BC Rytas-2

Not to be confused with KK Perlas Vilkaviškis.

BC Rytas-2 is a professional basketball club based in Vilnius, Lithuania. The team competes in the National Basketball League (NKL), the second division of Lithuanian basketball. Founded in 2003, it is the reserve team of Rytas Vilnius.

Rytas-2
Leagues	National Basketball League
Founded	2003
History	BC Perlas (2003–2011) BC Perlas-MRU (2011–2012) BC Vilnius-MRU (2012–2013) BC Perlas-MRU (2013–2016) BC Perlas (2016–2020) BC Perlas Energija (2020–2022) BC Rytas-2 (2022–present)
Arena	Jeep Arena
Location	Vilnius, Lithuania
Team colors	Black, Red and White
Head coach	Edvinas Justa
Affiliation(s)	Rytas
Championships	None
Website	Official website
Home Away

History

The Perlas club was founded in 2003. Over the decade, the team had many variations of its name, but it always had the word "Perlas" (Pearl) in it except during the 2012–2013 season, when it was called "Vilnius-MRU".^[1] It developed young prospects and became a springboard to a professional career for former Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius players, guard Dovydas Redikas and BC Žalgiris former player Mindaugas Kuzminskas. Undoubtedly, Perlas’ best-known alumni is Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius, Memphis Grizzlies and Lithuania men's national basketball team center Jonas Valančiūnas.

"Perlas-MRU" qualified for the second-tier Lithuanian basketball league (NKL) playoffs for the first time in the 2006–2007 season. An ambitious and young team, they went on a commercial basis to play in the LKL in 2009. During two seasons in the league, "Perlas-MRU" finished the regular season in 8th and 7th place, respectively. On 14 July 2011, the club merged with NKL champions „Pieno Žvaigždės“, with many players signing with BC Pieno žvaigždės as a result.^[2]

In the 2011–2012 season after returning to the NKL, "Perlas-MRU" did not qualify for the playoffs. In the 2012–2013 season, the results for the team were much better. In the regular season, Vilnius team was ranked 12th (14/20), but in the Round of 16 it eliminated fifth-ranked Sūduva-Mantinga (2–1). In the quarterfinals, "Perlas-MRU" met with Jonavos "Triobet" but was eliminated after three intense matches.

In the 2013–2014 season, Perlas once again qualified for the NKL playoffs. In the round of 16, Mindaugas Sakalauskas players crushed Klaipedos Nafta-Universitetas (3–0), but in quarterfinals, they were forced to concede to Delikatesas Joniškis (3–2).^[3]

Players

Current roster

BC Perlas Energija roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age SF 0 Šukelis, Justas 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 95 kg (209 lb) 26 – (1997-11-22)22 November 1997 PG 2 Adomavičius, Arnas 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 85 kg (187 lb) 24 – (2000-02-03)3 February 2000 PF 7 Valantinas, Lukas 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 80 kg (176 lb) 23 – (2001-02-25)25 February 2001 SG 9 Rimkus, Pijus 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 80 kg (176 lb) 23 – (2001-01-11)11 January 2001 PG 10 Rubinas, Jokūbas 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 73 kg (161 lb) 22 – (2002-02-06)6 February 2002 PG 12 Klimas, Laurynas 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) 75 kg (165 lb) 20 – (2004-01-27)27 January 2004 F 13 Valuntonis, Vilius 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 85 kg (187 lb) 22 – (2002-01-17)17 January 2002 C 18 Jocius, Rokas 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 97 kg (214 lb) 21 – (2003-07-04)4 July 2003 SG 19 Bieliauskas, Nojus 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 80 kg (176 lb) 23 – (2001-01-19)19 January 2001 SF 21 Mikėnas, Matas 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 92 kg (203 lb) 21 – (2003-04-24)24 April 2003 SF 23 Subotkevič, Robert 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 90 kg (198 lb) 26 – (1998-05-27)27 May 1998 SF 26 Kalogiros, Andreas 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 92 kg (203 lb) 22 – (2002-08-23)23 August 2002 SG 27 Šimonis, Adas 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 85 kg (187 lb) 23 – (2001-05-22)22 May 2001 PF 32 Jermolajevas, Erikas 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 91 kg (201 lb) 23 – (2001-02-24)24 February 2001 SF 90 Baltrušaitis, Tautvydas 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) 84 kg (185 lb) 21 – (2003-06-11)11 June 2003	Head coach Edvinas Justa Assistant coach(es) Ignas Pagalys Gustas Maskoliūnas Athletic trainer(s) Andrius Birulinas psychotherapist Agnė Jonkutė Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: 2020-10-19

Notable players

• Jonas Valančiūnas
• Mindaugas Kuzminskas
• Eimantas Bendžius
• Arvydas Šikšnius
• Deividas Sirvydis
• Evaldas Kairys
• Dovis Bičkauskis
• Margiris Normantas
• Marek Blaževič
• Gytis Radzevičius
• Dominykas Domarkas
• Edvinas Šeškus
• Saulius Kulvietis
• Paulius Dambrauskas
• Vytautas Šarakauskas
• Vilmantas Dilys
• Augustas Marčiulionis
• Einaras Tubutis

History

Season	League	Pos.	Significant Events	Baltic League	Pos.	LKF Cup
2009–10	LKL	8	Quarterfinalist	Challenge Cup	3	Quarterfinalist
2010–11	LKL	7	Quarterfinalist	Elite Division	11	First round
2014–15	NKL	1	Quarterfinalist

References

1. "Pavadinimą pakeitęs "Perlas-MRU" sezonui ruoštis išvyko į Kiniją".
2. Pieno žvaigždės bought BC Perlas (Lithuanian)
3. "Nacionalinė krepšinio lyga - NKL". www.nklyga.lt.

External links

• Official website (in Lithuanian)
• BC Perlas at NKL.lt (in Lithuanian)