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  Sport > Sport2
Lankomumo reitingas Print version Print version
Sabonis, an MVP and more to Kaunas

Some are called sporting legends for how they play, others for who they are. In the case of Arvydas Sabonis, the Euroleague regular season MVP, either reason is legitimate, and together they explain why he is adored throughout Lithuania. In a small, basketball-mad country with plenty of fine players, Sabonis is king not only because he can drop a hook shot. Few athletes impact their sport in their countries in as many ways as Sabonis does basketball in Lithuania. Besides rejecting millions to keep a promise to play for and direct his original club, Zalgiris Kaunas, Sabonis this year marks the 10th anniversary of his own basketball academy, which enrolls 658 kids. And just as he makes things happen in between the baskets, he is making them happen in his city. Sabonis has recently acquired two playing facilities - one for his school, another for Zalgiris - at the same time that he is pushing plans for the construction of a modern 10,000-seat arena in Kaunas. The rest of Europe may see him as a superstar with a basketball in his hands, but Lithuanians know that he is an MVP off the court, too.

A Davis Cup qualifying tournament early this year was probably the last major event at the Orange Tennis Center in Kaunas - at least in the sport of its name. The up-to-date indoor tennis facility, opened just two years ago, was recently acquired by Sabonis. Although the Lithuanian giant enjoys rushing to the net for a smash or two during pick-up tennis matches with his friends, that wasn't why he bought the arena. Rather, he was thinking of his basketball academy. Established in 1994, the Arvydas Sabonis Basketball School is one of 14 such schools in Lithuania and, according to official ratings that ranked it first for several years, probably the best one.

Alumni from the Sabonis School can be found playing basketball all over the world. Two are teammates of Sabonis on Zalgiris, Giedrius Gustas and Paulius Jankunas, while teenager Rolandas Alijevas plays for another Euroleague team, Adecco Asvel. Among several Sabonis School graduates playing in Italy, Valdas Dabkus joined ULEB Cup challenger Varese in midseason, while a dozen more play on various Lithuanian League pro teams. Another 20 alumni are on teams at various U.S. universities.

When the idea for the school was born a decade ago, Sabas said he was just thinking about his childhood years. "I do not want these kids to go through the same experience I went through as a young player: worn-out sneakers, poor equipment, unheated arenas…." Today, the 658 kids attending School can only guess what Sabas was referring to: they are dressed by manufacturers well-known in the basketball world and are coached by 11 of Lithuania's best youth coaches using advanced techniques Sabonis brought from his career abroad.

Not all is roses and flowers, though. For 29 groups of kids covering 11 age brackets, the school has only one court of its own. It rents 11 others scattered across the town, which creates a lot of logistical problems. Kids who join the school from outside Kaunas need accommodation that often requires inefficient expenditure. To prepare the kids for future challenges on and off the court, Sabonis wants the curriculum augmented with such courses as basketball-oriented English, general culture, psychology, ethics and computer science. With the acquisition of the Orange Tennis Center, many of these problems should be solved. This summer, the center's four tennis courts of the arena will be adapted for basketball and the squash court turned into a fitness center. Other facilities, including a planned extension of the present building, will be used for six additional locker rooms, classrooms to host three-hour daily lessons for every age group and administrative offices.

The new home for his school is just part of €2 million in investments Sabonis has made recently in facilities for both the school and Zalgiris. In addition to the tennis arena, he has also purchased the Kausta Arena in Kaunas, which Zalgiris rented for practices with its Euroleague team and as a game venue for its second team. Plans for the arena's reconstruction include the addition of a small, 20-person hotel for out-of-town students attending the Sabonis School, modern facilities with telescopic stands for practices and games, team offices, a fitness center, a medical center, saunas and more.

Sabonis is less a man of word than of deed. For two decades, there have been discussions concerning construction for Zalgiris of a new modern basketball arena that would replace the famous Sporto Hale, built in 1939. Upon returning to Kaunas, Sabonis learned of future Euroleague seating-capacity requirements, rolled up his sleeves and pushed a proposal to construct a modern, 10,000-seat arena with a €25 million budget. Today, the finished project is already on his desk and Sabonis has made his own funds available to see it through. Sabonis expects to the go-ahead for construction to be given as soon as the final decision on the arena location is made, sooner rather than later, he hopes, as procrastination makes him nervous.

The first question non-Lithuanian media often ask Sabonis these days is why he has rejected NBA millions to play for his relatively modest team from Kaunas, which has a population of approximately 475,000. His answer: "Because I love Zalgiris, and I keep my promises." He might also add that he loves Kaunas and the sport of basketball. Because all this is true, and everybody in Lithuania knows it, even if Sabonis does not like to speak much, even less to boast of his accomplishments. He prefers action over talking, but his off-court deeds are eloquent, indeed.

         
Lankomumo reitingas

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