<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Sakalai Vilnius came back on the winning track. 4 wins in a row is pretty solid for this team. One of the most consistent players during that stretch was <metric2 metric_text="cm" metric_value="203" w:st="on" />203 cm</metric2 /> forward Justas Sinica. 21-year-old player has been averaging over 14 points and his shooting touch from behind the arc was excellent – 50 %. As for the season, he averaged 6.1 points and 2.1 rebounds in the SEB BBL.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p> </p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">- Your team has won 4 consecutive games including victories against such teams like Neptunas, Nevezis and Kalev/Cramo. Can we say that Sakalai revived?</b></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br />- We were in kind of a downfall, but when 3 victories in a row came up, we felt that we’re on the rise. I think that right now we’re playing much better than before. Also, new coach has brought the new strategy and we can see the results.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p><strong> </strong></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong>- A year before no one really noticed you, but during this winning stretch you were really noticeable. Do you feel that you perform much better?</strong></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br />- Definitely, I see the improvement. I’ve been more on the court lately, coach relies on me more. He said that I’m a shooter and once I’m open, I have to make shots. Our team has some plays for sharpshooters and that myself, Darius Lukminas or Arnas Labuckis will make things happen.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p><strong> </strong></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong>- There are lots of players on this team that can play really well. Do you feel the challenge?</strong></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br />- Every time. Of course, one day one player will have a good game and the other the situation can be different. We’re all equal. You can see the competition between players both in practices and games. We step on the court and try to show what we can do.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p><strong> </strong></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong>- What do you think are the strong sides of Sakalai?</strong></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br />- I think that we can shoot the ball well from outside. Our team doesn’t have powerful centers, but we’re competitive and help each other on the court. Our centers Rolandas Matulis and Vytautas Sarakauskas also can shoot it from behind the arc. But the biggest thing we lack is to stay focused for all of the time, because sometimes silly turnovers appears literally from nowhere. The fact that we don’t have big centers maybe isn’t a big disadvantage, because we always concentrate our defense in paint to get rebounds.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p><strong> </strong></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong>- The former coach Linas Salkus has left the team in the middle of the season and it looked like Sakalai is going to crumble. Probably the players had some psychological problems also.</strong></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br />- It was tough, because we worked together with coach Salkus for some years. It’s strange when in such a phase of the season you have your coach resigned. For one game our coach was Matulis, but I was ill that time and cannot evaluate his job. However, later on the new coach began to work with us, but it was hard to get to know him better and understand his needs as well as new tactics.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p><strong> </strong></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong>- What kind of new things coach Kurtinais has brought to the team?</strong></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br />- I think that everything has changed: tactics, plays and the whole principle of game. The methods of Salkus and Kurtinaitis differ a lot. Under the coach of Salkus you had the opportunity to improvise more, even though he emphasized defense, the same thing that Kurtinaitis do. The latter coach lets to shoot the ball when you’re wide open, but asks to execute things that were asked before the game.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p><strong> </strong></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong>- Darius Lukminas already joined the team and will contribute right away. Did it have any effect on the team?</strong></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br />- He was injured for a lot of time and now he’s healthy. Darius really helps a lot, he’s a great shooter and can carry the team when there is a need. He’s not only a scorer, his experience and suggestions help the younger guys on the team to become better.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p><strong> </strong></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong>- Are there any goals left for this season?</strong></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br />- Only Lithuanian basketball league’s championship has left. Even though we have no chances to reach a lot this season, we still have no problems motivation-wise. We just go out there and play our game. The aim for every game is to fight for the victory.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p><strong> </strong></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong>- Your personal statistics in comparison with the previous season has risen significantly. Do you feel that you’re becoming a better player?</strong></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br />- I feel that my skill level is higher now. I’m more self-confident and execute things on the court with less hesitation. After a missed shot I’m not thinking whether I’ll make the other one or not. I think that I need more size and strength. I should go and do more weight-lifting, but there aren’t a lot of time during the season for that. Also you can’t give prominence to it because it can tire your arms and that affects your shooting.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p><strong> </strong></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong>- Sakalai is known for producing young talents. Maybe you already received some offers from better teams?</strong></p><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify" /><p /><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br />- I have no offers so far, but I’ll be waiting for it to come. I want to work hard and improve my game. I think that I’ll stay in Sakalai for a couple of years and we’ll see what happens later on. It’s too early to speculate about that.</p>