No joy for Sabonis and Kazlauskas

VALENCIA (Jeff Taylor's Eurovision) - If you're finding it hard to get your head around what has happened in Lithuania since the end of EuroBasket 2013, you've got company.

How could 2013, a year when Lithuania qualified for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and claimed a silver medal in Slovenia, turn sour?

This week, though, it seemed to.

One of the greatest players of all time, Lithuanian Basketball Federation President Arvydas Sabonis, decided he didn't want to continue in the role.

He spoke of his frustration with the media and its criticism of coach Jonas Kazlauskas since the beginning of the national team's preparations for the EuroBasket.

Veteran play-caller Kazlauskas has also decided to bring a quick end to his second stint in charge of Lithuania.

"I hope it won't affect anyone," said Lithuania veteran Robertas Javtokas.

"Players are used to changing coaches."

Kazlauskas and forward Jonas Maciulis spoke after their EuroBasket Semi-Final win over Croatia of the many doubters back home, and the need to prove them wrong.

Forget their blowout defeat to France in the Final.

By getting a silver medal, Lithuania had a very good EuroBasket.

Lithuania have had their share of downs.

In 2009, we remember the national team falling short of the Quarter-Finals of the EuroBasket in Poland, yet the following year, after receiving a wild card to play at the FIBA World Championship in Turkey, Lithuania went on a terrific run to a bronze medal.

It had seemed unlikely, because during the summer of 2010, injuries kept some players from showing up for national team duty while others simply decided to stay away.

Coach Kestutis Kemzura built a real team, though, and it showed from start to finish.

We remember him talking proudly about Lithuania's battling spirit after their Quarter-Final win over Argentina.

"We are a small nation and what is our phenomenon probably?" Kemzura said.

"To find some resources, and when it's tough to come together, and never give up.

"I like to compare the basketball game with a life, with a country's life, with a people's life, and our country got a lot of, how to say, downs and tough moments.

"But we survive. We survive.

"You can, you know, you can beat us, you can win, but you cannot destroy us. And this is amazing."

Those words still make the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

When basketball is as popular in a country as it is in Lithuania, there is bound to be a lot of pressure and political wrangling.

Coaches and presidents will come and go.

The talent pool isn't going to change, nor the players' desire to don the Lithuania shirt in international competition.

And those incredible, drum-beating fans are always going to follow the team to the ends of the earth.

This week will prove to be nothing more than a sideshow for Lithuanian basketball.

Come next year's World Cup, expect to a see the national team as competitive and as exciting as ever.

Jeff Taylor

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

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