Game on: The BHL quarter-final starts this weekend!

March 25, 2022

The Baltic Handball League is back after almost a month off! We have reached the most exciting and intriguing stage – the play-offs!

The quarter-final matches will begin this weekend, with Dragunas Klaipeda facing Granitas Kaunas, and Tenax Dobele facing VHC Sviesa in the other pair. There are two matches in the quarter-final round. Each pair will face off against each other at home and away, with the winners of both pairs advancing to the final four based on the aggregate score of the two matches.

The top two teams in the regular season, Viljandi HC and Polva Serviti from Estonia, have already clinched their places in the Final Four. The Final Four weekend will be held in Viljandi, Estonia, on April 23-24.

Without further ado, here’s a closer look at the quarter-final teams’ preparation, atmosphere, and club condition. Each club’s coaches share their thoughts.

SATURDAY, 26 MARCH.

HC Dragunas Klaipeda – Granitas-Karys Kaunas | 14:00

Gintaras Cibulskis (coach, Dragunas):

The quarter-finals are coming up, what is your mood going into this round?

We face the quarter-finals with a fresh, new force. We had three weeks off. We return with a hunger for the game, with renewed energy, and we go into this round with a fighting spirit.

What is the situation in the team with the players, are you at full strength, is everyone healthy, are there any injuries?

We are happy that we are at full strength, all healthy and injury-free. We had some minor losses in the marathon of games in February, but we are now fully fit.

It’s been almost a month since the last Baltic League game, a long time, how can that affect the game? Have you had any friendlies, and how have you been preparing for the upcoming quarter-finals?

We didn’t have any friendly matches, we are from Klaipėda, the geographical situation is not the most favourable for us to go somewhere or to come here to play friendly matches. But in my opinion, they were not really needed. We used the time off for rest, the team needed a break from handball, and now the team will come back eager to win and fight.

The quarter-final opponent is Granitas Kaunas from Lithuania. Advantage or disadvantage to playing against a Lithuanian club?

There are many advantages of playing against a Lithuanian club. One thing is that you don’t have to travel somewhere further, to other countries. Travelling is tiring and there is a higher chance of injuries, so playing against a Lithuanian team, when you don’t have to travel long distances and everything is local, there are a lot of advantages.

In the Baltic League this season, you have one victory and one loss against Granitas. What kind of opponent is it and what will be the key points against them?

I have the greatest respect for the Kaunas club for their fighting spirit. The players will not give up and will fight until the last seconds. This is one of the most combative teams in the Baltic League. They are a strong opponent and have an excellent goalkeeper. A team worthy of praise and the best words.

Vaidotas Grosas (coach, Granitas):

The quarter-finals are coming up, what is your mood going into this round?

We had 3 weeks to prepare for the quarter-final matches. This allowed us to recover from a tough end of the regular season. We had time to rest and prepare physically. We are in a working mood and we are preparing for the matches responsibly because we know the price.

What is the situation in the team with the players, are you at full strength, is everyone healthy, are there any injuries?

Minor injuries are all healed, but playing coach Lukas Feoktistovas won’t be able to help as he suffered a serious knee injury in the Cup semi-final. Also Vladas Tomkevicius who is still continuing his rehabilitation after knee surgery. The rest are healthy and ready to play.

The 3-week period has taken us out of the rhythm of the game, but we are working hard in training. We had some joint training sessions with the Gaja team, which is helping us prepare for the quarter-finals.

At one point in the regular season, you were on a seven-game unbeaten streak, but you lost your last two games. Was that a sign of fatigue or more of a relaxation?

The last 2 games we lost were definitely not due to relaxation. We had to play 11 games in a month, the last four we were without Deividas and Matas, Lukas got injured, so the rotation was very small and the men fought to the last, but we ran out of energy.

The quarter-final opponent is Dragunas Klaipeda from Lithuania. Advantage or disadvantage to playing against a Lithuanian club?

Neither an advantage nor a disadvantage, I think. Maybe it is better, you don’t have to travel far, plus one Lithuanian team will definitely be in the Final Four.

In the Baltic League this season, you have one victory and one loss against Dragunas. What kind of opponent is it and what will be the key points against them?

Yes, we shared one win. Both teams won on their home court. I think we know each other pretty well, we know what to prepare for. We just need to execute our ideas to the best of our abilities, stay focused, keep a cool head and keep fighting.

SUNDAY, 27 MARCH.

ZRHK Tenax Dobele – VHC Šviesa Vilnius | 14:00

Sandris Veršakovs (coach, Dobele):

The quarter-finals are coming up, what is your mood going into this round?

The mood is good considering we’re in the playoffs, we’re in the mood to fight.

What is the situation in the team with the players, are you at full strength, is everyone healthy, are there any injuries?

We have several players who have just returned after an injury or illness, but we will be ready and almost at full squad. Unfortunately, Austris Tuminskis will not be able to help in these playoffs.

We didn’t play friendly games. We used these three weeks to restore energy, to heal micro injuries and prepare physically to be as ready as possible for the upcoming playoffs.

The quarter-final opponent is VHC Sviesa from Lithuania. Advantage or disadvantage to playing against a non-Latvian club?

Given that we got into the playoffs with the last ticket, we have lost home advantage and we will play the first game at home, which gives an advantage to our opponents. Considering the history of games against VHC, we can see that we are relatively similar teams. That doesn’t mean nothing that we’ve got 3 points against them this season. Playoffs are something else. It means that an exciting fight is coming.

In this Baltic League season, you have already beaten VHC Sviesa once and drawn once. What kind of opponent is it and what will be the main focus against them?

Our defensive game will be very important, the attack starts from defense. Of course, the other components are also important, if everything works out as planned, then the result will not go away.

Žygimantas Sinkevičius (coach, Sviesa):

The quarter-finals are coming up, what is your mood going into this round?

The mood in the team is working. We want to make it through the quarter-final round and qualify for the final four of the Baltic League. We have already lost two titles this year, and we are fighting for two more titles and we really want to have the maximum result.

What is the situation in the team with the players, are you at full strength, is everyone healthy, are there any injuries?

The second round of the regular season was very difficult. Some players had more serious injuries, some had micro injuries. However, the injuries were able to heal during this break.

We also had such a long break after the New Year. The break left us very unbalanced. It seemed like we were all coming back after the summer holidays. So it is a bit worrying, but I believe that everything will be fine.

The quarter-final opponent is Granitas Kaunas from Lithuania. Advantage or disadvantage to playing against a Lithuanian club?

I think in this Baltic League it doesn’t matter who you play against, all the games in the regular season were very important, all teams can win against each other. It doesn’t matter which club you play against. All teams are equal and every match will require maximum concentration, commitment and work on the pitch. The playoffs, the most important game of the season, are coming up.

In this season of the Baltic League, you have not beaten Dobele, with one defeat and one draw. What kind of opponent is it and what will be the key points against them?

The opponent is very capable. Multiple Latvian league champions. Dobele has half of the Latvian national team players. The team is very experienced, and the core of the team has not changed for many years. During the season, the team was thinned by injuries, so I think this is the main reason why they finished only sixth in the regular season. The main focus will be to deal with the line players with whom we have already had problems.