Almost a million fans and the lost journey syndrome: the most interesting figures of the Shar Euroleague era



[ad_1]

He joined the team at the helm in 2015-2016. In the middle of the season and in the heat of the “Top 16” stage, Š.Jasikevičius warmed his legs by winning only 2 of the first 12 matches, but already in the next season “Žalgiris” started biting into matches with the tribunes of the Euroleague and rose in the classification.

Two tickets to the Euroleague quarterfinals, a visit to the last four, the disappearance of the departure syndrome and the weekly Žalgiris Arena: this is how Lithuanian basketball fans will remember the Kaunas team supervised by Š. Jasikevičius from the sideline.

15 minutes selected the most interesting numbers from Š’s unique period. Jasikevičius in “Žalgiris”.

1632 days – around that time Š.Jasikevičius was at the helm of “Žalgiris”, becoming the longest leading strategist in the 21st century.

Throughout Žalgiris’ history, only three coaches: Vytautas Bimba (1962-1975), Vladas Garastas (1979-1990) and Jonas Kazlauskas (1994-2000) held the team’s helm longer than Shar.

8 – so many times “Žalgiris” players threw Š.Jasikevičius into the air after winning trophies.

Sigismund Gedvila photo / 15min / Šarūnas Jasikevičius

Sigismund Gedvila photo / 15min / Šarūnas Jasikevičius

Called the “Golden Boy” during his basketball career, the Kaunas player became the Lithuanian champion only once, but after becoming a coach, he made up for it by winning LKL 5 times in a row. Twice in the final, his “Žalgiris” defeated Vilnius “Rytas”, then – Klaipėda “Neptūnas” and Panevėžys “Lietkabelis”, and in the season he interrupted due to the pandemic that received the title for achievements in the regular season.

It is true that Š.Jasikevičius failed to overcome the barriers of the King Mindaugas Cup without stumbling, in 2016 and 2019. His cups were captivated by the “Rytas” teams led by Tomas Pačės and Dainius Adomaičas. Still in 2017, 2018 and 2020. After the victory of the KMT final, the dance moves were demonstrated by the people of Žalgiris.

344 – Š.Jasikevičius was the head coach of “Žalgiris” in both games. Most, even 189 times, Šaras led the Kaunas team in the Lithuanian Basketball League, 138 teams played in the Euroleague and competed 17 times in the King Mindaugas Cup.

66 – Shar won so many victories in command of “Žalgiris” in the Euroleague. He became the team record holder in March 2018, when he bested Antanas Sireikas, who was in second place with 30 wins.

In a total of 138 games in the strongest tournament on the continent, Shar, who led the team, left the field 72 times.

Erik Ovcharenko / 15min photo / Šarūnas Jasikevičius

Erik Ovcharenko / 15min photo / Šarūnas Jasikevičius

250 – Sharas achieved such a round number of victories in Kaunas. In addition to winning in the Euroleague, the 44-year-old led the LKL 169 times and triumphed in the KMT 15 times.

Respectively, in the national championship in four and a half years there were only 20 losses, and in the cup competition – only 2 losses.

29 – “Žalgiris”, inspired by the Sharo, achieved so many victories on Euroleague trips.

Having previously traveled to the territories of the rivals, unless “fighting”, in the latter “Žalgiris” has become a true trinket of the owners of the square.

It was not short for Shar to have outdone all the strategists who had previously coached Žalgiris in the modern Euroleague together; During his 4.5-year stint, his Žalgiris had 29 victories, while in the previous 16 years the Kaunas team won just 34 times.

Photo by Rokas Lukoševičius / 15min / Šarūnas Jasikevičius

Photo by Rokas Lukoševičius / 15min / Šarūnas Jasikevičius

915 672 – Many Žalgiris fans have attended Euroleague games since Š.Jasikevičius assumed command of the team.

On average, 13,270 fans watched a Kaunas match in the Euroleague during these four and a half years, and since January 2017, Žalgiris has never sold less than 10,000. Tickets.

The bridges to the island of Nemunas withstood a slightly smaller influx of people only during the start of the coronavirus pandemic, when some of the fans who escaped the raging disease did not enter the arena, and “only” 9405 fans saw Žalgiris’s match with Olympia Milan.

Four. Five – both players, led by Sharas, played in at least one Euroleague game in “Žalgiris” clothing. 26 of them were legionaries, 19 – Lithuanians.

Only Paulius Jankūnas and Edgaras Ulanovas played in “Žalgiris” during the five seasons, when the team was coached by Š.Jasikevičius. Artūras Milaknis did not represent the team alone in 2015-2016. season when I was still wearing Kazan UNIKS clothes.

9 – Žalgiris, who has played so many successful seasons in Kaunas, “exported” to other Euroleague teams. Leo Westermann used the Lithuanian trampoline twice: first for CSKA in Moscow and then for Fenerbach in Istanbul. Shar will meet one of his former students, Brandon Davies, who has been playing in Kaunas for two years.

Sigismund Gedvila / 15min photo / Šarūnas Jasikevičius and Leo Westermann

Sigismund Gedvila / 15min photo / Šarūnas Jasikevičius and Leo Westermann

two – Share prepared so many basketball players for the team to move to next season – “Barcelona”. Kevin Pangos and Brandon Davies went up from “Žalgiris” to this Catalan superclub, and at least Š.Jasikevičius should be in Barcelona in the fall.

3 – While coaching the basketball team “Žalgiris”, Šar reached the symbolic five of the Euroleague season.

P.Jankūnas and K. Pangosas did so in the last four years of 2017-2018. season, when he took places in the second five, and B. Davies last week even rose to the top five of the best players in the Euroleague.

Sigismund Gedvila / 15min photo / Brandon Davies and Šarūnas Jasikevičius

Sigismund Gedvila / 15min photo / Brandon Davies and Šarūnas Jasikevičius

For comparison, from 2000 to 2016. Only two people from Žalgiris – Arvydas Sabonis (2004) and Darjušas Lavrinovičius (2006) – were included in the five Euroleague symbolics.



[ad_2]