101 Greats of European Basketball

Mr. Three-Pointers
While the 2.20-meter giant Arvydas
Sabonis is the greatest
talent to come from Lithuania,
most of the other great players
from the country were point
guards or wing players – all great
shooters. Sarunas Marciulionis, Valdemaras Chomicius,
Sarunas Jasikevicius, Arvydas Macijauskas,
Saulius Stombergas and Arturas Karnisovas are just
a few. Also belonging to that elite group is Ramunas
Siskauskas, who was born on September 10, 1979, in
Kaisiadorys, Lithuania, and was a small forward who
retired in the summer of 2012 after 14 years as a pro.
Siskauskas’s basketball resume shows that he
started at the humble Baltija Kais club with very good
numbers during the 1994-95 (16.5 points per game)
and 1995-96 (17.3 ppg.) seasons. From the beginning
of his career, his best weapon was his shot. He needed
minimal space to shoot. Though many players shoot
like he did, not many actually put the ball in the net like
he did. He was fast and tall (1.98 meters) and strong for
his position; he jumped well, could run the fast break
and played positions one through four. He was most
efficient on half-court plays with good ball circulation
that were designed to showcase his shooting touch.
The most serious part of his career started with his
signing at Sakalai in the summer of 1996. Siskauskas
played there for two seasons and was called up to the Lithuanian
team for the FIBA U22 European Championship in
1998 in Trapani, Italy. Lithuania didn’t do great things at
that tournament, but it developed some great players.
Kestutis Sestokas, Darius Songaila, Rimantas Kaukenas,
Donatas Slanina, Marius Janulis, Arturas Javtokas and
Siskauskas himself would take Lithuanian basketball to
the top in the following years. In Trapani, Siskauskas was
the fourth-best scorer on his team with 10 points per
game and 4.3 rebounds, but you could already see his
potential. Witnesses still remember his duel against Dirk
Nowitzki in the game between Germany and Lithuania
for seventh place. Germany won 97-95 because Nowitzki
scored 34 points, while Siskauskas had 21.
That same summer, Siskauskas took another
important step in his career, joining Lietuvos Rytas
Vilnius. There, Siskauskas made his debut in European
competition in the Saporta Cup. In the 1998-99 season,
he averaged 17.5 points and 5.0 rebounds, and in the
following one, he had 14.2 points, 5.8 boards and 2.0
assists per game. If I remember correctly, I saw him for
the first time at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. In the
quarterfinals, Lithuania, who would go on to win the
bronze medal, eliminated Yugoslavia, 76-63. Gintaras
Einikis was the main Lithuanian executioner that day,
with 26 points and 8 rebounds, but Siskauskas contributed
9 points. In the ensuing years, I would follow
this great player with admiration at the EuroBaskets
of 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007, at the 2004 Olympics
in Athens, and, of course, in many EuroLeague games,
especially his Final Fours.
Explosion in Stockholm
During the 1990s, Yugoslavia was the black beast
for Lithuania, but at the turn of the century, things
changed. After the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Lithuania
again eliminated Yugoslavia in the quarterfinals at the
2003 EuroBasket in Sweden. Yugoslavia said goodbye
to its throne by falling 98-82. It was only a warning of
101 greats of european basketball
Ramunas Siskauskas
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