An Olympic bronze medal means third place, but for Lithuania, a nation that was not allowed to be a nation for 51 years, it meant much more.
When Lithuania beat the Commonwealth of Independent States, 82-78, for the bronze, President Vytautas Z. Landsbergis was doused with champagne, the players cried and then everybody joined in singing Lithuania’s national anthem.
“It was a wedding, a funeral, every emotion you can ever feel all combined,” assistant coach Donn Nelson said. “It was a vindication of everything that country had been through for the last 51 years.”
There were eight players in the game from the former Soviet Union’s gold-medal team of 1988.
Two--Sarunas Marciulionis and Arvydas Sabonis--led Lithuania with 29 and 28 points, respectively.
“Last night I couldn’t sleep at all,” said Marciulionis, who plays for the Golden State Warriors. “It was impossible for us to lose. It would have been a great tragedy for me personally.”
Marciulionis had taken the other three Lithuanian players with him after the 1988 gold medal game for a separate “team” picture. This time he was able to get the whole squad to pose.
“This is the best thing that’s ever happened in my life,” said Sabonis, who keyed the Soviet Union’s victory over the United States four years ago. “Winning the bronze medal makes me even happier than the gold I won with the Soviet Union in Seoul. I shall dedicate this medal to the people of Lithuania.”
The atmosphere around the Lithuanian players was a far cry from the mood after their preliminary-round loss to the CIS, a game in which Lithuania led by 19 points before bowing, 92-80.
“I had never been in a locker room that quiet,” Nelson said. “That’s why today would have been a devastating loss, not only for the players, but nationally as well.”
