„It’s a pity I didn’t play,” said Juan Gomez de Liano, Europe’s No.1 player from the Philippines, after the fierce battle between Wolves and Rytas in the Lithuanian Basketball League. He said that the adaptation is going smoothly and quickly, and he already feels that he can fill in some gaps in the team.
The Filipino did not appear in Saturday’s match between Alytus Wolves and Vilnius Rytas. And it is understandable why.
GDL arrived in Lithuania a week and a half ago and participated in only four training sessions, so it would have been strange to see a player who hasn’t warmed up his feet in Alytus in such a pivotal battle. Especially since the dynamics of the match were not such that you could let a rookie play.
The first half ended with Rytas leading by 20 points – 53:33. De Liano’s performance might have increased the difference even more, but Rimas Kurtinaitis’ men and the coach didn’t really want to be completely crushed in the first encounter against Rytas.
And the decision to rely on Wolves’ key players paid off – Alytus, who made an impressive spurt in the fourth quarter, came within two points of Rytas and could have snatched the win or at least overtime at the end of the game.
However, several unfortunate episodes, such as Caver’s slip or Miniotas’ missed jump shot with 0.3 seconds left, prevented it.
„I really wanted to play today, but I know it takes time. Every day I come into the mindset of trying to learn something new. I still need to get used to the new system and get a feel for how this team plays and how we can work together,” said GDL.
„I have been here for a week now. The team is working very hard to help me adapt as quickly as possible. The players, the coaching staff, and the management. The whole organization is very caring about me. This week hasn’t been the easiest, but I feel like I’ve learned a lot from these guys already. I hope to get more playing time in the next games.”
In the post-game press conference, Wolves’ head coach Kurtinaitis admitted that he did not talk about basketball, strategies, or technical things with his players during the break, but about the fact that the Wolves are not the same as their rivals in terms of physicality.
„The physicality is missing. I have said many times that if we rebounded at least the same amount of balls, our chances of winning would be much better,” Kurtinaitis shared his insights, „These are the two main things we are lacking – physicality and rebounding.”
GDL thinks he could help solve this problem. This can be seen in the King Mindaugas Cup match against Prienai Labas GAS, when the Filipino made his first and so far only appearance in a Wolves jersey. In a bit more than 6 minutes, de Liano managed to grab four rebounds, one of them on the offensive end.
„100 percent,” the guard said when asked if he could help the Wolves with their lack of physicality, „I feel I am in the best shape I can be right now. There are many ways I can help the team, but as I said, I still need to adapt to the new style of basketball.”
According to GDL, during his week with the Wolves, he learned a lot of the nuances of European basketball. The lessons of R.Kurtinitis were a big part of that.
„I understand that it is not easy to earn the trust of such a coach. He is a legendary basketball player. I try to show in training that I am worthy of that trust and a place in the squad.”
In the match between Rytas and Wolves, De Liano felt the atmosphere of a full Lithuanian crowd for the first time. A few hours before the game, the Alytus team announced on social media that all the tickets for the game were sold out. In total, about 3,200 people turned up to watch the battle between the clubs.
This made the Filipino basketball player feel nostalgic.
„It’s very much like home, especially in college basketball. Lots of drums, lots of crazy, noisy fans. Today the atmosphere was unbelievable. Before the game, I didn’t know there was some kind of rivalry between these teams, so it was a bit of a surprise to see so many people.”
Although Kurtinaitis said after the game that coaches need to be more gentle with the new generation of players and that he himself has become a much calmer coach, the GDL felt the Lithuanian’s authority in the dressing room.
„I really wanted to play today, but as I said, it takes time. I also talked to my teammates, especially the rookies. They said that the adaptation is really hard, even though they have been here for a few months and I have only been here for a week. I am trying to be patient and trust the process.”
According to GDL, who has also played in Japan, the different style and perception of basketball makes the adaptation even more difficult, but the guard is also happy and enjoys this kind of basketball.
„LKL basketball is very structured and has a lot of details. I wouldn’t say that there isn’t much freedom, a lot depends on the tempo of the game itself. But there’s a lot more ball movement and it’s fun, it’s beautiful to watch. In the Philippines, it’s all about playing fast 1v1 or 2v2.”
„If you see a free man here, you have to give him a pass. In the Philippines, that’s what’s missing. It’s like the NBA – you play one-on-one, shoot threes, etc. So I need time to get used to it. I’ve only had four practices so far, but I think in two weeks I’ll have my legs warmed up.”
De Liano will have another chance to make his mark in Lithuanian basketball on Wednesday in the Karaliaus Mindaugas Cup duel against Uniclub Casino – Juventus.