During the "A League" championship of the previous season, the bronze medalist Klaipėda "Atlantas" club appointed Igor Pankratjevas as the team's coach yesterday.
The 40-year-old Pankratjevas had been an assistant to coach Vacys Lekevičius until this year, but after the latter resigned from his position and became the club's president, Pankratjevas was appointed as the new head coach of the team.
Pankratjevas arrived at "Atlantas" in 2003 from Kaunas "Inkaras", where he had been working as a coach since 2000. However, after financial problems arose for the club, Pankratjevas moved to Klaipėda along with nine players.
During his player career, he represented Vilnius "Žalgiris" for many years, as well as played for Šiauliai "Sakalai", Kyiv "Dynamo", and many other clubs. Additionally, he has represented the Lithuanian national team four times.