Five additions for the new Rytas

The busiest team at the start of the summer signing market continues to be Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius. The freshly crowned Lithuanian champion announced the addition of five players for the upcoming season via its web site. The most recognizable name among the bunch is shooting guard Arvydas Siksnius (196, 22), who arrives from BC Siauliai. Siksnius led Siauliai in the Eurocup last season with 17 points on 48.6% three-point shooting plus 2.5 assists over six games. He was good for 11.1 points and 2.1 assists per game in the Baltic League, helping his team to finish in third place. Four other players, point guard Zydrunas Kelys (188, 23), shooting guard Paulius Dambrauskas (191, 18), power forward Eimantas Bendzius (203, 20) and center Giedrius Staniulis (205, 19) all arrive from local side Perlas Vilnius. Kelys had a breakout season last year with 17.6 points and 4.4 assists per game in the Baltic League. Bendzius was Perlas’s second leading scorer with 12.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in 26 minutes per game. He averaged 9.5 points and 3.3 boards for Lithuania at the Under-19 World Championships in New Zealand last summer. Staniulis averaged 8.6 points and 5.5 rebounds in just 19 minutes per game in the Baltic League. He has spent the past summer playing for Lithuania at the junior level, winning a bronze medal at the U-16 European championships in 2007, a silver medal at the U-18 European championships in 2008 and reaching the semifinals at the same event last summer, when he averaged 5.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in just 13 minutes. Dambrauskas, who tallied 7.3 points in 18 minutes for Perlas in the Baltic League, is on the preliminary roster for Lithuania at this summer’s U-20 European championships.