The 208 cm tall basketball player tried to establish himself in the NBA league in 2021-2022, but he played only 2 games there and returned to Europe after spending most of it in Gly.
The striker played an amazing season in the ranks of Patras “Promitheas” in Greece and moved to Slobožanskés “Prometey” team, which played well in Europe before that.
A. Kulboka suffered an injury during the offseason. It was predicted that it would take a couple of months to heal from the injury, but unfortunately this prediction did not come true. Lithuanian’s injury was much more serious than it seemed at first and the basketball player had to spend the entire season without playing basketball.
This offseason, the “Prometey” club stopped its activities, having not yet settled with all the basketball players, and A. Kulboka had to look for a new job, and the Marijampoli native joined the Vilnius “Wolves” team.
A. Kulboka has not yet played sports with the team, but has already started individual training and the first throws in the basket.
“I feel better, recently I just started running, doing basketball moves – running and the like,” said A. Kulboka. – You can say that only this week I started exercising more normally and I expect to join in a couple of weeks.”
Reviewing his last year from the basketball side, A. Kulboka claimed that he spent his time “in the barbell”, and watching basketball matches had become one of the most difficult activities.
“I spent time in the gym. I spent a very long time without basketball, I didn’t even pick up a ball in my hands. It was psychologically very difficult to watch the match. Sometimes it happened that you turn on the match and turn it off after the first half, because you would like to be in it yourself”, said the Lithuanian basketball player.
– Is it possible to see your debut at the start of the season or are you still thinking carefully about it?
– Anything is possible. It is very difficult to predict when I will be fully prepared.
– You returned to Wolves. Did you have other offers and why did you choose this particular club?
– I had other offers, but they wanted me to be ready to help those clubs from the beginning. There was no talk that they would help me with rehabilitation. They needed me healthy right away. And “Wolves” made such an offer, which allows me to finish rehabilitation, which is the most important thing for me. And as far as I can see, this organization is super and I don’t regret at all that I chose Wolves.
– Did you not receive offers from other Lithuanian clubs?
– No, I didn’t say anything.
– What are your personal goals after not playing for a year?
– The goal is simply to be healthy. I think many people know what I can give on the field, I really believe it myself. The most important thing is to be healthy.
– How hard was the last year personally? Trauma, misfortune in the family…
– Jo, those years were very difficult, but I don’t really want to talk about it.
– What impression does the team leave?
– It’s too early to say anything, Andrew Andrews just joined recently. So far everything looks very nice, but there will be more control matches and we will get a better impression.
– What was your impression of the coach?
– Nice coach. Maybe he has a less typical training methodology for Lithuanians, his mentality is different. But for me, after playing abroad for so many years, I have seen many similar coaches.
– What is the situation with the Prometey club in Slobojansk? Did you settle everything?
– As far as I know, they didn’t settle with all the players. It remains to be seen how it all ends. There are trials.
– What do you think about the national team? Before that, there was one coach you weren’t very “friends” with. What do you think would be best for you and Lithuania as the new coach?
– Maybe I want to answer those “friends or non-friends” first. There were never any personalities, especially since I didn’t even communicate with the coach. It was simply a blown bubble in Lithuania. At one point I even found it funny. It’s the coach’s decision and that’s it. I don’t know what will happen next. There is not much difference. It is important that Lithuanian basketball grows.
2024-09-01 15:32:56