Olympic Legends - Ramunas Siskauskas

SYDNEY (Olympics) - Lithuania have produced many greats over the years and Ramunas Siskauskas is certainly one of them.

Born on 10 September, 1978, Siskauskas started to show signs that he was going to be a special player at the European Championship for Men '22 and Under' in 1998.

On a team that included future national team stars Darius Songaila and Rimantas Kaukenas, Siskauskas averaged 10 points and 4.3 rebounds as Lithuania finished eighth.

A 1.98m small forward, Siskauskas displayed a feathery touch.

He could hit jump shots from all over the court and when defenders respected that ability, Siskauskas showed another skill that made him one of the most reliable and feared players on all of the teams that he played for.

Siskauskas could put the ball on the floor and drive hard to the basket and more times than not, would score.

In 2000, he had improved so much that Lithuania coach Jonas Kazlauskas took him to the Sydney Games.

He put up modest numbers on a team that also included Sarunas Jasikevicius but shared in the joy of a terrific run that saw the team make it all the way to the Semi-Finals, where they took on the United States in one of the most famous Olympic clashes of all time.

Lithuania, huge underdogs against a star-studded American team that included the likes of Jason Kidd, Alonzo Mourning, Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Gary Payton, nearly sprung the upset but the USA edged an 85-83 encounter.

The Baltic side did not leave Sydney empty handed, though, as they beat hosts Australia in the bronze-medal game.

In Athens four years later, Siskauskas had a more prominent role, pouring in 12.5 points per game.

Lithuania had the look of world beaters at the start of the Olympics, arriving in Greece on the back of a EuroBasket 2003 gold-medal triumph.

They won their first six games, including a 94-90 triumph over the United States in which Siskauskas poured in 14 points and corralled six rebounds.

Lithuania came unstuck against Italy in the Semi-Finals, though, with a dip in form by Siskauskas a contributing factor.

He made just one of 12 shots from the floor, including misses on all five of his long-range attempts, and Lithuania fell in an upset, 100-91.

Having had their dreams of gold dashed, Lithuania found themselves facing the USA again the battle for bronze and this time lost, 104-96.

Siskauskas went on to have a brilliant career in Europe, playing for Benetton Treviso, Panathinaikos and CSKA Moscow.

He won Euroleague titles with Pana and CSKA, and was also the MVP of the competition.

At the Olympics in 2008, Siskauskas had dreamt of a podium finish once again but Lithuania came up just short, losing to Spain 91-86 in the Semi-Finals and despite getting 15 points from Siskauskas, falling 87-75 to Argentina in the battle for bronze.

Siskauskas announced his retirement from the national team after that setback in Beijing, and this week decided to call it quits on a sparkling basketball career after helping CSKA win their 10th consecutive Russian title.

FIBA