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Red Lions witness live Euroleague game, shown on big screen

The San Beda Red Lions got more than what they bargained for during their first week of training in Lithuania.

On Friday, the four-time defending NCAA champions experienced first-hand being in a live Euroleague game, as the home team Zalgiris Kaunas shocked powerhouse Real Madrid, 87-80, at the packed Zalgiris Arena.

The Euroleague is the equivalent of the NBA in Europe and most of its games are well attended by the fans of the home squads. The Zalgiris-Real Madrid game was attended by close to ten thousand fans, including the visiting Red Lions.

Real Madrid’s defeat to the Lithuanian club put the Spaniards in second spot to face dangerous Olympiacos Piraeus of Greece in a best-of-five quarterfinals starting today.

Real Madrid is arguably the best club team in Europe today with former NBA players Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriguez and Sergio Llull on its roster, plus fellow Spanish superstars Felipe Reyes and Dani Diez.

The Lithuanians were led by former NBA D-League MVP Justin Dentmon, who finished with 36 markers, and set a new league-record for most three-point shots in a season with 74. He unloaded 7-of-11 treys against Real Madrid.

Sometime in the fourth quarter, the Red Lions were momentarily shown on the arena’s big screen from their VIP skybox seats. Lithuanian basketball organizer Edgaras Stankevicius arranged for the team’s visit at the Euroleague game in Kaunas City.

It was a double treat for the college cage team from San Beda as the Real Madrid contingent stayed in the same hotel as the Red Lions – the Europa Royale Hotel. San Beda’s hulking Nigerian center Olaide Adeogun even managed to have a photo taken with Fernandez upon Real’s arrival at the hotel on Thursday evening. San Beda assistant coach Ford Arao also had a brief chat with Rodriguez in the elevator.

On Sunday, the Red Lions traveled to Palanga City, which is about three hours drive from Kaunas. This coastal city was where Gilas Pilipinas trained for two weeks last year prior to the FIBA Asia Championship in Manila.

Right after checking in at the Hotel Vanagupe, the team went to see another big game just a few kilometers from the hotel. This was the championship game of the NKL (or National Basketball League in English), the equivalent of the PBA D-League. Defending champion Mazeikiai scored a come-from-behind overtime victory against Trakai KK, 81-75, at the brand new Palanga Arena to defend its crown. Incidentally, Red Lions head coach Boyet Fernandez is also the chief tactician of current PBA D-League titlists NLEX Road Warriors.

The Red Lions are training under Lithuanian hoops guru Dr. Rutenis Paulauskas, a former National youth and women’s coach of Lithuania, until April 20. Paulauskas is currently the head of the basketball coaches association in Lithuania.