Rytas Vilnius signs Eimantas Bendzius and Evaldas Kairys

Rytas Vilnius strengthened its roster for the foreseeable future by inking forward Eimantas Bendzius and center Evaldas Kairys to respective multi-year deals, the club announced Tuesday. Both Bendzius (2.03 meters, 28 years old) and Kairys (2.07 meters, 27 years old) played for Rytas in the past. Bendzius arrives from Rio Natura Monbus Obradoiro, where he averaged 11 points and 4.1 rebounds in 28 Spanish League games last season. He started his career with Laivite Klaipeda of his native Lithuania and played for several other teams in his country, such as Perlas Vilnius, Pieno Zvaigzdes Pasvalys, and Rytas, as well as for Trefl Sopot in Poland, before joining Obradoiro in 2015. Kairys arrives from Demir Insaat Buyukcekmece Basket, where he averaged 7.8 points and 3.9 rebounds in 28 Turkish League games last season, leading the competition in two-point shooting percentage (74%, 94-of-127). Born in Vilnius, Kairys played for Perlas and Pieno Zvaigzdes of Lithuania and Usask Sportif of Turkey. Both Bendzius and Kairys have been members of the Lithuanian national team.