Arvydas Sabonis and Sarunas Marciulionis were greeted by the loudest cheers in the Liepaja Olympic Center, as a team of former Lithuanian stars went on to defeat a select team of ESBA Promo Championship participants in an exhibition game held right after the opening ceremony of the championship.
Although neither of Sabonis and Marciulionis stepped onto the court, it did not prevent the 1964-born Lithuanian team, which triumphed in the 1981 USSR XVI Youth Sport Festival and the 1982 USSR III Youth Games, to win the friendly game 51-45.
The game was refereed by FIBA Golden Whistle recipient Romualdas Brazauskas, who is also the Chairman of the Board of ESBA and a participant of the championship taking place in Latvia.
It took some time for the titled guests to find the rhythm, but the long-range shooting of Arturas Jasiunskas kept the Lithuanians ahead 31-29 at the halftime break.
In spite of being close and tightly contested, the game was conducted in a fair play spirit, with both sides showcasing solid team basketball throughout all four quarters.
During the halftime break, the winners of the three-point shooting contest – Eduard Leshukov, Algirdas Linge and Natalia Alekseeva – were awarded in M40/45, M50+ and W35+ categories.
