When you look at this fit, well-built man you see only confidence and inner strength. You immediately recognize the athlete in it. He is coordinated, accurate in movements, does everything clearly and without haste. Striking his expressive look. Behind the crafty squint and kind brilliance, the strength and power of the winner is felt. That was, is and will be Sharunas Marchiulionis - a basketball player who became the Olympic champion in the USSR team (1988) and twice the bronze medalist in the Lithuanian team (1992, 1996). The athlete is the first NBA player to be taken from the Soviet Union. Sarunas celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. In this article, you will be presented with his brief biography.
A chidhood dream
Raimondas Sarunas Marchülenis was born in Kaunas (Lithuania) in 1964. Every boy in this city knew in the face of all the basketball players of the local Zalgiris team and dreamed of playing with them. The hero of this article had the same desire. But fate decreed that Sharunas did not play for Zalgiris for a single minute. Now it’s hard to imagine how much effort it cost to Rimas Endrijaitis - the coach of “Statiba”, for which Marciulenis played. After all, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania was engaged in the acquisition of the best team of the country.
NBA and USSR national team
But Šarunas Marchülenis (photo below) remained faithful to “Statibe” and played for this club until his transition to the NBA in 1989. In fact, such actions are characteristic only of the elite. Indeed, for several years Sharunas played only on enthusiasm, without the prospect of awards and prizes. Plus, the basketball player had several disappointments in terms of attempts to “break through” to the USSR team. In the end, he still got his way. In 1987, Sharunas invited the great coach Gomelsky A. Ya. To play for the USSR team.
Episode from the beginning of a career
The “Soviet Sport” describes an interesting incident in the life of a basketball player that occurred at the beginning of his career. In mid-1980, Sarunas Marchiulionis agreed with Virginijus Jankauskas to meet at the Kaunas train station. Young athletes had to leave for Vilnius to enter the university. As a result, Yankauskas did not come, and Sharunas left his hometown alone. As it turned out later, people from the algiris team came to Virginijus the night before and offered a center spot in the team. Naturally, Jankauskas stayed in Kaunas.
The game for "Statibu"
And Šarunas Marchülenis, whose growth was equal to 186 centimeters, left for Vilnius and entered the university at the faculty of journalism. Basketball player took part in the championship of universities. At one of these competitions, Rimas Endrijaitis, the coach of the Statiba team, approached Sharunas and gave the young man his phone number asking him to call back. Soon Marchiulionis contacted Endriitis and asked to help him with the hostel. After 6 months, Šarunas became one of the leading players of Statiba. There he played for nine years until his departure in the NBA.
Invitation to algiris
Vladas Garastas - the coach of the then leading Lithuanian team - repeatedly tried to return Marchiulenis to Kaunas. An interview was even published in Soviet Sport, where he described his attempts. At first, Garastas spoke with an official who assured the coach that he would agree with Sharunas. But soon Vladas learned about the departure of Marciulionis and his game for “Statiba”. Garastas had to go to Vilnius and communicate with the Central Committee of the party. The arguments of the coach were quite logical. In “Statib”, Sharunas played for survival in the major league, and in “Zalgiris” he could fight the best basketball players in Europe. In the Central Committee, the parties agreed and said that everything depends on the decision of Marciulionis himself. After that, they presented the basketball player with a new apartment and a Zhiguli. In general, Garastas left with nothing. A year later, the Zalgiris coach decided to try again. And again, the Central Committee of the party agreed with his arguments and repeated last year’s response. And then they gave Sharunas “Volga” and a three-room apartment. So the athlete’s decision was obvious.
Lithuanian national team
In 1987, Šarunas Marchülenis joined the Lithuanian national team. There he quickly became friends with his fellow countryman Arvydas Sabonis. These basketball players formed the most starry sports pair among all Lithuanian players. Despite the fact that they are from the same city, there were no relations of fellow-country and cronyism between them. On the contrary, men often argued and even fought in the shower. Sarunas did not want to be second number, so he always fiercely defended his position.
In an interview, a basketball player spoke about the moment he met Sabonis. Athletes began to play for one team back in Kaunas in 1974. Sabonis was the first to go to Marchionis and asked to show where the gym is. Sarunas accompanied him. Then the hero of this article changed the school and began to compete with Arvydas. And this rivalry continued between athletes until they left basketball.
Olympics 88
The peak of Marchionis’s career was participation in the 88 Olympics. A basketball player played in Seoul for the USSR national team. In the match against Puerto Ricans, Šarunas Marchülenis scored 32 points. And in the semifinals, the players were waiting for a meeting with the US team.
USSR vs USA
Our team had to adhere to the plan drawn up for the game. And he was like this: in the case of pressure from the Americans, the ball was kicked off using Sabonis's shields. Quick breaks of the opponent needed to be stopped. Also, one should not be allowed to score from above, otherwise the Americans will “grow wings”. As for positional attack, the defenders must either pull the opponents to themselves and give the ball under the ring, or throw it to the team members who are freed from the guardianship of the opponent. Before the match, the basketball players of our team did not have much confidence. But Gomelsky helped. A couple of days before the game, the coach approached everyone and reminded that in their student days they already beat Atlanta, so you need to believe in yourself. The Americans “spun” the upcoming match with statements of the type: “Now, after 16 years, we will find out which of us is stronger.” In general, the USSR basketball players gave everything 100% and won. The score 82:76 spoke of a tense struggle. Sarunas Marchülenis himself shipped 19 points to the Americans.
The final
In the final, the USSR team defeated Yugoslavia with a score of 76:63. The best players were Sabonis (20 points) and Marchiulenis (21 points). Thanks to this triumph and Gorbachev Perestroika, three members of the national team (Marchiulionis, Volkov and Sabonis) were able to get into the NBA. The hero of our story spent in the Association for eight years.
Marchülenis in the NBA
Lithuanian four times went to the playoffs. For all the years of playing in the NBA, Marciulionis earned about $ 12 million.
The most memorable meeting for Sharunas was the 1991 match between the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors. In this game, the basketball player won 9 goals and earned 32 points, leading his team to victory with a score of 124: 116.
Despite a superficial knowledge of the language, the athlete was faithful not only to the Golden State, but to entire cities. After the California earthquake of 1989 (3,700 injured and 63 dead), Sharunas volunteered and helped save the victims. Marchülenis did it selflessly and sincerely, surprising his own trainer Don Nelson. He immediately realized that the Lithuanian has a good heart. According to the trainer, it is unlikely that any of the Americans would have done this while in a foreign country for only a few months.
As for the playing qualities of Sharunas, Nelson considered him the best player outside of America. The most suitable candidate for the NBA, according to Don, was simply not to be found. Well-built and aggressive in attack, Marculelenis was a fighter to the core. He was always a headache for opponents. Even stars such as Michael Jordan and Scotty Pipen could not defend themselves from his attacks. The most successful for Sharunas was the 1991/1992 season. At that time, the basketball player performed 3-4 assists per game and earned 18 points. And these statistics are given taking into account the fact that the athlete spent the beginning of most matches on the bench. Sarunas enjoyed great authority not only among team members, but also rivals. He was respected for the harmony of attacking and defensive play. The athlete regularly entered the top 10 NBA rounds.
Contribution to Lithuanian Basketball
Sarunas’s contribution to Lithuanian basketball is huge. At the Olympics in 1992 and 1996, he led the national team. And in 1995, he helped the Lithuanian team win a silver medal at the European Championships.
Present
Now Marciulionis Sarunas is a successful businessman. He runs his four-star hotel in Vilnius. Since 1998, Sarunas - Honorary Minister of the Embassy of Lithuania in the United States. After completing his playing career, the athlete created the North American Basketball League. True, it did not last long. The most successful project of Marciulionis was a children's basketball school. Several of her students joined the national team defending the honor of Lithuania at the 2014 World Cup.