Legends of legends: Š.Marčiulion is accused of trying to bribe, the Greek responds with a shot

Šarūnas Marčiulionis told the Spanish magazine Skyhool interesting stories from ancient times.

The Lithuanian basketball star also spoke about the 1987 European Championship and accused the Greek hosts of that championship.

According to Š.Marčiulionis, the Greeks tried to bribe the USSR team before the final of the tournament.

“The Greeks offered us money, but nobody took it,” Marčiulionis told the Spanish magazine Skyhool. – But the writing itself brought doubts to our team. The problem was within us due to poor communication. If the coach had called us all together, we would have found out what was going on. Instead, we did nothing, we were left confused and lost. Now I can only joke that we contributed to the improvement of Greek basketball, although it was not paid for. “

The USSR team, which at that time was represented by several Lithuanians (Valdemaras Chomičius, Sergejus Jovaiša and Š.Marčiulionis), fought in the final, but after extra time they fell 101: 103 to the Greek basketball players, for whom the legendary Nikos Galis scored 40 points.

Now another leader of the then Greek team, Panagiotis Fasoul, reacted to S. Marčiulion’s speeches, contributing to the first European championship gold won by the Greeks.

Both he and Š.Marčiulionis became the five symbolic of the best players of the European Championship together with the most useful player of the tournament N.Galis, as well as Alexander Volkov and Andres Jimenez.

Former Greek midfielder P. Fasoul, now 57, spread the word on Facebook.

“Honey, Šarūnai, I would never have thought that in a great athlete like you, there is so much pettiness.

Since the first days after the victory of the Greek team in 1987, you have been spreading false accusations that we use banned substances. This was followed by a racist comment from their coach (then Alexander Gomelski, editor of the USSR team), who called us “Mauritanians”.

You must not forget that there were other events in the European Championship in Athens: we defeated the then Yugoslavia twice, where some of the best players in the world at that time were playing. It should be remembered that at the 1989 European Championship in Zagreb, the USSR team lost again to Greece.

I’m trying to understand you because the defeat of the country you represented at the time was a serious blow to the super sports state, especially when it hit the then rising basketball country of Greece. I never would have believed that it would cause you so much pain that after 34 years you would come up with terrible lies, and we have to suffer those consequences. I imagine that this 87th incident went “unnoticed” by the USSR officials escorting his team.

The value of the losing team is said to add fame to the winning team. Unfortunately, you were able to screw it up after three and a half decades. With regard to sports, Panagiotis Fasoulas ”.