BC Žalgiris

**BC Žalgiris**
	BC Žalgiris
Leagues	Lithuanian Basketball League,; Baltic League,; Euroleague
Founded	1944
Arena	Kaunas Sports Hall; (capacity: 5,000)
Location	Kaunas, Lithuania
Team colors	Green and White;
President	Arvydas Sabonis
Head coach	Gintaras Krapikas
Championships	Lithuanian League: 12; Euroleague: 1; Intercontinental Cup: 1; Baltic League: 2; LKF: 2
Website	http://www.zalgiris.lt
	Uniforms
Home	Away

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BC Žalgiris (Basketball Club Žalgiris) is a professional basketball team based in Kaunas, Lithuania. It is one of the oldest teams in the Euroleague and plays domestically in the Lithuanian Basketball League (Lietuvos Krepšinio Lyga). Žalgiris is one of 13 European clubs that currently hold ULEB A Licenses, which provide their holders with a guaranteed place in the Euroleague.

[edit] Team information

Logo design: A green and white shield with the sign "BC Žalgiris", a basketball, and the letter "Ž".

The name commemorates the victorious Battle of Žalgiris (Battle of Grunwald) (both names: Žalgiris and Grunwald are translated as "Green grove").

Since 1944, BC Žalgiris was the main Lithuanian basketball team to produce the top-flight talents for the European basketball, such as the Olympic champions Modestas Paulauskas, Arvydas Sabonis, Rimas Kurtinaitis, Valdemaras Chomičius, and many others. In the mid-1980s, the finals between BC Žalgiris Kaunas and CSKA Moscow (Central Sports Club of Army) served as a major inspiration for Lithuanian national revival that contributed to the emergence of the Sąjūdis national movement and re-establishment of state independence.

Sabonis became the principal owner in 2003 after having played for many years in the Spanish League and the NBA. In 2009, he sold most of his stake to a local investment group, Ūkio banko investicinė grupė, which now holds a 75% interest. Sabonis retained a 21.5% stake in the club; 3% is owned by a minority group, and the remaining 0.5% is owned by Kaunas City municipality.

[edit] Titles

Euroleague Champion: 1999
Winner of EuroCup: 1998
Winner of Intercontinental W. Jones World Clubs Cup: 1986
Winner of Lithuanian championship: 1946, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008.
Winner of Soviet Union championship: 1947, 1951, 1985, 1986, 1987
Winner of Soviet Union Cup: 1953
NEBL Champion: 1999
Winner of Baltic Cup: 1998
Winner of Baltic Basketball League: 2005, 2008
2nd place of Baltic Basketball League: 2006, 2007, 2009
2nd place in Soviet Union championship: 1949, 1952, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1989
3rd place in Soviet Union championship: 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1973, 1978
Runner-up of European Cup Winners' Cup: 1985
Runner-up of European Champions Cup: 1986

[edit] Roster

BC Žalgiris roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Nat.	Name	Ht.
1.0 PG	4	Lithuania	Vasiliauskas, Šarūnas	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
4.0 PF	5	Lithuania	Butkevičius, Povilas	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)
1.0 PG	10	Lithuania	Janavičius, Žygimantas	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
4.0 PF	12	Lithuania	Klimavičius, Tadas	2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)
4.0 PF	13	Lithuania	Jankūnas, Paulius (C)	2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)
2.0 SG	15	Lithuania	Čižauskas, Vytenis	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
2.5 G/F	20	Lithuania	Šalenga, Dainius	1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
2.0 SG	21	Lithuania	Milaknis, Arturas	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
5.0 C	25	Lithuania	Šilinskis, Darius	2.16 m (7 ft 1 in)

Head coach

Gintaras Krapikas

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(*) Playing only in Euroleague
Injured

Roster • updated 2009-03-08

[edit] Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Bench
C	Darius Šilinskis
PF	Paulius Jankunas	Tadas Klimavicius	Povilas Butkevičius
SF
SG	Dainius Salenga	Arturas Milaknis	Vytenis Čižauskas
PG	Zygimantas Janavicius	Sarunas Vasiliauskas