GRE/LTU - Kazlauskas replaces Yannakis at helm of Greece

ATHENS (EuroBasket 2009) - Jonas Kazlauskas is the new man in charge of Greece's national team.

The veteran coach agreed terms with the Hellenic Basketball Federation on Thursday and his first major assignment will be this summer when the Greeks go for gold at EuroBasket 2009 in Poland.

Kazlauskas, one of the best known coaches in Europe, is especially well known in Greece following a spell as Olympiacos boss.

He had been without a job since leading China at last year's Olympics to a place in the Quarter-Finals where they lost to another national side he once coached, Lithuania.

FIBA Europe President and President Emeritus of the Hellenic Basketball Federation (HBF) George Vassilakopoulos and HBF General Secretary Panayotis Tsagkronis met with the 54-year-old Kazlauskas and confirmed his appointment.

"We talked with Mr Vassilakopoulos and Mr Tsagkronis and we agreed," said Kazlauskas, who signed a two-year deal. It means he will be in charge during the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

"For me it's an honor and a challenge to take the reins of the Greek national team - a great team that always sets high goals," he said.

"The Greek team has excellent players. What I would like to do now is watch as many games as possible.

"I know the players, but I want to see them again and start working!"

This summer, Greece will play at the EuroBasket in Poznan in Group A against Croatia, the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia and Israel.

Vassilakopoulos said: "We had a matter to solve and I believe it was solved in the best possible way by agreeing with Mr Kazlauskas about the national team.

"We move forward as always, believing that we are going to be ready to claim new success with the Greek national team."

Kazlauskas replaces Panagiotis Yannakis, a legendary player and coach in Greece who enjoyed a terrific run in his second stint as national team boss.

Yannakis was asked to coach Greece shortly before the 2004 Olympics and his team lost in the Quarter-Finals to eventual champions Argentina.

The next year, Yannakis and Greece won EuroBasket 2005 in Belgrade while at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, Greece beat Kazlauskas' China in the first knockout game before upsetting the United States in the Semi-Finals. Spain then beat Greece in the title game.

Greece finished fourth at EuroBasket 2007 and fifth at last year's Olympics, and Yannakis' contract with the national team expired.

Yannakis' decision to replace Pini Gershon at the helm of Olympiacos in the middle of last season had led many to believe he would not coach Greece again after the Olympics.

"We had left something open and I believe we put closure in the best possible way for the Greek national team," Tsagkronis said.

"Our collaboration with Mr Kazlauskas begins today, with expectations that our team will be successful."

Kazlauskas will be officially presented as the new coach on Monday in Athens.

FIBA