Grantas Vasiliauskas has already reached a high level in his young basketball career. And the Lithuanian talent is in no hurry to leave home, even if supposed bigger clubs are waiting. Vasiliauskas hails from Alytus, a city of less than 55,000 residents in southern Lithuania. Despite being one of the country’s top forward prospects, the 17-year-old has remained in his hometown and plays for Alytus SRC, where things have gone quite well for him.

Not only has he played on loan for U18 Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius at both the 2015 and 2016 Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT, Vasiliauskas also played for the Lithuania cadet national team last summer and reached the final of the 2015 FIBA U16 European Championship. This season he also guided Alytus to the club’s first U17 national title since 1999 as a major underdog.

“It was a great win for Alytus. We have not won the junior title in the last 17 years, so we were very happy about getting the win,” said Vasiliauskas.

Put it all together and it really shouldn’t be a surprise that Vasiliauskas has not left Alytus. “Why should I leave Alytus? I have a very good coach and am playing at a high level. I have everything I need, so all is good.” Vasiliauskas said he is in no hurry to leave home, even though it seems to be only a matter of time until a club like Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius or Zalgiris Kaunas comes calling.

Vasiliauskas picked up the game when he was 9 years old. “My father told me I should go and play basketball and I did that,” said Vasiliauskas, whose father was actually a multiple-time Lithuanian champion in rowing and competed at two rowing world championships.

“I just like passing the ball, rebounding and playing the whole game,” said Vasiliauskas, who listed Lithuanian legend Arvydas Sabonis among his role models. In the meantime, Vasiliauskas is continuing to work on his game.“I think I will play the power forward position so I need to be more aggressive and play more defense to get better.”

Vasiliauskas has already reached a pretty high level by playing his second ANGT season despite still being a year younger than most of the competitors this season. At the 2015 ANGT Qualifying Tournament - Kaunas, Vasiliauskas averaged 2 points and 1.3 rebounds. Then the 2.00-meter forward increased those numbers to 16.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists at the 2016 ANGT Kaunas.

At the ANGT Finals in Berlin, Vasiliauskas averaged 12.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists for Lietuvos Rytas, which lost to U18 ALBA Berlin in the final Group B game to miss a chance at playing in the ANGT Championship Game. “It was a tough game to lose. It’s not a very nice feeling. We were very emotional,” Vasiliauskas said. Nevertheless he said “it was really great though to get the experience.”

Even though he played a bigger role than last season, playing for Lietuvos Rytas is still different for Vasiliauskas than playing for Alytus. “Each team is different. With Alytus, I am the leader. For Lietuvos Rytas, I am just one of the major players. It is also a totally different basketball, playing at the top of Europe.”

Vasiliauskas said it was really nice playing with Lietuvos Rytas again. “Last year, Lietuvos Rytas accepted me very warmly, so this year I chose them too. And they were very welcoming again,” he said.

Vasiliauskas remains non-committal as far as where his future will take him. But that shouldn’t be a surprise given that he’s been enjoying his time at home thus far.

Lithuanian starlet Vasiliauskas in no hurry to leave home

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Mega Leks Belgrade is one of the most exciting clubs for young players in Europe. And 17-year-old Nikola Miskovic is reveling in his chance to help the Serbian side make history. U18 Mega Bemax Belgrade played at the 2016 Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Finals for the first time this season. That came after Mega won the ANGT Qualifying Tournament - Torneo Citta di Roma in late December.

Even though Mega lost all three games at the ANGT Finals, Miskovic said the learning experience was great for the team. “It’s our first time here. We were a young team with seven players born in 1999 or 2000. I think it’s a great experience for us,” said Miskovic, who was one of those seven younger players.

Mega lost its opener to Zalgiris by 13 points and Barcelona beat the Serbs by 25 points before Mega dropped its final game against INSEP by 32 points.

“Unfortunately we didn’t finish the tournament like we expected. We didn’t expect wins, but wanted to surprise European giants like U18 Zalgiris Kaunas and U18 FC Barcelona Lassa,” he said. “We tried to motivate ourselves to play well against U18 INSEP Paris, but the will to win was higher for them. They were more confident and won. This is not the real result for us.”

The ANGT Finals came just two weeks after Miskovic helped Mega capture a historic title by winning the Serbian cadet U17 championship. His team defeated city rivals Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade in the final. “We did a great job. Zvezda had won four straight U17 titles and to take home the first championship for Mega is a great feeling,” said Miskovic, who scored 17 points and picked up 5 steals in the 77-59 victory over Zvezda.

Mega had lost to Zvezda twice earlier in the season, but then came into final after beating Partizan NIS Belgrade by 30 points in the semifinals. “We were very confident after beating Partizan and we came in like we’re going to learn from those two losses and show it. We played team basketball and they didn’t have the solution for us in the low post.”

If there was a downside to the busy schedule for Miskovic and company, it was that their championship celebrations had to be put on hold. “We didn’t have any time to celebrate the cadet championship because we came here (to the ANGT Finals) right away and had major roles. We also have the U19 competition,” he said.

It’s an exciting time to be part of the Mega club, which in recent years has produced a handful of players now competing at the highest levels, including Vasilije Micic and Nemanja Dangubic, who played in the Euroleague this season with Crvena Zvezda. Three Mega players from this season, Timothe Luwawu, Ivica Zubac and Rade Zagorac, are garnering hype as future stars, too.

“It’s a great opportunity to be with Mega,” Miskovic said. “Mega is getting better and better each season, and they are setting higher goals. This year we won the ANGT Rome and were in the finals for the first time. Next year we will be much, much better, and I expect to be in the final.”

Another confirmation of his talent level was Miskovic playing at the 2015 Jordan Brand Classic International Game. “It was a great opportunity to be 16 years old and play in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. What’s better than that. Some much better players never played in an NBA gym, and you get the opportunity to do that at 16 years old.”

It’s an exciting time for Miskovic, just like for the rest of the Mega club.

Miskovic revels in chances with Mega

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Germany’s 1998 basketball generation is stacked with long, athletic talents with big upside. Yet it was the diminutive Bennet Hundt who led the Germans to their first title at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament and helped U18 ALBA Berlin to its first victory at the Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Finals. Hundt is not exactly a player who stands out at first glance for talent observers because of his 1.78-meter frame. But the Berlin native’s game definitely speaks for itself – even among those taller ballers around him.

“I was always small, so I always grew up playing against older and bigger players. So I’m used to that. I just go out there and try to play basketball like I always do,” said Hundt, who seems to have the answer programmed in his head when he’s asked about his listed height. “I just try to be aggressive and beat my defenders with my quickness, not with my size, and just make plays for my teammates to get an open shot.”

Hundt played a major role in ALBA staying close over long stretches in its first two games of the ANGT Finals against U18 Real Madrid and U18 Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade. He averaged 11 points by making 46.2% of his three-pointers, while chipping in 3.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in the three games. He collected 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in ALBA’s 94-86 victory over U18 Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius in the team’s last game of the tournament.

“I’m just trying to be the best I can be out there. If it’s the speed that I have as an advantage, then it’s gonna be the speed,” Hundt said, before adding that he has long looked past his size. “I’m just used to being smaller than them. I don’t mind being small. I just have other tools that I use on the court.”

Hundt came into the ANGT Finals brimming with confidence as Germany’s starting point guard at the biennial Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Mannheim, where the Germans won the tournament for the first time. Hundt showed that he belonged on the court alongside major talents such as Richard Freudenberg, Kostja Mushidi, Nelson Weidemann and his ALBA teammate Ferdinand Zylka. Hundt played a team-high 23.6 minutes and collected 6.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

“I was really motivated to come here and play well. I knew I could compete and play at the level with my home team ALBA Berlin. The AST really helped me to prepare for this tournament,” Hundt said. The playmaker is continuing to work on his game and believes he can make the German U18 national team this summer.

“I’m the point guard of the team so I have to make sure it’s organized on the court and we know what plays we are going to run,” Hundt explained. “But I don’t want to be seen as a player that only passes the ball and just dribbles to the front and calls a play. I want to be seen as a player that can also score, be aggressive and create for my teammates, just an all-around game that a point guard has to have.”

Hundt named recent Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four champion Milos Teodosic as well as Chris Paul as the players he observes when thinking about how to improve his game. “I look at their passing game and their decisions in the pick-and-roll. They can create plays and hit good shots,” he said.

While Hundt may not impress people with his size, the ALBA Berlin point guard definitely gains admirers with his energetic game, aggressive style and winning mentality.

Hundt lets on-court performance speak for itself

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When U18 FC Barcelona Lassa was crowned ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT in Berlin, one of the things that caught the attention of people attending the game during the awards ceremony was that, beside the championship trophy, all the players were awarded with champion rings by Denver Nuggets star Kenneth Faried. This is the first time that rings have been awarded to the winning team of the tournament and they are expected to be part of the competition in future editions, too.

The rings were an idea by the main sponsor of the tournament, adidas, who thought it would be nice to throw in some kind of individual prize for the members of the winning team aside from the collective trophy. The design of each 55-gram ring, crafted by Hong Kong Sheunghop Jewelry, features a prominent silver ANGT logo top, surrounded by 26 brilliant cut cubic Zirconia stones. The lateral faces of the ring also show custom writings indicating the year and the city hosting the tournament.

Rings introduced as new prize in Berlin ANGT

Borisa Simanic stood out at the 2016 Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Finals as one of the best players and the U18 Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade talent was ultimately named tournament MVP. Simanic led Zvezda to its third straight ANGT Finals Championship Game by averaging 18 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and an ANGT Finals best 2.8 blocks a game. It was also Simanic’s third straight ANGT Finals Championship Game appearance, having played 10 minutes with 0 points and 1 rebound in Zvezda’s victory over U18 Real Madrid in 2014 and collecting 11 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block in Zvedza’s loss to Madrid in last season’s title game.

The 18-year-old forward has credited time spent with Zvezda’s first team that helped him take his game to another level. “I played the last two years at the ANGT. Two years ago, I played fewer minutes. I was two years younger than everyone. Last year was good; we did not win, but we reached the final. I improved a lot,” said Simanic, who turned 18 in late March and signed a long-term professional deal with Zvezda.

The 2.09-meter forward collected 19 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in Zvezda’s loss to U18 FC Barcelona Lassa in this season’s ANGT Finals Championship Game and was chosen MVP in a vote by the tournament’s eight head coaches. “The MVP award means a lot individually, but I would like it much more if we won the tournament and I did not get any awards,” said Simanic.

The native of Ljubovija, Serbia, started playing basketball when he was 7 years old in a small village near his town. When he was 12, he joined Bosnian club Buducnost Bijeljina where people started recognizing his talent. And then at 15 years of age, Crvena Zvezda came calling. After spending the 2014-15 season with the Zvezda junior side, Simanic spent this season with the club’s first team.

Simanic did not play a lot this season for Zvezda, getting into six games in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague and nine Adriatic League contests. He averaged 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds in the Euroleague and 1.8 points and 0.9 rebounds in the Adriatic League. “The players are stronger physically and technically. When I returned to this level, it was a lot easier for me. But my teammates are super,” he said.

The highlight was in his first Euroleague game against Real Madrid, playing 28 minutes on October 22 while collecting 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal. “Madrid had a big lead so I kind of expected to come in. When I got in, the lead was so big I really didn’t feel any pressure. So I just decided to take the open shots and do the best I can on defense and play hard,” Simanic said.

It was experiences like that and the daily practice with Zvezda’s top team that helped Simanic become the ANGT Finals MVP.

Work with Zvezda first team brings ANGT MVP Simanic to another level

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Borisa Simanic of U18 Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade has been selected as MVP of the 2016 Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Finals. Simanic helped guide Zvezda to the EB ANGT Championship Game for a third straight season by averaging 18 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.8 blocks. Simanic was chosen ANGT Finals MVP by the head coaches of the eight teams present in Berlin. The 18-year-old forward picked up 19 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in the final against U18 FC Barcelona Lassa, though it was not enough as Barcelona prevailed 90-82. The native of Ljubovija, Serbia, was also named as the MVP of the EB ANGT Qualifying Tournament - Marko Ivkovic Belgrade, where he averaged 22.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.6 blocks.

Joining Simanic on the ANGT Finals All-Tournament Team were Rodions Kurucs and Atoumane Diagne of champion Barcelona, Arnas Velicka of U18 Zalgiris Kaunas and Ferdinand Zylka of host side U18 ALBA Berlin. Kurucs averaged 15 points and 3.5 assists in the event, while Diagne contributed 9.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2 blocks for the champs. Velicka produced 16.7 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists per game for Zalgiris and Zylka stood out for the local side with 25 points, 4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

U18 Crvena Zvezda forward Simanic named ANGT Finals MVP

Sarunas Jasikevicius is known throughout Europe for his legendary playmaking skills and winner’s mentality. “Saras” was U18 Zalgiris Kaunas playmaker Arnas Velicka’s favorite player growing up. And the 16-year-old’s interaction with the Zalgiris professional team head coach helped him shine at the 2016 EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Finals. 

“It’s a very good experience. It’s very nice when you can speak with the legend and see him in front of you and sometimes get advice from him,” Velicka said about his relationship with the fellow Kaunas native.

“He was a point guard like me - all of those good decisions he made and all those passes and no-looks. He was so great.”

Velicka is getting some time to interact with the four-time Euroleague champion and Euroleague Basketball Legend because he’s playing this season with Zalgiris’ second team in the NKL second division and Jasikevicius sometimes comes around to work with the club’s 16 to 21 year old players.

“We talk about how to pass, how to dribble. That’s what you do when you’re a point guard,” said Velicka. 

The playmaker, who doesn’t turn 17 years old until December 10, has seen a drastic development in his game this season thanks also to Jasikevicius’s tutelage. 

Over the course of his first season with the second team, Velicka progressed his way up to the first backup at point guard. 

“I started with the team and it was difficult because I never played with men in professional basketball. At first it was tough but as the season went on I just started doing the things I do when I play against players my same age,” said Velicka, who averaged 4.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.8 steals in 14 minutes per game in the NKL. 

“I just tried to not think that they are bigger, stronger or older than me. And I think I did very well.”

He helped Zalgiris’s second team to reach the finals of the NKL playoffs, where it lost to Suduva-Mantinga Marijampole.

Velicka thinks his defense improved as did his athleticism. He also admits that he started weight-lifting for the first time. 

“I did it this season so my body is stronger. And that helps me the most I think.”

Velicka was also one of the major leaders for Zalgiris at the ANGT Qualifying Tournament Kaunas as he averaged 13.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 10.2 assists - including 16 assists in the ANGT Kaunas final. 

At the ANGT Finals in Berlin, Velicka collected 16.7 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.

This season was actually Velicka’s second in the ANGT after being with Zalgiris at the 2015 ANGT Finals in Madrid, where collected 3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in 15 minutes over three games. 

Even last May, Velicka was beginning to learn a new set of lessons from older high level talents such as Martynas Echodas, Martynas Varnas and Laurynas Birutis - all three his teammates with Zalgiris’s second team in the NKL.

“I learn a lot every day I play with them. We have a good time. I’m the youngest so they teach me how to play and do things, and just share their experience,” Velicka said. 

But Velicka’s biggest mentor remains Jasikevicius. 



Velicka values insight from role model Jasikevicius

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Few people think of Ireland as a basketball country. But a two-year stay there actually played a major role in turning U18 FC Barcelona Lassa wing Aleix Font into the success story that he has become at the EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT. Font is one of Barcelona’s leaders at this season’s ANGT competition; he was named to the All-Tournament Team at the ANGT Qualifying Tournament L’Hospitalet as Barcelona reached the final. At the ANGT Finals in Berlin, Font has helped guide his team into Sunday’s Championship Game against Group B champ U18 Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade at Mercedes-Benz Arena with a team best 17.3 points and 2.7 steals per game. He has also contributed 4.7 rebounds and 2 assists as Barcelona won all three games in Group A. And Font credits his time in Ireland as a factor.

The Barcelona native spent two years with his family in Dublin from 2008 to 2010 and it helped Font develop his game in different ways than he could have if he had stayed in Spain at the JAC Sants club in Barcelona. “I went to Dublin because my dad got a job there. He decided it was a good decision to go there and the family went. We all learned English and had a good time with new friends and new people and a new way of life that made you learn about how you are and how you interact with people,” Font said.

The stay turned into much more than just a cultural and life experience one. Font also got a chance to further his game - despite Ireland’s status as a lower-level hoops nation. During his time in Dublin, Font played with Dublin club Templeogue and was going up against players two and three years older than him.

“When I was at JAC Sants, I was playing as a center because I was really tall. I went to Dublin and I was the smallest of my team because I was playing with older players. And you know Irish people and they play rugby and are really strong. So they were all hitting me and I had to learn to play point guard,” recalled Font. “When I came back to Spain, I was playing more shooting guard-small forward, so that kind of gave me an advantage because I was tall for my position.”

Font also was able to take advantage of a different schooling culture in Ireland. “Today you don’t have a lot of time to do things in Spain. You finish school at 5 p.m. and you don’t have much time for other things. But in Ireland, I finished school at 1:30 p.m.. So I had three hours to do nothing and I just played basketball.”

That work and development paid off when Font returned to continental Europe. After one season back with JAC Sants, Font got the call to join his dream club Barcelona in 2011. “It was a dream for me,” said Font, who grew up watching Juan Carlos Navarro and other Barcelona greats. “Through all the years I was going to the stadium and watching Barcelona play. I lived two minutes away from the whole Barcelona complex when I was a kid. So, obviously it was a dream.”

Font even got his chance to make his LEB Gold debut this season with Barcelona, on March 18 against Palencia. “It was the first time I even dressed with the second team for a game. I didn’t think I was going to play because Palencia was in first place in the league. I played and I even scored a three-pointer, so I was really, really happy. It was like a dream-come-true, starting to play as a professional,” Font said, flashing a smile.

Font also got his chance this season to help Barcelona achieve a major goal. On May 7, Font and Barcelona beat Real Madrid 65-58 in the Spanish U18 national championship tournament. The Catalans had finally broken through against Madrid after having lost to its rival in the last two ANGT L’Hospitalet finals as well as during this season’s U18 group stage.

“We were thinking we’re never going to beat them, they’re unbeatable, and we can’t do it. But we had a lot of confidence and that got our hopes up and we played really well,” Font said.

Besides playing in Europe’s elite youth club competition, the ANGT Finals also provided Font with an invaluable learning experience, meeting Euroleague Basketball Legend Theo Papaloukas as part of the EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Players Educational Session.

“If someone with his background tells you about the game, then you listen,” Font said. “He said some things that are really true. To succeed at basketball, you have to be a freak. You have to spend a lot of hours doing it. You have to really, really love it. The main characteristic a basketball player has to have is that he loves basketball and prefers playing basketball over anything.”

And that is regardless if you’re in Barcelona or Dublin or anywhere in between as Font has learned.

Two-year Ireland stay helps shape Font into Barcelona talent

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The future of European basketball had the chance to learn life-long lessons from one of the game’s past greats as the players from the 2016 EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Finals met Theo Papaloukas as part of the EB ANGT Players Educational Session. The Euroleague Basketball Legend spoke to the youngsters about how to remain in the game for many years, ways to prepare for the game and the importance of loving the game.

“I don’t know if I have helped them, but I told them what I think is really the truth, and if someone understands that, then maybe they can save some time in his career,” two-time Euroleague champion Papaloukas said.

“If I can make it, you can make it,” the 39-year-old Papaloukas told the players, referring to the start of his basketball career with a team in the fourth division in the Athens league. “You have to eat well and sleep well. Protect your body… Be a good player and a good person, be somebody players want to have on their team.”

Papaloukas was asked by one of the players if he had pregame rituals and he responded: “I lived out the game in my mind before the game. What my opponent likes to do. Playing it out already helped me to take the right decisions during the game.”

The number one thing, Papaloukas said, was to love the game, adding: “You have to do what you love. The more you love basketball, the bigger your success will be.”

Papaloukas’s many achievements in a brilliant career included becoming a EuroBasket champion, Euroleague MVP, Euroleague Final Four MVP and one of the 50 Greatest Euroleague Contributors. That success and the wisdom he gleamed with it ensured that Papaloukas’s advice would be well received by the future stars.

“It was good. He played my position so I loved seeing him. I loved watching him. He won so many great games,” said U18 INSEP Paris’s Bathiste Tchouaffe. “He talked about what you need to do to prepare for basketball games ahead of time. That was good.”

U18 ALBA Berlin’s Rijad Avdic also liked hearing about how Papaloukas prepared for games, and how important relaxing is. “It’s a big honor because he’s one of the greats and you can really learn a lot about him and how he played basketball,” Avdic said.

Francois Naude, the Senior Manager Sports Marketing Horizontal Concepts for adidas, also addressed the players about the adidas brand and the athletes’ place in it. He also said the choice to bring in a legend like Papaloukas to talk to the players was an easy one. “adidas is a proud partner of Euroleague so through that we want to engage in the youth. This is a key platform and a really good platform for us to do that. We’re an older brand in the sporting world and to bring in a legend like Papaloukas, he was the kind of story we like to tell,” said Naude.

He also believes the players really paid attention to what Papaloukas said. “Kids generally when they’re younger dream big, and it’s inspirational for them to hear somebody who has been there and done that. It makes them think that their dreams can become a reality,” Naude said. “Having a legend speak to them, they know he was once in their shoes and now 20 years later he’s achieved everything they could possibly want to achieve in their lifetime. It reaffirms that their dreams can come true.”

The other speaker was Alex Ferrer Kristjansson, Brand and Communication Director for Euroleague Basketball, who talked to the players about the role of players. “Play Basketball”, “Inspire People” and “Grow Brands” are the three pillars, he said. “You need a lot of factors to get to the highest level and then to stay there,” said Ferrer.

He also discussed the players being aware of their presence to the outside world, including on social media. “All of these eyes will be on you and it’s important you act appropriately,” he added.

ANGT Educational session, Berlin, 2016

ANGT players value chance to meet Papaloukas at Educational Session

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