Tyrone Nesby, Latvian playmaker Roberts Štelmahers and an inspirational Lithuanian trio— Robertas Javtokas, Simas Jasaitis and Tomas Delininkaitis—led the team to victory in the 2005 ULEB Cup, beating Pamesa Valencia in the semifinals and Makedonikos in the final. This victory granted them a place in the EuroLeague, the continent's primary basketball club tournament. Lietuvos rytas won second place in both the LKL and BBL finals, losing handily to Žalgiris Kaunas. 2005–06: EuroLeague debut Before the 2005–06 season, Croatian specialist Neven Spahija became the head coach of the team. Lietuvos rytas began the 2005–06 EuroLeague season well. After losing their first two matches, Rytas matched the EuroLeague record by winning seven consecutive EuroLeague fixtures, defeating such teams as FC Barcelona, champions Maccabi Tel Aviv (twice) and Efes Pilsen Istanbul. Those wins allowed Rytas to advance to the Top 16 phase, where they won three times out of six, beating Tau Ceramica Vitoria once and Brose Baskets Bamberg twice. However, Lietuvos rytas was eliminated from that year's EuroLeague. After winning the Baltic Basketball League title, Lietuvos rytas won their easiest final series, crushing Žalgiris Kaunas 4–0. Despite winning the Lithuanian title, Lietuvos rytas did not acquire the country's spot for 2006–07 EuroLeague that was reserved for arch rival Žalgiris Kaunas. 2006–07: ULEB Cup finalists Although the coach and three leading players: Robertas Javtokas, Simas Jasaitis and Fred House had left the team during the interseason, the 2006–07 ULEB Cup season was rather successful for Lietuvos rytas. Two coaches were replaced during the season: Sharon Drucker from Israel was replaced by Slovenian Zmago Sagadin and the latter by his assistant coach Aleksandar Trifunović from Serbia. The roster was strengthened during the season when promising NBA player Kareem Rush arrived to lead the team to the ULEB Cup final where Lietuvos rytas was defeated by Real Madrid. However, Real Madrid's victory at the ACB semifinals, and of one of four spots reserved for Spain, allowed Lietuvos rytas to take part in the 2007–08 EuroLeague as the ULEB Cup finalist. On 27 April 2007, Lietuvos rytas won their second consecutive BBL title; Kareem Rush was named the Final Four MVP. The LKL finals and LKF Cup finals were both unsuccessful, though, as Žalgiris Kaunas won them both. 2007–08: Back to EuroLeague Lietuvos rytas was very successful in the regular season of 2007–08 EuroLeague, beating teams like Unicaja Málaga and Armani Jeans Milano. Very notable victories