Saulius Štombergas (born December 14, 1973) is a retired Lithuanian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player, basketball coach and businessman. Štombergas is one of the greatest Lithuanian basketball players of all time, and he was also considered to be a great team leader, as he managed to play very well under pressure, and at the end of games. He was also known for his 3-point shooting ability.

Professional playing career

Club playing career

Štombergas'

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

teams during his playing career, were, in the order in which he played for them: Atletas Kaunas, Vostok Shanghai ( Chinese CBA), Žalgiris Kaunas, Kinder Bologna, TAU Cerámica Vitoria, Efes Pilsen Istanbul, Unics Kazan, and Ülker Istanbul. He holds the record in the EuroLeague, since the year 2000, for the most 3-point field goals made in a game, without a miss.

National team playing career

Štombergas played for the senior men's Lithuanian national basketball team, from 1995 to 2004. During the 11 years that he played as a Lithuanian international

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

player, he played in 97 official games, and scored 1,036 points, for his home country. He won two bronze medals at the Summer Olympic Games, in 1996, and

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

. He also won a silver medal at the

EuroBasket 1995 The 1995 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1995, was the 29th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1996 Summer Olympics, giving a berth to ea ...

, and as the captain of the senior national team, he won the gold medal of the same competition, in 2003.European Championships rosters 2003.
/ref> He was also named to the All-Tournament Team. He also played at the

EuroBasket 1997 The 1997 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1997, was the 30th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1998 FIBA World Championship, giving a ber ...

, the

1998 FIBA World Championship The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation and hosted in Greece from 29 July to 9 August 1998. The tournament was contested by 16 n ...

, the

EuroBasket 1999 The 1999 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1999, was the 31st FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2000 Olympic Tournament, giving a berth ...

, the

EuroBasket 2001 The 2001 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2001, was the 32nd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2002 FIBA World Championship, giving a be ...

, and the

2004 Summer Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. He was the

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

for Team Lithuania, at the 2004 Olympics.

Coaching career

After he retired from playing professional basketball, Štombergas began his career as a basketball coach in 2011. He worked as a head coach for BC Žalgiris-2 in the NKL, before joining

BC Žalgiris Basketball Club Žalgiris ( lt, Krepšinio klubas Žalgiris) is a professional basketball team that is based in Kaunas, Lithuania, and competes domestically in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL, Lithuanian Basketball League). Founded in 1944, i ...

as an assistant coach for the 2012-2013 season. He briefly served as head coach in the 2013-2014 season, before resigning in April after disappointing results.

Career player statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2000–01 , style="text-align:left;", TAU Cerámica , 22 , , 20 , , 27.2 , , .520 , , .512 , , .827 , , 2.4 , , .7 , , .9 , , .2 , , 12.0 , , 10.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , style="text-align:left;", Efes Pilsen , 20 , , 19 , , 27.3 , , .493 , , .487 , , .770 , , 3.0 , , 1.2 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 11.6 , , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , style="text-align:left;", Žalgiris , 14 , , 13 , , 30.0 , , .475 , , .415 , , .886 , , 4.1 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .1 , , 13.6 , , 12.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , style="text-align:left;", Ülker , 22 , , 22 , , 29.5 , , .405 , , .299 , , .838 , , 3.5 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 10.3 , , 7.9 , -class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 78 , , 74 , , 28.5 , , .469 , , .420 , , .825 , , 3.2 , , 1.0 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 11.7 , , 10.0

Awards and honors

As a player

Pro clubs

* 5× Lithuanian All-Star Game: 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2003 * Lithuanian All-Star Game MVP: 1995 *

FIBA Saporta Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA E ...

Champion:

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

FIBA Saporta Cup Finals MVP The FIBA Saporta Cup Finals MVP was an annual award that was given by the European-wide second-tier level professional club basketball competition, the FIBA Saporta Cup. It was given to the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of each season's FIBA Saport ...

FIBA Saporta Cup Finals Top Scorer The FIBA Saporta Cup Finals Top Scorer was the individual award for the player that was the highest points scorer of the FIBA Saporta Cup Finals. Which was the championship Finals of the European-wide second-tier level professional club basketba ...

* 3× Lithuanian League

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

: 1998, 1999, 2003 * FIBA EuroStar: 1998 * North European League Champion: 1999 *

EuroLeague champion The rosters of each season's champions and finalists of the top-tier level European-wide professional basketball competition in Europe, the EuroLeague. From 1958, through the present. 1958 FIBA European Champions Cup Winner: Rīgas ASK (USS ...

: 1999 * Spanish League All-Star Game: 2001 * 2× Turkish Cup Winner: 2002, 2005 * Turkish League Champion: 2002 * FIBA Europe League (FIBA EuroChallenge) All-Star: 2004 * FIBA Europe League (FIBA EuroChallenge) Champion: 2004 * Turkish Super Cup Winner: 2004 * Turkish League All-Star Game: 2005

Lithuanian senior national team

1995 EuroBasket The 1995 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1995, was the 29th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1996 Summer Olympics, giving a berth to ea ...

: * 1996 Summer Olympic Games: *

1998 Goodwill Games The 1998 Goodwill Games was the fourth edition of the international sports competition the Goodwill Games, which were created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. The competition was held i ...

: *

2000 Summer Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

: * 2003 EuroBasket: * 2003 EuroBasket: All-Tournament Team

References

External links

Euroleague.net ProfileEurobasket.com ProfileSpanish League Profile

Italian League Profile

Turkish League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stombergas, Saulius 1973 births Living people Anadolu Efes S.K. players Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics BC UNICS players BC Žalgiris players FIBA EuroBasket-winning players Liga ACB players Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in China Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Italy Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Russia Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Spain Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Turkey Lithuanian men's basketball players LSU-Atletas basketball players Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players of Lithuania Olympic bronze medalists for Lithuania Olympic medalists in basketball Saski Baskonia players Shanghai Sharks players Small forwards Basketball players from Klaipėda Ülker G.S.K. basketball players Virtus Bologna players 1998 FIBA World Championship players Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games