1988: Sarunas Marciulionis leads the Soviet basketball team to a gold medal at the Seoul Olympics, scoring 18.1 points per game. One year later, the left-handed guard becomes a European basketball pioneer when he starts playing in the NBA.
1992: Marciulionis establishes the Lithuanian national team together with Valdemaras Chomicius and Arvydas Sabonis. They bring the new state bronze medals in the 1992 (Barcelona) and 1996 (Atlanta) Olympics.
2013: Marciulionis, 49 years old, lives in Vilnius. He has lost his mustache, but still has a pair of bright blue eyes. He visited Israel last week. The Lithuanian Embassy in Tel Aviv held a special event for its country's National Day, screening the documentary film "The Other Dream Team," featuring the Lithuanian basketball team's journey to the podium in 1992. Marciulionis was the guest of honor.
On the way to the Olympic Games, in the qualifying round in Zaragoza, the Lithuanians beat Israel 95-85. It was one of their first wins ever as a team. Marciulionis scored 18 points in that game, while Israeli star Adi Gordon blasted 38.
Israel and me
"Strangely enough, this is my first visit to Israel," Marciulionis told Israel Hayom. "I still remember the games against your national team, which never gave up and always fought back. I especially remember Miki Berkovich and Doron Jamchi.
"I know that for you, the Israelis, the name Sarunas is automatically related to Sarunas Jasikevicius, but actually, I am the first Saras", he jokes. "My nickname in the U.S. was Rooney, but back home, in Lithuania, everybody used to call me Saras. I've been told that he wears jersey number 13 because of me. He is a great player, a true winner, one of the best we ever had."
Lithuania and me
"Once our state was founded, it was a small miracle. Everything happened so fast, without a single shot being fired. Back then I was in the U.S., and I watched everything on TV. Before the Olympics, we decided that it was time to build a national team. It was a sacrifice by everyone, because we started from nothing. We held charity events to raise money. Donnie Nelson, Jr. was not only the coach's son, he was also my translator in the Golden State Warriors. He set up a meeting for me with the Grateful Dead, and the band contributed some outfits to us.
"Winning the bronze medal in 1992 was the biggest accomplishment for Lithuanian basketball ever," says the star, who shined with 23.4 points per game in the Olympics. "It was even bigger than winning the gold at 2003 FIBA EuroBasket, because we laid the foundations for the whole people. We created a generation of basketball fans. We brought a lot of pride to Lithuania. When we won that medal, it was a holy day in Lithuania. Up until today, Lithuania is one of the only three countries in the world -- along with Lebanon and the Philippines -- where basketball is the most popular sport.
"Lithuanian basketball is facing problems. We aren't progressing. The teams don't give local players enough credit, and for too many years we haven't had a high-level point guard. We have to rethink our system and philosophy."
The NBA and me
"Yes, I broke through, but I wasn't alone. Drazen Petrovic, Vlade Divac and Alexander Volkov -- the four of us went to the U.S. at the same time, in the summer of 1989, and it took us a while to get to know American basketball. We discovered a different game than we knew back in Europe. We were in touch with and supported each other. Drazen had some rough times sitting on the bench, and I was thrilled when he became a star. I can't forget our last meeting. We hugged in the airport, said 'see you next season,' and the next day he was killed.
"I needed a year or two to understand what was going on. In my third season, I was at my best, scoring almost 19 points per game for the Warriors. Tony Parker's dad once told me that I need to take five percent from every European player's contract in the NBA."
The present and me
Marciulionis retired at the age of 33 because of injuries, after seven seasons in the NBA during which he scored 4,631 points (12.8 per game). He now manages an academy for 800 young basketball players in Vilnius; some of them, such as Linas Kleiza, Simas Jasaitis and twin brothers Ksystof and Darjus Lavrinovic, have become famous and successful players.
"I can't play basketball anymore, not even in my backyard, because my knees are finished from all these injuries. I watch basketball games here and there, but not regularly. My 11-year-old son, Augustas, plays in my academy. He is not a lost cause. If he were, I would have told him to play violin.
And where did your mustache go-
"I took it off a long time ago, because the ladies told me to. You gotta listen to them."
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