He was an all-tournament selection at the ANGT qualifiers in Dubai last season
Zalgiris locks up top prospect Mantas Juzenas
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Zalgiris Kaunas has secured the services of one of the top young talents in Lithuania by signing Mantas Juzenas to a long-term contract. Juzenas (1.99 meters, 17 years old) split the previous season among Zalgiris’s mens teams in the lower divisions and it’s U-18 team. He averaged 9.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists with Zalgiris-2 and 15.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists with Zalgiris-3.
Juzenas starred at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament qualifiers in Dubai where he led U-18 Zalgiris to the first-place game. In that game, he posted with 28 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists for a PIR of 34, but his team fell to ratiopharm Ulm in overtime. For the tournament, Juzenas averaged 18.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals for an index rating of 23.0. He was second in scoring and PIR, first in rebounds and tied for second with 3.5 offensive rebounds and was named to the all-tournament team.
"Playing for Zalgiris Kaunas has been my dream since childhood. My father and I used to go to the Kaunas Sports Hall. Signing a contract with Kaunas means a lot to me," said Juzenas, who is currently preparing for the European U18 Championship this summer with the Lithuanian national team.