MADRID (Olympics) - Basketball is number one in Lithuania.

It always has been, and always will be.

"Lithuania has forever been a country where basketball has been the number one sport," said Arvydas SABONIS, the greatest player ever to emerge from the country, to realmadrid.com.

Sabonis once played for Madrid.

 "We (Lithuania) have a lot of basketball schools. We currently manage one where we have 800 children.

"There's a lot of interest in basketball and that eventually can be noticed. I think if things continue like this, Lithuanian basketball will always be healthy because among many people, good players come out."

Indeed, Lithuania has a lot of good players, and they're at clubs all over Europe and in the NBA.

Ramunas Siskauskas of CSKA Moscow has grabbed a lot of headlines in recent times, and Sarunas Jasikevicius of Panathinaikos has as well, ever since leading the country to the European title in 2003.

In Italy, Ksistof Lavrinovic has underlined his status as one of the premier big men in Europe at Montepaschi Siena, the same team that Lithuanian compatriot Rimantas Kaukenas led to last year's Lega A crown.

There are Lithuanians everywhere, including America where you find Linas Kleiza, who has been outstanding with the Denver Nuggets the past two seasons, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the center who helped fire Cleveland into the NBA Finals for the first time last year.

Darius Songaila is also a solid power forward/center with the Washington Wizards.
Another sign that basketball is number one in Lithuania is that the country's national team is always in the reckoning for honors, and the fans of the national team follow it everywhere.

By winning the bronze medal at last year's FIBA Europe Championship in Spain, the Lithuanian men booked another trip to an Olympic Games.

Lithuania will also host the FIBA Europe Championship in 2011.

The 2.2m Sabonis, once considered by many to be the best player in the world, was a great passer, rebounder and could shoot from anywhere on the floor.

He retired after the 2004-05 campaign.

"The truth is that I don't miss the court because when I stopped playing, I was exhausted," he said.

"I had many years in my career and the time comes in a player's career when it ends and that's that.

"I am satisfied with what I did on the court during my time as a player but now, I don't miss it.

"It is true, however, that it's easier to play than to see things happening on the court and not being able to do anything about it."

Life is good for Kaunas-born Sabonis, who calls two places home - Lithuania and Spain. He has a house in Malaga.

"Now I do more things but I continue to be involved with basketball," he said.

"I am president of Zalgiris, and I also work with basketball schools with the children, which is very gratifying.

"I have more time to be with the family although I spend my time between Malaga and Lithuania."

FIBA