101 Greats of European Basketball

The Lithuanian
machine
It was August 28, 1982, the day of the final of the
junior European Championship, played in Bulgaria.
In the big game, the finalists were the USSR
and Yugoslavia. On one side, Jose Biriukov, Igors
Miglinieks, Valeri Tikhonenko and Sarunas Marciulionis;
on the other, Drazen Petrovic, Velimir
Perasovic, Danko Cvjeticanin, Stojko Vrankovic. The
Soviets won 97-87 after a great first half (55-35).
One year later, in Palma de Mallorca in the final of
the second junior World Cup, the USSR lost to the
United States 82-78 even though it had a stronger
team with Arvydas Sabonis (29 points), Alexander
Volkov, Tiit Sokk, plus Tikhonenko, Marciulionis and
Miglinieks. The Americans also had a solid team with
Kenny Walker (22 points) and Scott Skiles (15).
Those were the first two finals, the first two medals,
in the successful career of Sarunas Marciulionis, who
was born in Kaunas, Lithuania on June 13, 1964. He remains
one of the greatest Lithuanian players ever and
one of the European pioneers in the NBA. While it’s true
that in Bulgaria, Marciulionis didn’t have a starring role,
by 1983 his influence on the Soviet team was starting
to get noticed.
From Kaunas to Vilnius
As a kid, until he was 10, Marciulionis played tennis
in his native Kaunas. But after growing 11 centimeters
in one year, he was kicked out of the sport for being
“too big.” The next stop was the basketball court.
Left-handed, strong and with evident talent, he progressed
quickly, but it wasn’t easy to earn a spot in
Zalgiris, the cradle of so many Lithuanian talents.
After talking to his parents, he decided to move
to Vilnius to join the rival Statyba – today known as
Lietuvos Rytas – where he played from 1981 to 1987.
In September of 1987, he finally got to wear the jersey
of Zalgiris. In that year’s Intercontinental Cup, played
in Milan, Marciulionis was invited to reinforce the team
due to the fact that Sabonis was injured. It didn’t help
much, however, because Zalgiris finished last, eighth,
while the Tracer Milan team with Mike D’Antoni and
Bob McAdoo defeated the FC Barcelona by the score
of 100-84.
In June of 1987, Marciulionis experienced both disappointment
and great joy in succession. In the title
game of EuroBasket in Athens, Greece defeated the
USSR overtime 103-101 thanks to 40 points by Nikos
Galis. Marciulionis scored 16 points, Valdis Valters 23
and Tikhonenko 17, but it was not enough to stop one
of the biggest surprises ever in EuroBasket. Only eight
days later, in the NBA draft, Marciulionis was chosen by
the Golden State Warriors with pick number 127 in the
seventh round.
Gold in Seoul and NBA debut
Before leaving for the NBA as one of the European
pioneers, Marciulionis put the icing on the cake of
his European career with the gold medal at the Seoul
Olympics in 1988. The foundation of that great USSR
team was formed by the big four Lithuanians – Marciulionis,
Sabonis, Rimas Kurtinaitis and Valdemaras
Chomicius – in addition to Volkov, Tikhonenko, Sokk,
Miglinieks, Alexander Belostenny and Sergei Tarakanov.
After losing to Yugoslavia in the first stage, 92-79,
101 greats of european basketball
Sarunas Marciulionis
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