By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
It’s never easy to be an opponent in Kaunas. A sold-out all-green arena is ready to devour you. But to every rule, there’s always an exception. And in this case, the exception is called Sarunas Jasikevicius.
Don’t get fooled. Of course, the Zalgirio Arena crowd will cheer for the home team and support them until the final buzzer. However, if Zalgiris is destined to miss the chance to play in the historic Final Four of their own city in a few weeks, then Saras would probably be the only opponent that they would forgive for keeping them out.
Yes, Sarunas Jasikevicius is the head coach of FC Barcelona, but he was also born and raised in Kaunas and maintains a special bond with the city and Lithuanian fans. That’s true even though he played for the club only in the final season of his legendary career, which included four EuroLeague titles, two with Maccabi Tel Aviv, one with FC Barcelona and one with Panathinaikos.
With Zalgiris as a player, he won only the local championship title in 2014, but that was just the start of things to come.
A small coaching miracle
As one of the top point guards in the history of European basketball, it was natural for Saras to make the jump to coaching and he did it on the bench of Zalgiris, first as an assistant between 2014 and 2016 and then as the head coach.
To be exact, he replaced initially Gintaras Krapikas as interim head coach, and then on January 13, 2016, he officially become the new head coach of the club.
While the move was expected since the day he decided to join Zalgiris’s coaching staff, and everyone was interested in this hiring, nobody expected him to rise so quickly to become one of the top EuroLeague coaches from the bench of a team with modest resources.
However, Saras himself always set high goals and was maniacally fixated on achieving them. His first EuroLeague win came on January 22, 2016, by 20 points, 75-55, against Olympiacos Piraeus, which had been a finalist the previous season.
Few would have expected that, except perhaps former coach Zeljko Obradovic. The winningest coach in the history of the EuroLeague has an admirable coaching tree, which includes two-time EuroLeague winner Dimitris Itoudis, among others.
Obradovic coached Jasikevicius at Panathinaikos, and after a bumpy start, they got to really know and appreciate each other. If Partizan and Barcelona make it to the Final Four, master and teacher will face each other in the semifinal, but that will be another story.
The point is that what Obradovic saw in Saras – a player destined to become a coach – was evident to everyone during the 2017-18 season. Despite having a low budget, Zalgiris ended up sixth in the regular season and made it to the 2018 Final Four by beating Olympiacos 3-1 in the quarterfinals. They lost to Obradovic’s Fenerbahce in the semifinal, but merely making it to the Final Four was hailed as a huge achievement.
The Barcelona challenge might end in Kaunas
Sarunas Jasikevicius always loved Barcelona, so when his old team came knocking, he signed in the summer of 2020. This decision also set the bar high. While Zalgiris making it to the Final Four was historic, Barcelona was expected to be there and win the title.
Under Saras, Barcelona is always there, but so far hasn’t won the trophy, a goal that eludes the club since 2010.
After not making it happen in the championship game in Cologne and in last season’s semifinals in Belgrade, it’s almost a karmic coincidence that Sarunas Jasikevicius has the chance to win it all in Kaunas. To be exact, he needs three more wins in the Zalgirio Arena to make it happen.
And while it’s certain that Zalgiris’s loyal fans will chant until the last second for their team, if the home club can’t make it to the big dance, then having Jasikevicius representing them is the best possible alternative.