . But on June 29, 2015, they received the wild card to the tournament. For the first time in history, three Lithuanian basketball clubs were invited to participate in the second-tier European league. Krasta Auto (authorized BMW dealer in Lithuania ) became one of the club sponsors, giving brand-new cars for the club members. Neptūnas began

21669-535: The cathedral also did not have much effect on the town's religious life in long-term as bishop Edmund von Werth  [ de ] waived his rights to the cathedral in 1298. Eventually, the cathedral was moved to Windau . BC Lietuvos rytas Rytas Vilnius is a professional basketball club based in Vilnius , Lithuania . They compete domestically in the Lithuanian Basketball League and

21902-518: The city (city bus lines, city water supply, etc.), and the majority of inhabitants of these suburbs work in Klaipėda. According to data from the Department of Statistics, there are 212,302 permanent inhabitants (as of 2020) in the Klaipėda city and Klaipėda district municipalities combined. Popular seaside resorts found close to Klaipėda are Neringa to the south on the Curonian Spit and Palanga to

22135-435: The city continued to grow and constituted: 55.2% in 1959, 60.9% in 1970, 61.5% in 1979, 63.0% in 1989, 71.3% in 2001, 73.9% in 2011. As of 2020 , the population of Klaipėda was 154,332. The latest data shows that there are more women in the city: females make up 54.89% (84,717), males make up 45.11% (69,615). In 2022, Lithuanians constituted 80% of the population in Klaipėda. The first church (possibly chapel) dedicated to

22368-433: The club (twenty-five percent each). On 20 June Gedvydas Vainauskas resigned as president of Rytas a position he held since the founding of the club in 1997, just a week after receiving an award from LKL president Remigijus Milašius for his contributions to basketball. Shortly after becoming the new owner of the club, Guoga sparked discussions about changing the club's name and invited the public to offer their ideas since

22601-431: The club include Šarūnas Marčiulionis , 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 , Deividas Sirvydis , Rokas Giedraitis , Artūras Gudaitis , Ąžuolas Tubelis . The team's farm club Rytas-2

22834-453: The club's first triumph in the LKL bronze final. 2012 was a memorable year for Neptūnas as they were invited to VTB United League , despite the fact that they only took 6th place in LKL the previous season. Club director Osvaldas Kurauskas said that they are not going to be group outsiders and that they will raise the club's budget for the next season. Neptūnas debuted in VTB United League on October 7, 2012, against CSKA Moscow . Despite

23067-447: The club. Despite positive changes in the club, rifts between the new owners started to emerge after it announced a sponsorship agreement with Lithuanian business consortium MG Baltic . Club president Antanas Guoga condemned the partnership and demanded an annulment of it and the resignation of CEO Darius Gudelis. Despite his wishes the other shareholders decided against these actions and openly questioned Guoga's financial commitment to

23300-420: The club. Finally on 24 October, the club announced that Guoga had sold his share in the club to Gudelis and had written off €300,000 that he had previously loaned the club. On 9 October 2018, however, it was revealed Guoga was still the team's president. Gudelis resigned on 15 November, after a controversy involving Blanco. Executive director Julius Serapinas was named as his replacement. On 7 June 2019, Serapinas

23533-458: The club. Their first task was to assist Rimas Kurtinaitis to bring together a new team roster. On 13 July, a press conference was held during which it was announced that Kleiza had also become a shareholder of the club buying part of the Guoga's stake. He was named vice-president of the club and would act as sports director. Limited liability company Norvelita and Perlas also became shareholders of

23766-530: The coach – he gives us directions, but you need to have 12 soldiers, pit bulls who would follow these. These guys are special and deserve the victory." — Rok Stipčević , following the Rytas triumph in the 2019 Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė Final Four. The preparation for the season began in June, during the semifinal series, with controversial rumors that Lithuanian national basketball team, and former Rytas head coach Dainius Adomaitis would replace coach Kurtinaitis at

23999-414: The competition, Gilvydas Biruta was replaced with Angus Brandt . In LKL , Neptūnas finished the regular season with a third seed and a 19–17 record. Švyturys Arena had the most spectators in the LKL for a second straight season, this time with 3,474 per game. In the quarter-final, Neptūnas eliminated BC Šiauliai 3–1. The semi-final series versus Lietuvos rytas Vilnius was one of the most dramatic in

24232-498: The conclusion of the season, Tyrese Rice , Lawrence Roberts , Aleksandar Rašić and Jonas Valančiūnas left the team. Players like Nemanja Nedović were expected to be the future of the team. However, the season was not very successful. Rytas lost the Lithuanian Supercup to Žalgiris Kaunas. After struggling in the opening months, Lietuvos rytas fired coach Aleksandar Džikić , promoting Darius Maskoliūnas as head coach. Though

24465-574: The defendants in the Neumann–Sass case were soon released under pressure from Nazi Germany. The extensive autonomy guaranteed by the Klaipėda Convention prevented Lithuania from blocking the growing pro-German attitudes in the region. As tensions in pre-war Europe continued to grow, it was expected that Germany would make a move against Lithuania to reacquire the region. German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop delivered an ultimatum to

24698-566: The development of Memel. From 1629 to 1635, the town was occupied by Sweden over several periods during the Polish-Swedish War of 1626–1629 . After the Treaty of Königsberg in 1656 during the Northern Wars , Elector Frederick William opened Memel's harbor to Sweden, with whom the harbor's revenue was divided. Sovereignty of the margraves of Brandenburg over the region was affirmed in the Treaty of Oliva in 1660. The construction of

24931-409: The efforts of Week MVP Rokas Giedraitis, who scored 28 points, and Loukas Mavrokefalidis, 26 points. An injury to Chris Kramer hurt the team. Rytas then lost a home game to PBC Lokomotiv Kuban 93–85 in overtime, as well as an away game to Alba Berlin 93–86. The team faced a lot of criticism for poor defence. With Kramer back in the lineup, Rytas defeated Limoges CSP at home, 92–76. The second round of

25164-515: The end of the season. While the team denied the rumors, after losing the LKL finals to Žalgiris Kaunas, Adomaitis was named the team's new head coach. Former Rytas players, and current members of the national team, Eimantas Bendžius and Evaldas Kairys , were the first additions, signing in July. Dominique Sutton , formerly of Dolomiti Energia Trento , and one of the best players in both the Italian league and

25397-463: The fans. In the second game, Neptūnas desperately needed the win, to take the series back to Klaipėda - in a tension filled match, where team captain Galdikas even received an ejection, Neptūnas started poorly, with Rytas taking a huge lead at halftime. By the end, Neptūnas was only able to cut down the deficit – 70:83 and a very disappointing 0:2 loss. In the 3rd place series, Neptūnas faced Lietkabelis, in

25630-479: The final home game in the EuroCup, Rytas lost to Bayern Munich 87–85, another poor defensive showing, and finished with a 1–5 record and last place in Top 16 group F. "I want to underline that this team is special. I began professionally playing basketball when I was seventeen, I have won the Croatian championship and cup twice. I played in the Italian final, however this team is something different. I have to begin from

25863-534: The final. However, the performances of Steponas Babrauskas and Marijonas Petravičius led the team to victory. Rytas became the first team to reclaim the EuroCup title; Marijonas Petravičius was selected the Final 8 MVP. Lietuvos rytas was also successful in matches against arch rival Žalgiris Kaunas. It won the 2009 LKF Cup . Lietuvois rytas also won the Baltic Basketball League final game over Žalgiris Kaunas, 97–74. Chuck Eidson scored 41 points, and he

26096-552: The finals, Rytas faced rival Žalgiris Kaunas, who were having a successful season in the Euroleague. Coming off two wins against Žalgiris Kaunas in the LKL, Rytas lead in the first half, before Žalgiris Kaunas recovered in the second, dominating the game and beating Rytas 81–62 in the finals. In the 2017–18 EuroCup Basketball season, Rytas lost at home to Bilbao Basket 93–83 in the opener. The next week, Rytas won their first game by defeating Partizan Belgrade 91–80 in Belgrade thanks to

26329-506: The firing of coach Aleksandar Petrović, who was replaced by Dainius Adomaitis . In the LKL playoffs, Lietuvos rytas did not qualify to the LKL Finals for the second time in club history; Žalgiris won the series 2–1. The disastrous season continued for Rytas in the VTB playoffs, where they lost a chance to play in the 2014–15 EuroLeague season. This was the team's worst season since 1998–99. Renaldas Seibutis, Omar Cook and Darius Songaila left

26562-483: The first game of the new year, Neptūnas shocked Žalgiris again, this time winning a double overtime thriller at home, 98:93. This win helped Neptūnas retain the second place over Rytas in the standings. A shocking loss to BC Pieno žvaigždės at home, 77:80, lead to Neptūnas giving the spot up to Rytas. Neptūnas returned to the second place the next week, after Rytas suffered a loss themselves. On March 3, Neptūnas shocked Žalgiris again, with an 81:71 win at home, and becoming

26795-414: The first game, 96–83, in Kaunas. In the second game, Rytas won 82–73 in Vilnius, led by Mavrokefalidis scoring 22 points and Ben Madgen with 19, and tied the series at 1–1. This win marked the first win by Rytas in the LKL finals since 2011. In Kaunas, Žalgiris Kaunas won the game 90–80 and took a 2–1 series lead. Back in Vilnius, Rytas led for much of the first half but lost 82–78, with Žalgiris Kaunas taking

27028-538: The first round with a home win over Beşiktaş J.K. 86–80, and an away loss to Falco KC , 73–97, tied for 3rd place with a 4–3 record. The second round, however, ended up with failure - Neptūnas suffered away losses to both Brindisi and JDA Dijon, 82:96 and 71:92, a very painful home loss to PAOK 80:86, and lost to Casademonet Zaragoza, 70:86, losing 5 consecutive games for the first time in the competition. While Neptūnas defeated Telekom Baskets 93:68 at home, an away loss to Beşiktaş, 69:76, ended any hope for Neptūnas to reach

27261-476: The first round, Neptūnas suffered one of the worst losses in European competitions, losing to Medi Bayreuth 78:102 in an away loss, finishing with a 3–4 record. Neptūnas recovered at the start of the second round, handing Virtus their first loss in the competition with an 88:85 home win. In Istanbul, Neptūnas lost to Beşiktaş 70:77. Another heartbreaking loss to Oostende, this time at home, 77:79, plummeted Neptūnas to

27494-548: The first team in since 2014 to beat Žalgiris in a season series. The win helped Neptūnas retain second place in the standings over Rytas. On March 30, however, after a very poor fourth quarter, Neptūnas lost to Rytas in Vilnius, 52:70, and lost the second place to Rytas. On April 11, Neptūnas picked up a dominating home win over Rytas, 89:74, continuing the battle for second place. An 8-game win streak followed, and even after an 80:90 loss to Žalgiris on May 9 snapped it, Neptūnas had already secured second place and homecourt advantage in

27727-416: The first time in club history. Head coach Trifunović was fired and replaced by assistant coach Darius Maskoliūnas . The team's game improved, but Rytas still lost the LKL finals to Žalgiris. After dismissing Milko Bjelica , Kenan Bajramović , D. J. Strawberry , Cemal Nalga and losing team leader Martynas Gecevičius , Lietuvos rytas replaced eight players. In EuroLeague's qualification tournament, which

27960-488: The following 2005–2006 season, finishing 6th during the regular LKL season and, as previously, lost the first round of the LKL playoffs to BC Šiauliai 0–2 and finished only 10th in the BBL, with the only consolations being the club's fourth LKL Three-point Shootout title captured by Marius Kasiulevičius and the club's first-ever LKL Slam Dunk Contest champion title by Antonio Grant. In the 2006–2007 season, Neptūnas finished 3rd during

28193-502: The fortress as a base for further campaigns along the river Neman and against Samogitia . Memel was unsuccessfully besieged by Sambians in 1255, and the Sambians surrendered on 1259. Memel was also colonized by settlers from Holstein , Lübeck and Dortmund . Hence, Memel also being known at the time as Neu-Dortmund , or "New Dortmund". It became the main town of the Diocese of Curonia, with

28426-460: The game had improved, thanks to Leon Radošević , Renaldas Seibutis and Nemanja Nedović, the EuroLeague season was finished with a 2–8 record. The team did not fare much better in the VTB United League. After Leon Radošević and Predrag Samardžiski were released, Rytas signed Milt Palacio , Tomislav Zubčić and Patrick O'Bryant . The rookies were not much help, however, and Rytas still missed

28659-500: The group and advanced into the sixteenth-finals. They were stopped at that stage by Darüşşafaka , losing the series 0–2. Neptūnas also returned to the LKL playoffs that season after finishing 5th during the regular season. They were eliminated by BC Šiauliai yet again, this time 1–2. After the season, Arvydas Macijauskas signed with the Lietuvos rytas Vilnius . During the 1999–2000 FIBA Korać Cup season, Neptūnas had less fortune than in

28892-540: The group. A promising season in international competitions was finished painfully. On February 20–22, Neptūnas participated in the 2015 LKF Cup . They surprisingly lost the quarter-finals game to Šiauliai 71–73 and ended the appearance in competition early. Neptūnas recovered in the LKL, playing very solidly, even splitting the season series with Žalgiris. They defeated the Lithuanian powerhouse twice in two weeks: 67–65 in Klaipėda and 90–86 in Kaunas. Deividas Gailius led Neptūnas during these two games. But they took only

29125-546: The historical Statyba Vilnius, Darius Gudelis replaced Martynas Purlys as the club's director, and it was decided that the club's name Lietuvos rytas would be changed within a year with the most likely, but not yet final, choice being Rytas. Guoga also told the media it was very likely that at least two Lithuanian basketball stars will participate on the team, in addition to Jonas Valančiūnas, Linas Kleiza and Arvydas Macijauskas. On 4 July, Gudelis announced that former assistant coach Alberto Blanco and Linas Kleiza were joining

29358-442: The intense series 3–2, and advanced into the LKL final just for a second time in club history. The final series was begun with an 83–72 loss to Žalgiris Kaunas . Just three days later, Neptūnas by surprise swept Žalgiris 76–54 to tie the series 1–1. In spite of that, later Neptūnas failed to compete in the series, losing the next three games by an average of 25 points and the series 1–4. On October 21, 2016, Neptūnas decided to choose

29591-436: The interseason, the 2006–07 ULEB Cup season was rather successful for Lietuvos rytas. Two coaches were replaced during the season: Sharon Drucker from Israel was replaced by Slovenian Zmago Sagadin and the latter by his assistant coach Aleksandar Trifunović from Serbia . NBA player Kareem Rush arrived to lead the team to the ULEB Cup final where Real Madrid defeated Lietuvos rytas. However, Real Madrid's victory at

29824-593: The last match of the regular season versus the AEK , Neptūnas was even able to guarantee the first place in the group, but after dissipating a 16-point advantage in the third quarter, lost it 75–71 and finished second. Just before the start of the EuroCup's Last 32 stage, Trent Plaisted replaced Simas Galdikas . Despite a very successful first stage, the Last 32 phase began with a desperate loss to Aris 84–58 in Thessaloniki . However,

30057-412: The lead in the fourth quarter winning the game 74–70, and forcing the deciding match in Vilnius by tying the series 2–2. In the deciding fifth game Rytas defeated Neptūnas 88–82, winning the series 3–2. The win marked the first trip to the LKL finals since 2015. In the LKL finals, Rytas faced Žalgiris Kaunas, playing the best season since 1999 and coming off a third-place finish in the Euroleague. Rytas lost

30290-467: The league's history. Neptūnas began it by shocking Rytas in their home arena with an 83–71 victory. Afterwards, the team also secured their home court in Game 2, winning 70–68. The fate of the historic series was to be determined in Game 5, following two dramatic Rytas victories: 66–64 and 74–73. During Game 5, Daniel Ewing led Neptūnas to another stunning upset of the Lithuanian powerhouse 73–72, surprisingly won

30523-514: The least amount of precipitation occurs in April, with an average of 41 mm. Parks: Forests: Klaipėda was established as an outpost dedicated for German crusaders . Initially, Klaipėda developed slowly. In the 13th century, it was often attacked by the Sambians and Samogitians , and in the middle of the 15th century, it was attacked by the Gdańskians (for trading reasons). Consequently, in

30756-465: The man that wanted to hire Bulotas, Artūras Jakubauskas, was fired and was replaced by Giedrius Vasilkevičius. Sigitas Ambrazevičius became the new team owner. After some more bad news - Palacios leaving for Beşiktaş J.K. , some good news arrived - Neptūnas signed Vytautas Šulskis and new point guard Brandon Fields, who replaced the departed Girdžiūnas. In the second round of the Champions League, Neptūnas struggled - they lost to Élan Chalon 81:86, but won

30989-501: The management and coach Žuža, the tournament ended with Neptūnas finishing in a disappointing 4th place, suffering a blowout loss in the semifinals to BC Rytas 71:96, and a loss in the 3rd place game to BC Lietkabelis , 73:84. Coach Žuža was then replaced by the coach of the reserve team Neptūnas-Akvaservis , Tomas Gaidamavičius . Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the LKL season was ended prematurely, with Neptūnas finishing in 4th place. In

31222-407: The manager decided to almost completely rebuild the team: eight players left after the team lost the LKL finals to Žalgiris Kaunas, its rival. Former team leader Martynas Gecevičius was recalled after a two-season break and point guard Omar Cook was signed alongside Darius Songaila . This time, Rytas was successful—it won three games in a row and qualified for the EuroLeague. The season ended as

31455-453: The militant Neptūnas showed that they can fight against Žalgiris and won their first LKL final series game with a 71–59 score in crammed Švyturys Arena, however then Neptūnas lost three games to Žalgiris and almost lost all the chances of winning the series. In spite of that, Neptūnas did not give up and won the fifth series game with a score of 87–86, however they failed to do that again in the sixth series game and after being crushed 90–70, lost

31688-415: The militant efforts and the thirst for a long-awaited revenge, the series was lost 2–3 following another dramatic defeat of 73–80 in Šiauliai , with Valdas Vasylius and Arvydas Eitutavičius scoring more than half of the team's points (45). In the 2009–2010 LKL season, Neptūnas, led by a future team's manager Osvaldas Kurauskas, clinched the 5th spot during the regular season for a third straight year and

31921-510: The military garrison was built along with the Klaipėda Castle in 1252 and was consecrated after Mary, mother of Jesus , although it did not have as much effect for the townspeople, as well as the residents of surrounding villages. Initially, it was planned that Klaipėda would become centre of the Bishopric of Courland . Thus, before 1290, a St. Mary's Cathedral was built in the town and a six-members chapter settled down in 1290. Nevertheless,

32154-574: The most important game in the regular season, by defeating Alba Berlin 94–73 and avenging their first round loss. The win also helped Rytas qualify for the EuroCup Top 16. In the last game of the regular season, Rytas defeated Limoges CSP 71–69 in an away game, finishing second in the group C. In the Top 16, Rytas started by losing to B.C. Zenit Saint Petersburg at home, 98–96. After losing two more away games to Bayern Munich 81–68 and Fiat Torino 83–77, Rytas fell to an 0–3 record, its worst start in club history. A strong game by Martynas Echodas, who became

32387-699: The new owners did not want to continue the team's history and renamed it Statyba-Lietuvos rytas, then just Lietuvos rytas. The newspaper's investment helped the club to establish itself as one of the two best in Lithuania, the other being Žalgiris from the country's second-largest city Kaunas . During its first season, BC Rytas won a bronze medal in the LKL . In the following season, Rytas won LKL silver, losing to reigning EuroLeague champions Žalgiris Kaunas. The team also took second place in 1997 William Jones Cup . In 2000, Ramūnas Šiškauskas , Andrius Giedraitis and Eric Elliott , combined with Arvydas Macijauskas and Robertas Javtokas , managed to win LKL. The team

32620-450: The new point guards. Neptūnas then signed back Jerai Grant , who returned after a one-year absence, at center. Žalgiris loaned Neptūnas Gytis Masiulis , one of the team's top prospects, to get more playing time. Neptūnas also signed Osvaldas Olisevičius , the leader of BC Pieno žvaigždės , to a one-year deal. Kyle Weaver signed with Neptūnas in August. Neptūnas showed a lot of promise during

32853-464: The next day, Malcolm Armstead , known for his scoring ability, was signed. After a solid 5–1 LKL season start, including a 73–64 victory versus the reigning champions Žalgiris Kaunas , on October 10, 2017, Neptūnas successfully started the 2017–18 Basketball Champions League season with a last seconds 75–73 victory over the French League champions Élan Chalon . On October 25, 2017, Malcolm Armstead

33086-442: The next stage. Due to the questionable shape of the team, Virginijus Šeškus was fired as head coach. In the 2015 LKF Cup , they defeated Dzūkija Alytus and Šiauliai , but lost to Žalgiris Kaunas 82–76 at the finals. They then lost first game of the EuroCup playoffs against Pınar Karşıyaka after a decider. In LKL, Rytas entered the playoffs as the second seed team. They defeated Šiauliai and then Neptūnas 3–1, qualifying for

33319-497: The north. The Teutonic Knights built a castle in the *Pilsāts Land of the Curonians and named it Memelburg , which would later be shortened to Memel . From 1252 to 1923 and from 1939 to 1945, the town and city were officially named Memel . Between 1923 and 1939, both names were in official use . Since 1945, the Lithuanian name of Klaipėda has been used. The names Memelburg and Memel are found in most written sources from

33552-553: The onset of a long period of prosperity for the city and port. Klaipėda served as a port for neighbouring Lithuania, benefiting from its location near the mouth of the Neman, with wheat as a profitable export. The Duchy of Prussia was inherited by a relative, John Sigismund , the Hohenzollern prince-electors of the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1618. Brandenburg-Prussia began active participation in regional policy, which affected

33785-402: The opening game on May 29, 2017, in Vilnius 79–60, but winning 83–70 on June 1 in Klaipėda. Later the series continued in the same order with Lietuvos rytas defeating Neptūnas 71–54 for the second time in Vilnius on June 4, and Neptūnas doing the same 70–65 in Klaipėda on June 7 to force the Game 5 of the series. Neptūnas lost the series on June 10 in Vilnius after losing the crucial game 75–66 and

34018-460: The playoffs and took eighth place out of ten in the group. Following the best LKL season in club history, on June 25, 2014, Neptūnas was invited to join the prestigious EuroLeague as an LKL vice-champion for the 2014–15 season . Before their debut in the EuroLeague, Neptūnas recalled former team leader Deividas Gailius . Multiple LKL champion Donatas Zavackas and UBL champion Michailas Anisimovas were signed as well. However, Anisimovas left

34251-510: The playoffs for the third consecutive season, and finished 3rd in standings. In the playoffs, Neptūnas faced Hapoel Jerusalem , one of the top teams in the competition. In the first game at home, Neptūnas lost 74:86. In the rematch, Neptūnas lost 64:84, losing the series on aggregate 138:170. The third-place finish helped Neptūnas directly qualify for the 2019-20 Basketball Champions League . Coach Maksvytis, team leader Grant, Williams, Dambrauskas, Bieliauskas, Kisielius and Mikalauskas left during

34484-429: The playoffs, for the first time since joining the competition. Neptūnas finished the competition with a win at home over Falco KC, 87:83, finishing 6th with a 6–8 record. Neptūnas faced off with the financial difficulties when the rest of the 2019–20 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic , therefore the club formed its next season roster mostly from young Lithuanian players and had no foreign players. Starting

34717-437: The playoffs. Neptūnas finished with a 28–8 record. Neptūnas defeated SkyCop Prienai 2:1 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Neptūnas faced rivals Rytas. Having homecourt advantage for the first time, Neptūnas started the series at home – however, Neptūnas played the worst game of the season, with Rytas taking a lead at halftime, and increasing it by the end, taking a 75:46 win in Klaipėda, with Neptūnas even hearing boos from

34950-532: The powerful Galatasaray S.K. squad 90–94 in Klaipėda . The second game versus the Hapoel Jerusalem was not successful either, losing it 74–59. But afterwards the team began showing a very solid form. They won 6 of 7 games, including the noteworthy away games victories versus the BC Nizhny Novgorod 78–82 and Galatasaray S.K. 76–82, both of them being EuroLeague Top 16 participants last season . During

35183-408: The pre-season, winning a couple of tournaments. On January 14, 2019, Deividas Gailius returned to Neptūnas, signing for the rest of the season. On April 4, 2019, Weaver was released by Neptūnas. Neptūnas started the 2018–19 LKL season with a 100:76 home win over BC Nevėžis . On October 14, Neptūnas shocked champions BC Žalgiris with a dominating 75:60 win in Kaunas, and climbed to first place in

35416-456: The previous year. They were drawn into the group H, finished with just a 1–5 record, and after taking the 3rd spot in the group did not advance further. In the LKL, Neptūnas finished 8th and failed to challenge Žalgiris Kaunas in the first round of LKL playoffs, losing the series 0–2 with an average of 30 points difference. After the 1999–2000 season, Neptūnas became a constant LKL playoffs participant, though at first they were unable to overcome

35649-509: The primary faces of Lithuanian basketball. The 1998–1999 season was remarkably different as on October 6, 1998, Neptūnas debuted in the FIBA Korać Cup , their first European tournament during a game versus the Espoon Honka , which they lost 93–73. But afterwards the team, led by Svajūnas Airošius, Arūnas Seferis and Arvydas Macijauskas, finished with a 4–2 record, claimed the second place in

35882-467: The quarter-finals barrier. During the 2000–2001 LKL season, Neptūnas, led by one of the LKL's best scorer and playmaker Vidas Ginevičius (19.59 points, 4.32 assists per game), finished in a desired 3rd seed during the regular season, but was shockingly eliminated 0–2 by the Alita Alytus in the quarter-final. During the following 2001–2002 LKL season, Neptūnas triumphed just 10 times per 32 games, but that

36115-426: The quarter-finals, who they eliminated with a series result of 2–1. Neptūnas also won the semi-finals against Prienai TonyBet with a result of 2-0 and qualified to the LKL finals for the first time in club history. In the finals Neptūnas met previously defeated Žalgiris. Despite two former victories during the regular season, basketball experts were widely skeptical that Neptūnas could win any games there. Nevertheless,

36348-402: The quarterfinals 88–82, Neptūnas Klaipėda in the semifinals 97–79, and Žalgiris Kaunas in the final 67–57, the team won their first trophy following a five-season drought. The rest of the season, however, was a disaster. Rytas lost the first place in the LKL regular season to Žalgiris. After defeating Lietkabelis Panevėžys in the quarterfinal stage, Rytas lost the semifinal series to Neptūnas 3–2,

36581-510: The quarterfinals, winning the series in 2–1. In the semifinals, Rytas faced Neptūnas who, for the first time, had home court advantage, defeating them shockingly easily 2–0 and advancing to the LKL Finals. In the LKL Finals, Žalgiris easily swept Rytas 3–0. In the 2018–19 EuroCup Basketball season, Rytas played in group D, and struggled against top teams in the group, such as Unicaja Malaga , UNICS Kazan and Fraport Skyliners , but wins over KK Mornar and Fiat Torino helped Rytas qualify for

36814-521: The reforms of Karl Freiherr vom und zum Stein and Karl August von Hardenberg . The land around Memel suffered major economic setbacks under Napoleon Bonaparte 's Continental System . During Napoleon's retreat from Moscow after the failed invasion of Russia in 1812, General Yorck refused Marshal MacDonald 's orders to fortify Memel at Prussia's expense. During the January Uprising , in June 1863, Polish insurgents made an unsuccessful attempt at

37047-579: The region as early as the 7th century. The Balts initially established Klaipėda as a trading centre for the storage of goods and annual fairs with the Germans. In the 1240s, Pope Gregory IX offered King Håkon IV of Norway the opportunity to conquer the peninsula of Sambia . However, after Grand Duke Mindaugas of Lithuania , the Teutonic Knights and a group of crusaders from Lübeck moved into Sambia and accepted Christianity. These groups founded

37280-585: The regular LKL season and advanced to the TOP 5 teams of the league group, however Neptūnas was once again eliminated by BC Šiauliai in the knockout stage 1–2 and finished 5th in the final rankings. During the 2005 LKL All-Star Day, Petras Šalvis won the club's third LKL Three-point Shootout title. The team also participated in the Baltic Basketball League Elite Division for the first time as well, finishing 5th. Neptūnas slightly regressed again in

37513-534: The regular LKL season and were once more eliminated in the quarter-final, this time by BC Alytus 1–2. The first series game, which could have made the series completely opposite, was dramatically lost by just three points in Alytus . Moreover, Neptūnas disappointingly finished only 16th in the BBL Elite Division. This was the club's worst and the last appearance in the elite division of the league. The first part of

37746-479: The regular LKL season for the second time in the club's history. Furthermore, they also finally sailed through the quarter-final stage of the LKL playoffs by overcoming the Nevėžis Kėdainiai 2–0. But Neptūnas' journey was again stopped by Lietuvos rytas at semi-finals 0–2, and Neptūnas qualified for their first historical LKL bronze final. The aspiration for the first-ever LKL medal was crushed by gallingly losing

37979-442: The regular season series. In the LKL playoffs, Rytas defeated Juventus Utena 3–0 in the quarterfinals. Having signed Neptūnas leaders Girdžiūnas and Butkevičius, Rytas became the most hated team in Klaipėda, and the rivalry between the two teams intensified. Rytas tied the season series with Neptūnas 2–2 in the regular season, with a win in Klaipėda in April 90–72, the first since the 2016 season. This helped Rytas secure second place in

38212-453: The regular season, but yet again was smashed 0–2 in the quarter-final by BC Šiauliai , in spite of all of Tomas Delininkaitis 's efforts. In the 2003–2004 season, Neptūnas reached the all-time bottom by winning just 6 times per 36 games and finishing last in the league (10th), including an absolutely disastrous 22 game losing streak. The 2004–2005 season was a bit more positive page in the club's history. During it, Neptūnas finished 4th during

38445-410: The regular season. In the playoffs, Neptūnas also nearly upset the heavily favored Lietkabelis Panevėžys in the playoffs, and while getting swept in the playoffs, gave Neptūnas fans hope for the future. In the King Mindaugas Cup , Neptūnas also reached the semifinals. Before the 2021–2022 season, Neptūnas largely kept the same core as in the previous season, re-signed Deividas Gailius, and also signed

38678-441: The returning Edgaras Želionis , one of the best players for Neptūnas back in the 2017–2018 season. Neptūnas, having higher expectations for the season, expected to continue where they left off the previous season. However, the season began disastrously for Neptūnas. By December, Neptūnas was coming off a losing streak, which included many blow-out loses, and was out of playoff contention in the LKL. Needing changes, coach Gaidamavičius

38911-557: The revolt, but accepted the transfer in February 1923. The formal Klaipėda Convention was signed in Paris on 8 May 1924, securing extensive autonomy for the region. The annexation of the city had significant consequences for the Lithuanian economy and foreign relations. The region subsequently accounted for up to 30% of Lithuania's entire economic production. Between 70% and 80% of foreign trade passed through Klaipėda. The region, which represented only about 5% of Lithuania's territory, contained

39144-580: The runner-up in the Lithuanian Basketball League, the Baltic Basketball League and the Lithuanian Cup, losing each time to Žalgiris Kaunas. During the 2008–09 season, Lietuvos rytas, affected by the worldwide financial crisis , had a significantly lower budget and put a greater emphasis on prospective local players. Lietuvos rytas won the first Baltic Basketball Presidents Cup during this season. On 21 October 2008, Lietuvos rytas lost against

39377-534: The same day former head coach Kazys Maksvytis returned to the team, replacing the newly chosen Lithuania men's national basketball team head coach Dainius Adomaitis due to the difficulties to match two coaching positions. Edgaras Želionis became club's first player addition for the upcoming season on July 5, 2017. Afterwards, the team has signed two long-term Lithuania national team members Tomas Delininkaitis and Renaldas Seibutis . On July 27, 2017, Neptūnas reached an agreement with Laimonas Kisielius and signed

39610-472: The season started. Team veterans Gailius and Delininkaitis remained with the team. Neptūnas won the Vladas Garastas Cup , defeating BC Dnipro 75–63 in the finals, which also served as the club's 55 year anniversary tournament. Longtime captain Martynas Mažeika returned to the team in January. Neptūnas started off the 2019–20 LKL season by defeating BC Juventus 80–67 at home. Neptūnas struggled in

39843-477: The second half of the 18th century, Memel's lax customs and Riga 's high duties enticed English traders, who established the first industrial sawmills in the town. In 1784, 996 ships arrived in Memel, 500 of which were English. The specialisation in wood manufacturing guaranteed Memel's merchants income and stability for more than a hundred years. During this era, it also normalised its trade relations with Königsberg ; regional instability had degraded relations since

40076-499: The second time in club history. After all the turmoil all season long, the win helped the team finish the season on a high. After the season ended, Neptūnas entered the off-season with uncertainty. Team leaders Seibutis and Želionis departed, and players like Fields, Johnson, Šulskis and Kačinas were released. Coach Maksvytis remained with the team, and all the chaos with the management was sorted out. Neptūnas signed Paulius Dambrauskas and Lorenzo Williams from rival BC Lietkabelis, as

40309-401: The semi-final series 3–1 to Lietuvos rytas. And then Neptūnas suffered the biggest fiasco of the season. They shockingly lost to Juventus in the LKL bronze medals series 2–3, including an embarrassing defeat in the decisive game 69–84 in the home arena. Neptūnas had the highest attendance rate in all of LKL during this season (3,022 spectators per game). Following the lost LKL semi-final and

40542-447: The semifinals. This fiasco meant that Rytas did not qualify for the LKL finals for the second time in a row for the first time in the team's history. Rytas won their final game against Neptūnas Klaipėda 74–66 to take the bronze medal series 3–2, ending the season with a more positive note and avenging their 2016 loss to Neptūnas. The season ended with an international scandal for the team, however, as club president Gedvydas Vainauskas made

40775-421: The series 0–3 to BC Šiauliai, with two home games being lost by just three and two points. In BBL, the team finished 2 places lower than in the previous season (12th). Before the 2007–2008 season, Neptūnas signed with 19-year-old Deividas Gailius , who would soon lead Neptūnas during some of the club's most historic moments. However that season the team did not have much luck on the court. They ended up 5th during

41008-648: The series 2:0. In the King Mindaugas Cup , Neptūnas won the group stage over the newly established and heavily favored BC Wolves . However, in the quarterfinal stage, Neptūnas could not beat CBet Jonava , who beat Neptūnas both in Klaipėda 85-80, and in Jonava 76-75. Long time player Martynas Mažeika , whose number was retired by Neptūnas during the season, also returned to the team, this time as club director. Klaip%C4%97da Klaipėda ( / ˈ k l eɪ p ɛ d ə / CLAY -ped-ə ; Lithuanian: [ˈklˠɐɪ̯ˑpʲeːdˠɐ] ), historically also Memel ,

41241-403: The series 3–2, mostly because of two former Neptūnas players Jimmy Baron and Deividas Gailius who combined for more than a half of Rytas' points (39). A very promising season at the beginning ended on a very disappointing note. On June 28, 2017, it was announced that Neptūnas will compete in the 2017–18 Basketball Champions League season without participating in the qualifying tournament. On

41474-427: The series out to all five games, with Žalgiris winning 92-88 and 87-71 in Kaunas, and Neptūnas winning 70-68 and 87-78 in Klaipėda, and only in the deciding fifth game did Žalgiris finish off Neptūnas, 89-60 in Kaunas, to win the series 3–2. Gailius and Benas Griciūnas , along with the biggest surprise of the series, Nojus Mineikis , all shined during the series. After the season, Adomaitis once again left Neptūnas. In

41707-435: The series with an embarrassing 69:83 loss - Lietkabelis had led by 29 points at one point and only when young players like Matas Jucikas and Laurynas Beliauskas were in, did Neptūnas cut the deficit. Down 0:1 in the series, Neptūnas was down for much of the game in Panevėžys, including an 11-point deficit in the 2nd quarter, before coming from behind and winning the game 71:69, after a last second layup by Seibutis. The series

41940-604: The split between the FIBA and ULEB, Rytas played in the FIBA SuproLeague , making it to the quarterfinals, but losing to Anadolu Efes S.K. The team won third place in the NEBL . In the LKL finals, Žalgiris Kaunas defeated Lietuvos rytas in a tough five-game series 3–2. In 2002, Lietuvos rytas won the LKL again, this time in a seven-game final series with the last game decided in overtime. The team played without center Robertas Javtokas, who

42173-450: The standings. The two teams faced off in the LKL semifinals. In the first game in Vilnius, Rytas lost to Neptūnas 83–74. In the second game in Klaipėda, Rytas avenged the loss winning 67–49 and tying the series at 1–1. Rytas then won the third game at home, 74–67, to take a 2–1 series lead. In Klaipėda, with a chance to close out the series in the fourth game, Rytas took a 16-point lead in the first quarter. Neptūnas, however, came back and took

42406-537: The start of the 2015–16 EuroCup season Marcelo Nicola was fired. After a series of poor results under Aurimas Jasilionis, he too was replaced by Arvydas Gronskis, but Rytas did not qualify for the Last-32 stage. Tomas Pačėsas became the team's new head coach. On 17 January, Rytas achieved the season's first victory versus Žalgiris Kaunas 78–72. On 19–21 February, Rytas competed in the newly formed Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė tournament. After defeating Lietkabelis Panevėžys in

42639-604: The summer by losing former leader Deividas Gailius , who signed with Lietuvos rytas Vilnius . Gailius was replaced with one of the last season Juventus leaders Arvydas Šikšnius . Furthermore, former Juventus head coach Dainius Adomaitis signed a two-year deal with Neptūnas as well. Past Lithuania men's national basketball team head coach Kęstutis Kemzūra , Olympic champion Valdemaras Chomičius , Lithuania national team head coach assistant Darius Maskoliūnas and Gediminas Petrauskas were other solid candidates to replace Kazys Maksvytis . Neptūnas captain Martynas Mažeika signed

42872-541: The summer. Assistant coach Tomas Rinkevičius was named as Maksvytis replacement. Neptūnas signed Andre Williamson as the new center to replace Grant, while Darrin Dorsey was a replacement for Williams as the new point guard. Žygimantas Janavičius was also signed to strengthen the point guard position. Masiulis was loaned for one more season by Žalgiris, while another Euroleague team, Kirilobet Baskonia , loaned Tadas Sedekerskis for Neptūnas. Matas Jogėla signed just before

43105-557: The surrounding Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory) were detached from Germany and made a protectorate of the Entente States . The French became provisional administrators of the region until a more permanent solution could be worked out. Both Lithuania and Poland campaigned for their rights in the region. However, it seemed that the region would become a free city, similar to the Free City of Danzig . Not waiting for an unfavorable decision,

43338-429: The team - Daniel Ewing returned to Neptūnas from Israel, replacing Larry Drew at the point guard position, and Neptūnas also signed Chris Lofton to a deal, to replace Jimmy Baron. The changes did not help the team in the Champions League, ending with a loss on aggregate to MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in the quarterfinals 119:125 (61:73 away and 58:52 home). While the season was over in the Champions League, Neptūnas went on

43571-409: The team and its fans. On February 10, just one day after Baron's departure, the team released Drew and Johnson, after reported discipline violations. Club director and longtime former player Osvaldas Kurauskas was fired as well. The departures affected the team, who were easily defeated in the first round of the King Mindaugas Cup by BC Žalgiris 58:81. However, by the end of February, good news struck

43804-441: The team as well. Following the loss of two long-term leaders, the team failed to compete with the same form during the 1997–1998 LKL season. Neptūnas finished as the 8th seed during the regular season with a 6–12 record, but after an unsuccessful second round they finished just 9th among 10 teams. The only consolation of the season was notable progress demonstrated by an 18-year-old Arvydas Macijauskas , who would later become one of

44037-516: The team in the LKL. McKay, however, played poorly and was released in May. Neptūnas finished 3rd in the regular season in the LKL, and defeated BC Pieno žvaigždės 3:1 in the quarterfinals, including a dominating 101:64 win in the deciding game four in Pasvalys. Neptūnas faced rival BC Lietuvos rytas in the semifinal. After winning the first game 84:79 in Vilnius and taking the series lead, Neptūnas had one of

44270-462: The team no longer had connections with the Vainauskas' newspaper Lietuvos rytas. The idea was sharply criticised by the club's elite fans, group B Tribūna (Rytas Ultras), who said the only team they would support is black-white-red Rytas. On 21 June, the new owners organised a meeting, during which the first changes were announced. The public institution Krepšinio rytas was renamed to Statyba to honour

44503-508: The team shortly afterward without debuting in the EuroLeague due to the military crisis in Ukraine . On October 15, 2014, Neptūnas played their first EuroLeague game against the Laboral Kutxa , which they lost 69–88 despite playing more than two quarters point-to-point. On October 23, 2014, Neptūnas achieved the club's first EuroLeague victory against KK Crvena zvezda with a score of 83–81 after

44736-572: The team then created a feast in Klaipėda, defeating Alba Berlin 73–65. Following it, Neptūnas suffered two close defeats to the Italian powerhouse EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (79–71 in Milan and 73–74 in Klaipėda). The pleasant 72–68 rematch with Aris left the Neptūnas hopes for the playoffs alive, though it vanished after losing to Alba 62–76 in Berlin and finishing with a 2–4 record in the second round. "It's been

44969-416: The team was known as Lietuvos rytas Marijampolė and played in the second-tier Lithuanian league, the LKAL . A notable player for the team was teenager Darius Songaila . However, after the 1996–97 season the partnership ended. At the same time, Statyba was faced with financial difficulties and was on the verge of bankruptcy. The team needed new investors and in 1997 Lietuvos rytas bought the club. However,

45202-435: The team. After launching ticket sales for the upcoming season, the team has sold 1,800 season tickets in less than 24 hours. On 19 July, Rytas signed veteran Mindaugas Lukauskis for his ninth season as a club member. On the following day, Travis Peterson was signed and Kurtinaitis also confirmed that the team had reached an agreement with Chris Kramer . On 22 July, Chris Kramer and Marc Antonio Carter officially joined

45435-520: The team. On 28 July, Mindaugas Brazys joined the coaching staff. On 17 August, notable Lithuanian youth national team member Martynas Echodas was signed to a three-year deal. The newly formed team showed positive results during the preparation games, winning all seven games and the Vladas Garastas Cup . On 23 September, Rytas began the 2017–18 LKL season by defeating Juventus Utena 82–75. On 25 September, Rytas signed experienced veteran Loukas Mavrokefalidis . Due to Artūras Gudaitis' departure to

45668-484: The team. Also, the team played most of its games in the newly reconstructed Lietuvos rytas Arena instead of the Siemens Arena . Rytas also withdrew from the Russian VTB League. Virginijus Šeškus was signed as head coach. Lithuanian Adas Juškevičius and former NBA player Travis Leslie were signed as well. Rytas finished the first EuroCup round with an 8–2 record and took first place in the group. Although they defeated Turów Zgorzelec , Rytas only barely qualified for

45901-565: The third spot during the regular season due to the unfavorable results versus Lietuvos rytas . Neptūnas defeated Dzūkija with the series result of 3–1, losing only once in Alytus 56–65. The semi-finals began unsuccessfully for the team versus Lietuvos rytas. Despite holding up close to the opponents the whole game, Neptūnas lost during the final minutes 88–79 in Vilnius . But Neptūnas, led by Deividas Gailius (22 points) and Arnas Butkevičius (20 points), successfully got revenge in Klaipėda, overcoming Rytas 107–101 after OT . The semi-final series

46134-419: The tireless efforts shown by Gintautas Bendžius, who averaged almost 20 points per game and was the third best scorer in the whole league. In the following season Neptūnas slightly improved, reaching 10 victories and suffering 30 defeats, with the help of a 21-year-old native Eurelijus Žukauskas , who quickly started becoming the star of the team and later was even nicknamed the "Lithuanian king of blocks ". In

46367-471: The town in 1800; in 1900 a British Vice-Consul was recorded there, as well as a Lloyd's Agent. By 1900 steamer services had been established between Memel and Cranz (on the southern end of the Curonian Spit), and also between Memel and Tilsit . A main-line railway was built from Insterburg , the main East Prussian railway junction, to St. Petersburg via Eydtkuhnen , the Prussian frontier station. The Memel line also ran from Insterburg via Tilsit , where

46600-405: The town's development; the castle was sacked by Lithuanian tribes in 1360, and in 1379 the reconstructed castle and town were both sacked once again. In 1409, the castle was rebuilt and in 1422–1441 the strengthening of the castle's fortifications continued when eventually its ramparts reached 7 meters height. After the Battle of Grunwald , the dispute between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and

46833-508: The way to the finals, where they lost to Žalgiris. During the summer, coach Adomaitis left the team. Neptūnas decided to promote assistant coach Mindaugas Brazys to the head coaching position. Neptūnas rebuilt much of the team. Neptūnas initially struggled during the beginning of the season, going 0-4 at the start of the LKL season, before strong play from players like the returning Mindaugas Girdžiūnas , Deividas Gailius , career seasons from Matas Jogėla and Oskaras Pleikys , Austin Wiley ,

47066-401: The wishes of its governor and commander, Eric of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel , Memel adopted Lutheranism after the conversion of Grand Master Albert of Prussia and the creation of the Duchy of Prussia as a fief of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland in 1525, soon part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . Since then, Klaipėda has become the county centre within the Duchy of Prussia. It was

47299-435: The worst fiasco in club history. This was also the first time Rytas was eliminated in the LKL by another team, instead of Žalgiris Kaunas. The disappointing season ended with the team winning the LKL bronze medal series 3–0 versus the Juventus Utena . During the summer, team captain Kavaliauskas had a dispute with the team management concerning his pay, after which he signed with Žalgiris Kaunas. Lietuvos rytas qualified for

47532-435: The worst for Lietuvos rytas ever in the EuroLeague - a disappointing 1–9 record. After this, coach Dirk Bauermann was fired and replaced by Aleksandar Petrović . The change helped and on 22 December, Rytas crushed its rival Žalgiris Kaunas 90–58. After being eliminated in the EuroCup playoffs by Crvena zvezda Belgrade , Lietuvos rytas also suffered a defeat in the LKF Cup finals - losing to TonyBet Prienai 92–91. This led to

47765-528: The worst shooting performances of all time, losing 49:67 in Klaipėda, with Rytas tying the series 1:1. Rytas then won the third game in Vilnius 74:67, and took a 2:1 lead in the series. Led by Želionis, Seibutis, Delininkaitis and Galdikas, Neptūnas tied the series with a 74:70 win in Klaipėda. In the decisive fifth game in Vilnius, Neptūnas lost a close game 82:88, and lost the series 2:3. In the series for 3rd place, Neptūnas faced previous year's finalist, BC Lietkabelis . Having home court advantage, Neptūnas started

47998-413: The young team with some veteran leadership, led by players like Martynas Mažeika , Žygimantas Janavičius and Matas Jogėla , were in playoff contention all season long. Benas Griciūnas , Evaldas Šaulys , Džiugas Slavinskas , among others, also had good seasons. Deividas Gailius returned near the end of the season to Neptūnas, immediately becoming the team leader and leading Neptūnas to the 6th seed in

48231-427: Was "provided with the finest harbour in the Baltic". During the Napoleonic Wars , Memel became the temporary capital of the Kingdom of Prussia. Between 1807 and 1808, the town was the residence of King Frederick William III , his consort Louise , his court, and the government. On 9 October 1807 the king signed a document in Memel, later called the October Edict , which abolished serfdom in Prussia. It originated

48464-411: Was 36.6 °C (97.9 °F) in August 2014. In January and February, the coldest season, high temperatures average 0 °C (32 °F) with low temperatures averaging −5 °C (23 °F). The coldest temperature ever recorded in Klaipėda is −33.4 °C (−28.1 °F) in February 1956. The greatest amount of precipitation occurs in August, with an average precipitation of 85 mm. Meanwhile,

48697-437: Was Hitler's last territorial acquisition before World War II. During the war, the Germans operated a forced labour subcamp of the Stalag I-A prisoner-of-war camp for Allied prisoners of war in the city, and expelled Poles from German-occupied Poland were also enslaved as forced labour in the city's vicinity. During World War II, from the end of 1944 into 1945, the battle of Memel took place. The nearly empty city

48930-455: Was a province. The books were then smuggled over the Lithuanian border. The German 1910 census lists the Memel Territory population as 149,766, of whom 67,345 declared Lithuanian to be their first language. The Germans greatly predominated in the town and port of Memel as well as in other nearby villages; the Lithuanian population was predominant in the area's rural districts. Under the Treaty of Versailles after World War I , Klaipėda and

49163-403: Was captured by Russian troops during the Seven Years' War in 1757. Consequently, from 1757 to 1762 the town, along with the rest of eastern Prussia, was dependent on the Russian Empire . After this war ended, the maintenance of the fortress was neglected, but the town's growth continued. Memel became part of the newly formed province of East Prussia within the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773. In

49396-409: Was captured by the Soviet Red Army on 28 January 1945 with only about 50 remaining people. After the war the Klaipėda Region was incorporated into the Lithuanian SSR , as the post-1937 German occupation of various regions of Europe, including Klaipėda, was considered illegal. The Soviets turned Klaipėda, the foremost ice-free port in the Eastern Baltic, into the largest piscatorial-marine base in

49629-451: Was coached by Šarūnas Sakalauskas . It was the first time in the history of the Lithuanian Basketball League that Žalgiris Kaunas did not win the LKL title. Also, Rytas reached the Saporta Cup semifinal, where they met last season's EuroLeague runner-up Kinder . After a home win of 70–60, Lietuvos rytas lost in Italy 83–71, with Šiškauskas missing a three-pointer which would have won the two-game series for his team. The next season, due to

49862-408: Was completely different during Game 2 in Klaipėda where Neptūnas defeated Žalgiris 73–70 to even the series 1–1. In Kaunas, Žalgiris won again, 83:60 and finished the series in Klaipėda, where Neptūnas lost the game 53:69 and the series 1–3. During the LKL bronze final Neptūnas faced Lietuvos rytas Vilnius for the intense series. Both teams successfully defended their home courts with Neptūnas losing

50095-435: Was consolidated. During the Napoleonic Wars Napoleon I occupied most of the Kingdom of Prussia, thus in 1807–1808 Klaipėda was a residence of Prussian monarchs and in 1807 Frederick William III abolished serfdom. Following the abolishment of serfdom Prussian Lithuanians migrated to Klaipėda, especially its outskirts, and in 1837 they constituted 10.1% of the residents. In 1825 Klaipėda had 8,500 residents. Moreover, after

50328-503: Was eliminated by the Juventus Utena 0–2 in the quarter-final. The 2010–2011 LKL regular season achieved just one less victory than the previous season, however this resulted in finishing only 8th and facing off the upcoming champions Žalgiris Kaunas in the first round of the playoffs. Regardless of being smashed 61–96 in Kaunas during the first series encounter, the team, led by a captain Martynas Mažeika , mightily fought in their home arena, this time losing only 82–88. Nevertheless, with

50561-413: Was eliminated from that year's EuroLeague. After winning the Baltic Basketball League title, Lietuvos rytas defeated Žalgiris Kaunas 4–0. Despite winning the Lithuanian title, Lietuvos rytas did not acquire the country's spot for 2006–07 EuroLeague that was reserved for Žalgiris Kaunas. Although the coach and three leading players Robertas Javtokas, Simas Jasaitis and Fred House had left the team during

50794-417: Was enough to qualify for the LKL playoffs as the 8th seed, although they were quickly wiped out 0–2 by an uprising Lithuanian powerhouse Lietuvos rytas Vilnius , led by young and hungry Ramūnas Šiškauskas , Robertas Javtokas , Simas Jasaitis , Rimantas Kaukėnas and a former Neptūnas player Arvydas Macijauskas. The 2002–2003 LKL season was only slightly different; this time the Neptūnas squad finished 6th in

51027-410: Was founded in 1993, when eight of the strongest Lithuanian basketball clubs' officials met with the representatives of the Šarūnas Marčiulionis basketball fund. Neptūnas was among that eight. This association would soon announce their basketball league that would start in the upcoming fall. During the founding 1993–1994 LKL season, Neptūnas finished last, reaching only 4 victories per 36 games, despite

51260-475: Was fueled by the increasing trade of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the Western countries . Around 1503, there were 25 families of full-fledged townspeople, while in 1540, there were 107 families. Eventually, in 1589, there were 143 families in Klaipėda. The Lithuanians and Curonians lived alongside the German colonists , but the magistrate did not allow non-Germans to join artisan corporations and did not grant them rights available to townspeople. In

51493-432: Was left for the Order. In 1454, King Casimir IV Jagiellon incorporated the region to the Kingdom of Poland upon the request of the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation . After the subsequent Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466) the city became a part of Poland as a fief held by the Teutonic Knights, and thus located within the Polish–Lithuanian union . The rebuilt town received Kulm law city rights in 1475. Against

51726-411: Was organized in Vilnius , Lietuvos rytas won their first two matches against Budućnost Podgorica and Cibona Zagreb , but lost the final game against Galatasaray . As a result, Lietuvos rytas had to play at the second-tier European competition, EuroCup. The team, led by Renaldas Seibutis , Jonas Valančiūnas and Tyrese Rice , lost to Valencia Basket 80–70 in the semifinals. Rytas finished third after

51959-507: Was released by Neptūnas, and in a surprising move, Dainius Adomaitis returned as the head coach of Neptūnas. Neptūnas regained their form - in the LKL, by April, Neptūnas had risen up to the 7th seed in the standings. Neptūnas finished the LKL regular season with a memorable 93–88 win over Rytas Vilnius in the regular season final. In the playoffs, Neptūnas faced Žalgiris Kaunas , now coached by former Neptūnas head coach Kazys Maksvytis . Neptūnas surprised all critics – they managed to stretch

52192-403: Was replaced by Tomo Mahorič . Tyrone Nesby , Roberts Štelmahers and Robertas Javtokas, Simas Jasaitis and Tomas Delininkaitis led the team to victory in the 2005 ULEB Cup , beating Pamesa Valencia in the semifinals and Makedonikos in the final. This victory granted them a place in the EuroLeague, the continent's primary basketball club tournament. Lietuvos rytas won second place in both

52425-474: Was replaced by former Rytas player Rolandas Jarutis . Kleiza left the team in February 2020, after a falling out with Jarutis. On 14 June 2017, it was announced that Rytas had received a wild card to the 2017–18 EuroCup season . On 17 June, Rytas signed with first addition to the club for the upcoming season, former Lietkabelis leader Ben Madgen . Rimas Kurtinaitis remained as head coach. On 11 July, famous Lithuanian masseur Juozas Petkevičius returned to

52658-495: Was replaced with Jerry Johnson due to his poor sport form. On November 1, 2017, Neptūnas crushed Gaziantep Basketbol during the Champions League away game 114–73 and achieved their highest victory in the history of the tournament. More wins followed - a dominating away against Betaland Capo d'Orlando 90:60, and a home win against P.A.O.K. BC - 82:69. Neptūnas also picked up home wins over Lietuvos rytas Vilnius 81:76 and Lietkabelis Panevėžys 86:76, and moved up to 2nd place in

52891-412: Was seriously injured in a motorbike crash. Lietuvos rytas also won the NEBL title in 2002, becoming the last team to win the tournament. The team held first place in the group stage of the Saporta Cup but lost in the quarterfinals to Hapoel Jerusalem . Over the next two seasons, Lietuvos rytas lost in the LKL finals to Žalgiris Kaunas. They had more success in Europe, though, finishing in second place in

53124-412: Was the MVP for the season. It was the third BBL title for the club. Lietuvos rytas also the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) during this season as well, the fourth time Lietuvos rytas became the LKL champion. After losing Petravičius, Lukauskis and Eidson, Lietuvos rytas also participated in the 2009 Gomelsky Cup . Lietuvos rytas was not as successful in the 2009–10 EuroLeague —they did not advance to

53357-419: Was the northernmost and easternmost city in Germany, and although the government was engaged in a very costly tree-planting exercise to stabilise the sand-dunes on the Curonian Spit , most of the financial infusions in the province of East Prussia were concentrated in Königsberg, the capital of the province. Some notable instances of the German infrastructure investments in the area included sandbar blasting and

53590-411: Was tied 1:1. In the third game at home, Neptūnas took the lead in the first quarter and never looked back, winning 79:71 and taking a 2:1 series lead. In the fourth game in Panevėžys, Neptūnas started slowly, but led by Želionis, who scored 27 points in the game, Delininkaitis and Johnson, took the lead by half-time, and went on to win the game 89:78, winning the series 3:1 and winning the bronze medals for

53823-427: Was tied at 1–1. But Neptūnas lost another thriller 96–89 two days later in Vilnius and ended up on the edge of the precipice. Furthermore, primary Neptūnas center Simas Galdikas suffered a painful leg injury, after stepping on Kšyštof Lavrinovič 's feet. Despite that, the team's coach Kazys Maksvytis said that "we will meet in Vilnius again". This promise did not came true following the 87–92 loss at home. Neptūnas lost

54056-493: Was visited 64 times by cruise ships , surpassing the Latvian capital, Riga , for the first time. Klaipėda's climate is considered to be oceanic (Köppen Cfb ) using the −3 °C (26.6 °F) isotherm and warm humid continental (Köppen Dfb) using the 0 °C (32.0 °F) isotherm. In July and August, the warmest season, high temperatures average 20 °C (68 °F), and low temperatures average 14 °C (57 °F). The highest official temperature ever recorded

54289-550: Was yet again ravaged by the Imperial Russian Army. Following the Klaipėda Revolt in 1923, Klaipėda Region was incorporated into Lithuania and Lithuanian population in Klaipėda increased due to migration (Lithuanians constituted 30.3% and Germans 57.3% of Klaipėda's 35,845 population in 1925). German politicians promoted a Memellander ideology and argued that Germans and local Lithuanians were "two ethnicities ( Volkstümer ), yet one cultural community ( Kulturgemeinschaft )". Lithuania ceded Klaipėda Region to Nazi Germany due to

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