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| Ramunas Butautas | ||||
Without a doubt, Lithuania’s trip to Stockholm for EuroBasket 2003 will always be foremost in the minds of fans. On the evening of September 14th, Lithuania overcame Spain in the title game and after 64 years got back to the top of European basketball. The title was their third overall (the previous ones coming in 1937 and 1939). Led by tournament MVP Sarunas Jasikevicius, Lithuania posted a perfect 3-0 record in the group stage at EuroBasket 2003. That Baltic giants eliminated Serbia & Montenegro in the quarter-finals, defeated France 74-70 in a thrilling semi-final game and completed their brilliant run at 6-0 with a 93-84 win over Spain. Team captain Saulius Stombergas joined Sarunas Jasikevicius on the all-tournament first team.
Biggest EuroBasket Disaster
While Stockholm is a shining city in the minds of Lithuanian fans, Wroclaw is just the opposite. Fourteen years ago it became the place where the most shocking catastrophes in Lithuanian basketball unfolded. Three teams – Lithuania, Belarus and Poland - gathered in Wroclaw which hosted the additional qualification round for the EuroBasket 1993. Despite missing Arvydas Sabonis, Lithuania still had brought most of the key players from the squad that had won an Olympic bronze medal just a year ago and was considered to be the favourite. A narrow 102-99 win over Poland in the first game set the tone and the second game produced a disaster in the form of an 88-80 loss to Belarus. It still stands as the only time the national team of independent Lithuania missed the final round of EuroBasket.
Best Players of All-Time
It’s a two man contest between Sabas (Arvydas Sabonis) and Saras (Sarunas Marciulionis). Both were born in Kaunas in 1964 and both would become the powerful duo that led their National Team to their greatest victories in the last decade of the 20th century. After Lithuania regained it’s independence in 1990, Sabas and Saras carried the Lithuanian National Team to back-to-back bronze medals at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. In EuroBasket 1995, Sabonis was virtually unstoppable at both ends of the floor as he averaged nearly 22 points and 14.5 rebounds per game and Marciulionis’ numbers were hard to repeat as he went for 22.5 points, four rebounds and five assists per game while shooting 67 percent from two-point range and 56 percent from beyond the arc. Together they led Lithuania to the championship game only to lose that emotional and dramatic final to Yugoslavia.
Scouting Report
Big questions still linger on whether Big Z – Zydrunas Ilgauskas - will play for his National Team but if Ramunas Butautas can persuade the 2.22 m Cleveland Cavaliers center to play, then he would have one of the deepest team in Europe. At least two high-class and experienced players in each position give the Lithuanian roster depth that few other European countries can match.
Prediction
Direct qualification to the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be the only goal for Lithuania. Anything short of that will be considered, not a tragedy, but a huge disappointment for sure.
Likely Squad
When Sarunas Jasikevicius declared that he was ready to return to the National Team after two summers away, it started to look like new coach Ramunas Butautas could possibly assemble the roster that would be the Lithuanian version of the ‘Dream Team’.
Last 10 FIBA Events
2006 World Championship Saitama, 7th
2005 EuroBasket Belgrade 5th
2004 Olympics Athens 4th
2003 EuroBasket Stockholm, Gold
2002 World Championship Indianapolis, Did not qualify
2001 EuroBasket Istanbul, 12
2000 Olympics Sydney, Bronze
1999 EuroBasket Paris, 6th
1998 World Championship Athens, 7th
1997 EuroBasket Barcelona, 6th
