By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Lithuania is still celebrating the silver medal in the recent Eurobasket, however things will be different from now on. As it was officially announced Arvydas Sabonis stepped down as the federation president, while Jonas Kazlauskas also left the bench of the national team.
The decision of Kazlauskas is not exactly a surprise, since he hinted during Eurobasket that he was not feeling comfortable and respected by the press as the national team coach, while there were some clues about him being in odds with some of the team stars. Kazlauskas is also the coach of Guangdong Southern Tigers in CBA and he will continue his career there.
The real shock came from Sabonis. The legendary former player is a symbol in his country, he is well respected all over the basketball world and he is also heavily involved in the current project of the country’s traditional powerhouse, Zalgiris Kaunas. As he said, in support to his close friend Jonas Kazlauskas: “I hate intrigues, I told this before coming here. I’m stepping down because I don’t want to take part in these intrigues”.