an away win over Žalgiris Kaunas—the first in almost two years. Rytas made the LKL finals for the 15th time in a row. However, Žalgiris Kaunas easily swept Lietuvos rytas 4–0 in the final. 2013–14: Downfall of Lietuvos rytas Due to the unsuccessful past season, the manager decided to almost completely rebuild the team: eight players left after the team lost LKL finals to the rival Žalgiris Kaunas. Former team leader Martynas Gecevičius was recalled after a two-season break and a notable point guard Omar Cook was signed. Because the team was second in the domestic league, it had to hope for a EuroLeague wild card. The team did not receive it, and had to participate in EuroLeague's qualification tournament once again, which was held in Vilnius. This time, Rytas, led by Renaldas Seibutis and Martynas Gecevičius, was successful—it won three games in a row (against VEF Rīga, EWE Oldenburg and Telenet Oostende), and qualified for the EuroLeague. To strengthen the team roster before the EuroLeague games, Lietuvos rytas signed former NBA and Lithuania national team player Darius Songaila. On 18 October 2013, Lietuvos rytas started the 2013–14 EuroLeague season with an 84–83 victory against Panathinaikos Athens after Renaldas Seibutis's winning shot in overtime. The game was selected EuroLeague's Game of the Week and re-broadcast in over 150 countries worldwide. However, after this, the level of play of the Lithuanian team declined significantly and Rytas was unable to win any more games. Six games were lost by 10 points or more and it ended being the worst Lietuvos rytas season ever in the EuroLeague - a disappointing 1–9 record. After this, coach Dirk Bauermann was fired and replaced by Aleksandar Petrović. The change helped and on 22 December, Rytas crushed its rival Žalgiris Kaunas 90–58. After being eliminated in the EuroCup playoffs by Crvena zvezda Belgrade, Lietuvos rytas also suffered a defeat in the LKF Cup finals - losing to TonyBet Prienai 92–91. This led to the firing of coach Aleksandar Petrović, who was replaced by Dainius Adomaitis. Despite two victories against Rytas biggest rival Žalgiris Kaunas during regular season, the LKL playoffs were a disaster for Lietuvos rytas. Due to rare situation in LKL standings, Rytas and Žalgiris Kaunas met in the semifinals and not in the finals for the second time since 1998. Darius Songaila's 28 points led Rytas to a first series victory in Vilnius with 90–85