The Baltic Women's Basketball League (WBBL) has seen major changes with the appointment of Arvydas Klovas as president and Alvydas Jocys as director.
Klovas, the head of the UAB Osteoca group of companies, also became the president of the Lithuanian Women's Basketball League (MLKL) this season, and the Osteoca-owned innovative dietary supplement brand SMART WAY is the national league's general sponsor.
"Six Lithuanian and seven Latvian teams are competing in the Baltic League this season, and it is very beneficial for our teams to have the opportunity to play against a team like TTT-Riga, which has won all of its games in the EuroCup tournament this season," said Klovas. "We communicate a lot with the Lithuanian women's basketball community, we know that there is a great demand for international competitions and stronger opponents, we see the potential of the Baltic League, so we decided to take on this project with Jocys.
The most important tasks ahead are to find a new general sponsor for the league, improve the quality of the game broadcasts, and expand the geography. We would like the Estonian teams that withdrew after last season to return to the league, and some Polish teams would also consider joining. There is a lot of work ahead that is necessary to raise women's basketball to a higher level."
Jocys, the father of Lithuania's most talented young basketball player Juste Jocyte, is also the director of MLKL, so he knows the women's basketball issues better than anyone else.
"We have many challenges in various areas and we are trying to solve them together with the entire women's basketball community. I think the standings of the Baltic League this season reflect the positive developments taking place in Lithuania. Among the top five teams, we have four Lithuanian teams and only one Latvian team, TTT-Riga, whose budget, according to what I have read, is as high as 850,000 euros. Our other two teams are also competitive," said Jocys. "We have something to be proud of, but there are also things that Lithuanian clubs can learn from Latvians, and neighbors from us. The season is going smoothly, we are analyzing what can be done better, and we will try to implement it next season."
TTT-Riga has so far won all 11 of its games this season, but has faced tough challenges from LCC International University (13 wins and 2 losses), Neptunas-Amberton (13-4) and Kibirkstis (11-4). Siauliai-Vilmers also has 11 wins (4 losses) on its account.
