Martynas Echodas has finally arrived at Alba Berlin

Echodas celebrated his comeback last Friday, and on Monday evening he played in front of Alba’s fans in the Friedrichshain Arena for the first time in Berlin’s confident 80:47 victory against the giants Ludwigsburg. “Sitting at the end of the bench is a lot different than being on the court. I hadn’t played basketball in a year and it feels great to be back,” said the 28-year-old center.

On December 22, 2024, Echodas, then still working for the Turkish club Manisa Basket, seriously injured his knee. Another operation followed in the summer. A player of Echodas’ class is actually not available for the Berliners with their significantly reduced budget. In the last Champions League season, the Lithuanian scored an average of more than 15 points and was on the way to making it to the Euroleague.

Baldi urges caution

But then came the knee injury that kept him out of action for a long time. While many big clubs shied away from the risk, Alba saw the situation as an opportunity. “We decided to take the bet,” Ojeda said at the start of the season in September.

However, neither Alba’s managers nor Echodas expected that his comeback would take until deep into December. The weeks went by, Echodas trained sometimes with the team, sometimes individually, and sat behind the boards at games in a hoodie. He remained a phantom. “It took a lot longer than expected,” said the Lithuanian after his first home game.

Marco Baldi knows such rehabilitation processes well from his playing and management career. During training, the load is increased, the knee swells again, it goes back and forth. “If you experience that four or five times in a short period of time, it’s also mentally difficult. But he seems to me to be very stable,” said Alba’s manager.

Nevertheless, Baldi warns of caution. After such a long injury, you have to be patient and only increase the load slowly. In the previous games he was used for 13 and seven minutes. “He was out for a long time and we have to see how he can handle the intensity over a whole game.”

A Martynas Echodas in the form of last season would give Alba even more class and flexibility. He is a perfect complement to the other two centers, Norris Agbakoko and J’Wan Roberts, said the manager. “He covers exactly what the others don’t have as much. He is a stable player who has few fluctuations, who can hold his position well and has the medium-distance throw,” said Baldi. “We’ll have to wait and see if he can build on last season, but we all hope so.”