Monday 17th September
We all had a decent sleep in this morning- then woke up being Vanessa's birthday on both sides of the world. As Bruce Cockburn once sang - Panger of Love.
So wishing I could be there with her- or better still , she and Is and Lu and Sam could be here with me.
So feeling like this it was a quiet Vilnius day. Some wandering around - a bit more souvenir shopping...
Then I went to organize the big event for the evening. We had to catch a bus to Siemens Arena for the basketball match between Lietuvos Ryta and Zalgiris , the two best teams in the comp. I went to hhe Tourist Info and found out buses, where to catch it, where to get off, how to get tickets. Etc. Then Lauren, Audrey, Mum and I went to the big game. I was so excited when we arrived. We got our seats, then the game started. Incredibly physical match - I was surprised how little the whistle was blown. The score stayed close, at one point in the 3rd quarter, Rytas were ahead by 9, but Zalgiris fought back and at the end of the quarter the scores were deadlocked. Both teams fought hard in the final quarter, but Rytas pulled a couple if threes to be 3 in front. With 13 seconds to go a Zalgiris 3 attempt missed and number 44 from Rytas took the rebound. (only good thing he did all game, said Audrey. She referred to him as the goose) Zalgiris deliberately fouled him. As they were already on 5 fouls, number 44 had to go to the free throw line. His first shot misses. His second shot misses and Zalgiris come up with the ball. They now have 13 seconds to get 3 points. The crowd is deafening. Rytas defense is intense, and with 5 seconds left a big 3 point attempt is taken, but hits the ring. A Zalgiris player taps it back to Popovic, who is at least 2 meters outside of the 3 point line. With less than a second he shoots, the buzzer goes off, the crowd is roaring even louder and the ball arcs down and swishes through the basket. The score board reads 87 - 87. That was one exciting match.