Lithuania national basketball team
| Lithuania Lietuva | |||
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| FIBA Ranking | 6th | ||
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| Joined FIBA | 1992 | ||
| FIBA Zone | FIBA Europe | ||
| National Federation | Lietuvos Krepšinio Federacija (LKF) | ||
| Coach | Kestutis Kemzura | ||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Appearances | 5 (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008) | ||
| Medals |  Bronze 1992, 1996, 2000 |
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| World Championships | |||
| Appearances | 3 (1998, 2006, 2010) | ||
| Medals | None | ||
| Eurobasket | |||
| Appearances | 9 (1937, 1939, 1995 - 2009) | ||
| Medals |  Gold 1937, 1939, 2003 Silver 1995 Bronze 2007 |
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| Uniforms | |||
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The Lithuanian national basketball team is the representative for Lithuania in international men's basketball. Lithuania is historically one of the most prestigious and successful teams in international competition, winning medals in three out of five Olympic tournaments, coming away with three bronze medals.
Lithuanian men competed in two of the pre-war Eurobasket competitions for the European championship. They won both the Eurobasket 1937 and Eurobasket 1939 competitions. The 1939 team was led by Pranas Lubinas (Frank Lubin), who helped popularize basketball in the country and was called the "Grandfather of Lithuanian Basketball."
Being part of the Soviet Union, Lithuanian players frequently formed the core of the Soviet national team. This was especially so for the 1988 Olympic Basketball gold medal winning team which got most of its scoring from four Lithuanians: Valdemaras Chomičius, Rimas Kurtinaitis, Šarūnas Marčiulionis and Arvydas Sabonis.
After the restoration of Lithuanian independence in 1990, the national team was resurrected. Lithuania won bronze medals in the first three Olympics to feature NBA players—1992, 1996, and 2000, and finished fourth in 2004 and 2008.
The Lithuanian team won the Eurobasket 1937, 1939 and Eurobasket 2003.
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Roster
Roster for 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey:
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Depth Chart
| Pos. | Starter | Bench | Bench | Reserve | Inactive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Robertas Javtokas | Martynas Andriuškevičius | |||
| PF | Linas Kleiza | Paulius Jankūnas | Tadas Klimavičius | ||
| SF | Simas Jasaitis | Jonas Mačiulis | |||
| SG | Martynas Gecevičius | Renaldas Seibutis | Martynas Pocius | ||
| PG | Mantas Kalnietis | Tomas Delininkaitis |
Upcoming tournaments
Eurobasket 2011
The competition will be hosted by Lithuania.
FIBA World Championship 2010
On December 12, 2009, Lithuania was granted a wild card to participate in World Championship in Turkey the following year.[1]
Lithuania started the tournament against New Zealand. After a tough first quarter, Lithuanians took control of the game and kept ahead by a comfortable lead till the final buzzer, which signaled Lithuania's victory 92:79. The second game was against Canada. After reducing the 17 point deficit in the fourth quarter, Lithuanians finally gained a small lead towards the end of the game. Canada had a chance to win the game, but Jermaine Anderson's game winning three rimmed out at the last second and Lithuania celebrated their second victory 70:68. The next match was against the defending champion Spain, and after another comeback from an 18 point deficit, the Lithuanians won the upsetting game 76:73, Linas Kleiza's free-throws sealing the victory.
The game against Spain ensured Lithuania's qualification to the eighth finals. Lithuania's next match was against France, which held a perfect 3-0 record. France quickly gained momentum in the first half and forced Lithuania to a double-digit deficit. However, in the second half, Lithuania deftly reduced the deficit and cruised past the French defense, outscoring them 45-25 in the second half to win the game 69:55. The French were forced into second place as Lithuanians took Group D's leadership. Lithuania won the last game against Lebanon without much difficulty 84:66 and finished with a perfect 5-0 record in the preliminary round.
Last tournaments
Eurobasket 2009
Beijing 2008
Winning the third place game at Eurobasket 2007 against Greece allowed Lithuania to qualify for the Olympic basketball tournament at Beijing 2008 without competition at 2008 Pre-Olympics Tournament.
Lithuania basketball team of 2008 finished Beijing 2008 with an 5-3 record taking 4th place.
Eurobasket 2007
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Team Lithuania for Eurobasket 2007:
| No | Position | Player | Year of birth | Club before Eurobasket 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Guard | Rimantas Kaukėnas | 1977 |  Montepaschi Siena |
| 5 | Shooting guard | Mindaugas Lukauskis | 1979 |  Vilniaus Lietuvos Rytas |
| 6 | Forward | Jonas Mačiulis | 1985 | Žalgiris Kaunas |
| 7 | Center | Darjuš Lavrinovič | 1979 |  UNICS Kazan |
| 8 | Forward | Ramūnas Šiškauskas | 1978 |  Panathinaikos BC |
| 9 | Forward | Darius Songaila | 1978 |  NBA Washington Wizards |
| 10 | Forward | Simas Jasaitis | 1982 |  Maccabi |
| 11 | Forward | Linas Kleiza | 1985 | NBA Denver Nuggets |
| 12 | Forward | Kšyštof Lavrinovič | 1979 | UNICS Kazan |
| 13 | Point guard | Šarūnas Jasikevičius | 1976 | NBA Golden State Warriors |
| 14 | Forward | Paulius Jankūnas | 1984 | Žalgiris Kaunas |
| 15 | Center | Robertas Javtokas | 1980 | Panathinaikos BC |
- coach Ramūnas Butautas
- assistant Rimas Kurtinaitis
- assistant Robertas Kuncaitis
- assistant Donaldas Kairys
- assistant Virginijus Mikalauskas
- press officer Linas Kunigėlis
- doctor Vytenis Trumpickas
- doctor Rimtautas Gudas
The Lithuanian basketball team of 2007 finished the Eurobasket 2007 with an 8-1 record, winning their first ever bronze medal in Eurobasket tournaments. Winning the third place game in the tournament against Greece allowed Lithuania to qualify for the Olympic basketball tournament at Beijing 2008.
FIBA World Championship 2006
In the 2006 FIBA World Championship, Lithuania finished 7th. This equaled their best ever finish, achieved in 1998, but some saw this as an under-achievement.
They started the tournament with a narrow 2-point loss to Turkey. In their second match they lost to, eventual finalists, Greece in overtime. In that game they made 25 turnovers, which was one of a couple of matches where they made a large number of mistakes. Their third game against Qatar was an easy victory 106:65. This restored some confidence ahead of the must-win match against Australia, as they won it 78:57. Their last group match against Brazil was close in the end, as Brazil lost it by 5 points 79:74. This ensured Lithuania's advance to the eighth-finals to face Italy. They won the match by 3 points 71:68, although Arvydas Macijauskas fouled an Italian player during a 3-point attempt in the dying seconds which gave Italy the chance to level the score, but all 3 free throws were missed. They lost their quarter final match against the eventual champions, Spain by 22 points. Lithuania turned the ball over 28 times during that match. They lost to Turkey in over-time of the 5th-8th place classification round, in which they wasted a 12-point lead in the last 3 minutes of the fourth quarter to take the match into over-time and eventually lost the 5-minute over-time 20:9. The final result was 95:84 to Turkey. They won their last match against Germany 77:62, and thus equaled their best-ever finish of 7th place.
Sireika resigned soon after the championship. On December 28, 2006, Ramūnas Butautas was announced as the new coach of the team.
Notable players
- Pranas Lubinas popularized the sport in Lithuania in the late 1930s
- Arvydas Sabonis was one of the best known Lithuanian basketball player that helped Lithuania to win two bronze medals at Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996 Olympics and was one of the key players in 1995 European Championships where Lithuania won silver medal. Returned to Lithuania basketball team after couple of years of absence and participated in 1999 European Championships.
- Šarūnas Marčiulionis one of the key players in Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996 Olympics and 1995 European Championships.
- Rimas Kurtinaitis
- Valdemaras Chomičius
- Artūras Karnišovas notable for his appearance in Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996 Olympics and 1995 European Championships. Later he participated in 1998 World Championship and 1999 European Championships
- Šarūnas Jasikevičius best player at 2003 European Championships where Lithuania became champion of Europe.
- Arvydas Macijauskas
- Saulius Štombergas
- Mindaugas Žukauskas
- Eurelijus Žukauskas
- Darius Songaila
- Linas Kleiza
Notable coaches and assistants
There have been only few coaches on Lithuania basketball team roster since Lithuania's independence in 1991.
- Vladas Garastas - coach for Lithuania basketball team for Olympics of 1992 and 1996, for European championship of 1995.
- Jonas Kazlauskas - coach for Sydney 2000 Olympics and couple of European championships (1997, 1999, 2001) and for World championship 1998.
- Antanas Sireika - coach for Athens 2004 Olympics and for golden European championship of 2003, later for EC 2005 and World championship 2006.
- Ramūnas Butautas - coach of Lithuania basketball team, won bronze medal in EC 2007.
There have been couple of notable assistants for Lithuania basketball team.
- Javier Imbroda helped Lithuania earn its first medal shortly after independence at Barcelona 1992 Olympics.
- Donnie Nelson an American coach that helped Lithuania for many years in various tournaments. After the near loss of team USA at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Nelson declared that he would never help Lithuania in matches against USA.
Achievements
World Championship record
| Tournament | Position | Wins | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 to 1990 - See USSR National Basketball Team | - | - | - |
| 1994 | Not Qualified | - | - |
| 1998 | 7th place | 5 | 4 |
| 2002 | Not Qualified | - | - |
| 2006 | 7th place | 5 | 4 |
| 2010 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
Olympic Games record
| Tournament | Position | Wins | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 to 1988 - See USSR National Basketball Team | - | - | - |
| 1992 | 3rd place |
6 | 2 |
| 1996 | 3rd place |
5 | 3 |
| 2000 | 3rd place |
5 | 3 |
| 2004 | 4th place | 6 | 2 |
| 2008 | 4th place | 5 | 3 |
European Championship record
| Tournament | Position | Wins | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | 1st place |
5 | 0 |
| 1939 | 1st place |
7 | 0 |
| 1946 to 1991 - See USSR National Basketball Team | - | - | - |
| 1993 | Not Qualified | - | - |
| 1995 | 2nd place |
7 | 2 |
| 1997 | 6th place | 5 | 4 |
| 1999 | 5th place | 7 | 2 |
| 2001 | 11th place | 2 | 2 |
| 2003 | 1st place |
6 | 0 |
| 2005 | 5th place | 5 | 1 |
| 2007 | 3rd place |
8 | 1 |
| 2009 | 11th place | 1 | 5 |
| 2011 | qualified (as a host country) | TBA | TBA |
Olympic Games Qualification Tournament record
| Tournament | Position | Wins | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 1st place | 11 | 0 |
Eurobasket Qualification Tournaments record
| Year | Tournament | Position | Wins | Lost | Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 1993 Qualification Bonus round | 3rd in Group B | 1 | 1 | No |
| 1993 | 1995 Qualification Qualifying round | 2nd in roup A | 4 | 1 | Qualified to Qualification Semi-final round |
| 1994-1995 | 1995 Qualification Semi-final round | 2nd in Group B | 5 | 1 | Yes |
| 1995-1997 | 1997 Qualification Semi-final round | 2nd in Group E | 6 | 4 | Yes |
| 1997-1999 | 1999 Qualification Semi-final round | 2nd in Group D | 8 | 2 | Yes |
| 2001-2003 | 2003 Qualification Semi-final round | 1st in Group A | 9 | 1 | Yes |
Past rosters
1937 EuroBasket: finished 1st among 8 teams
Arturas Andrulis, Leonas Baltrunas, Pranas Talzunas, Leopoldas Kepalas, Feliksas Kriauciunas, Pranas Mazeika, Eugenijus Nikolskis, Leonas Petrauskas, Zenonas Puzinauskas, Stasys Sačkus, Juozas Žukas, Česlovas Daukša (Coach: Feliksas Kriaučiūnas)
1939 EuroBasket: finished 1st among 8 teams
Pranas Lubinas, Mykolas Ruzgys, Leonas Baltrūnas, Artūras Andrulis, Jurgis Jurgėla, Pranas Mažeika, Vytautas Norkus, Vytautas Budriūnas, Zenonas Puzinauskas, Feliksas Kriaučiūnas, Vytautas Lesčinskas, Eugenijus Nikolskis, Leonas Petrauskas, Mindaugas Šliūpas (Coach: Pranas Lubinas)
1992 Olympic Games: finished 3rd among 12 teams
Arvydas Sabonis, Šarunas Marčiulionis, Valdemaras Chomičius, Rimas Kurtinaitis, Sergėjus Jovaiša, Artūras Karnišovas, Gintaras Einikis, Arūnas Visockas, Darius Dimavičius, Romanas Brazdauskis, Gintaras Krapikas, Alvydas Pazdrazdis (Coach: Vladas Garastas)
1993 EuroBasket: did not qualify
1994 World Championship: did not participate
1995 EuroBasket: finished 2nd among 14 teams
Arvydas Sabonis, Šarūnas Marčiulionis, Artūras Karnišovas, Rimas Kurtinaitis, Valdemaras Chomičius, Gintaras Einikis, Arūnas Visockas, Gintaras Krapikas, Saulius Štombergas, Mindaugas Timinskas, Darius Lukminas, Gvidonas Markevičius (Coach: Vladas Garastas)
1996 Olympic Games: finished 3rd among 12 teams
Arvydas Sabonis, Šarūnas Marčiulionis, Artūras Karnišovas, Rimas Kurtinaitis, Saulius Štombergas, Gintaras Einikis, Darius Lukminas, Rytis Vaišvila, Tomas Pačėsas, Eurelijus Žukauskas, Mindaugas Žukauskas (Coach: Vladas Garastas)
1997 EuroBasket: finished 6th among 16 teams
Artūras Karnišovas, Saulius Štombergas, Gintaras Einikis, Virginijus Praškevičius, Dainius Adomaitis, Darius Maskoliūnas, Kęstutis Šeštokas, Andrius Jurkūnas, Darius Lukminas, Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Mindaugas Timinskas, Eurelijus Žukauskas (Coach: Jonas Kazlauskas)
1998 World Championship: finished 7th among 16 teams
Artūras Karnišovas, Saulius Štombergas, Gintaras Einikis, Virginijus Praškevičius, Tomas Masiulis, Mindaugas Žukauskas, Dainius Adomaitis, Darius Maskoliūnas, Darius Lukminas, Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Eurelijus Žukauskas, Tomas Pačėsas (Coach: Jonas Kazlauskas)
1999 EuroBasket: finished 5th among 16 teams
Arvydas Sabonis, Arturas Karnisovas, Saulius Štombergas, Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Gintaras Einikis, Eurelijus Žukauskas, Virginijus Praškevičius, Mindaugas Žukauskas, Tomas Masiulis, Dainius Adomaitis, Darius Maskoliūnas, Kęstutis Marčiulionis (Coach: Jonas Kazlauskas)
2000 Olympic Games: finished 3rd among 12 teams
Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Saulius Štombergas, Mindaugas Timinskas, Gintaras Einikis, Ramūnas Šiškauskas, Darius Songaila, Eurelijus Žukauskas, Tomas Masiulis, Dainius Adomaitis, Darius Maskoliūnas, Andrius Giedraitis, Kestutis Marciulionis (Coach: Jonas Kazlauskas)
2001 EuroBasket: finished 12th among 16 teams
Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Saulius Štombergas, Ramūnas Šiškauskas, Darius Songaila, Gintaras Einikis, Mindaugas Žukauskas, Mindaugas Timinskas, Eurelijus Žukauskas, Rimantas Kaukėnas, Robertas Javtokas, Donatas Slanina, Andrius Jurkūnas (Coach: Jonas Kazlauskas)
2002 World Championship: did not qualify
2003 EuroBasket: finished 1st among 16 teams
Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Arvydas Macijauskas, Ramūnas Šiškauskas, Saulius Štombergas, Darius Songaila, Eurelijus Žukauskas, Mindaugas Žukauskas, Donatas Slanina, Kšyštof Lavrinovič, Virginijus Praškevičius, Dainius Salenga, Giedrius Gustas (Coach: Antanas Sireika)
2004 Olympic Games: finished 4th among 12 teams
Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Arvydas Macijauskas, Saulius Štombergas, Ramūnas Šiškauskas, Darius Songaila, Eurelijus Žukauskas, Ksystof Lavrinovic, Dainius Salenga, Robertas Javtokas, Mindaugas Žukauskas, Donatas Slanina, Vidas Ginevičius (Coach: Antanas Sireika)
2005 EuroBasket: finished 5th among 16 teams
Ramūnas Šiškauskas, Robertas Javtokas, Mindaugas Žukauskas, Simas Jasaitis, Ksystof Lavrinovic, Darjuš Lavrinovič, Vidas Ginevicius, Paulius Jankūnas, Simonas Serapinas, Giedrius Gustas, Darius Šilinskis, Mindaugas Lukauskis (Coach: Antanas Sireika)
2006 World Championship: finished 7th among 24 teams
Arvydas Macijauskas, Darius Songaila, Robertas Javtokas, Simas Jasaitis, Mindaugas Žukauskas, Darjuš Lavrinovič, Kšyštof Lavrinovič, Linas Kleiza, Paulius Jankūnas, Giedrius Gustas, Tomas Delininkaitis, Mantas Kalnietis (Coach: Antanas Sireika)
2007 EuroBasket: finished 3rd among 16 teams
Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Ramūnas Šiškauskas, Rimantas Kaukėnas, Simas Jasaitis, Darius Songaila, Ksystof Lavrinovic, Darjus Lavrinovic, Linas Kleiza, Robertas Javtokas, Jonas Mačiulis, Paulius Jankūnas, Giedrius Gustas (Coach: Ramunas Butautas)
2008 Olympic Games: finished 4th among 12 teams
Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Ramūnas Šiškauskas, Rimantas Kaukėnas, Simas Jasaitis, Ksystof Lavrinovic, Darjus Lavrinovic, Linas Kleiza, Robertas Javtokas, Jonas Mačiulis, Mindaugas Lukauskis, Marius Prekevičius, Marijonas Petravičius (Coach: Ramunas Butautas)
2009 Eurobasket: finished 11th among 16 teams
Marijonas Petravičius, Linas Kleiza, Simas Jasaitis, Robertas Javtokas, Tomas Delininkaitis, Artūras Jomantas, Ksystof Lavrinovic, Darjus Lavrinovic, Mantas Kalnietis, Jonas Mačiulis, Mindaugas Lukauskis, Andrius Mažutis (Coach: Ramunas Butautas)
2010 World Championship: finished among 24 teams
See also
- Lithuania national women's basketball team
References
External links
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