LTU - Saras finally joins Lietuvos Rytas

VILNIUS (LKL/Euroleague) - Sarunas Jasikevicius has agreed to play for Lietuvos Rytas, the club announced on Tuesday.

The MVP of EuroBasket 2003 after leading Lithuania to the gold medal, Jasikevicius is one of the most celebrated players in the country’s basketball history.

The following year, he had one of his most famous games in a Lithuania shirt when engineering a famous upset of the United States in the Preliminary Round of the Athens Olympics, though the Americans avenged that defeat by beating the Baltic nation in the bronze-medal game.

He was also an integral part of the Lithuania side that nearly upset the USA in the Semi-Finals of the 2000 Olympics. That Lithuania team beat Australia in the bronze-medal game.

After playing college basketball in the Atlantic Coast Conference at Maryland, Jasikevicius launched his professional career with Lietuvos Rytas in 1998.

While he had more success in Europe, winning Euroleague crowns with Barcelona, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Panathinaikos, Jasikevicius did have a two-year sojourn to the NBA where he played for Indiana and Golden State.

The veteran playmaker, who was on the books of Panathinaikos in 2009-10, had been strongly linked with Lietuvos Rytas last month.

"Saras is not going to Lietuvos Rytas to end his career," said club chairman Jonas Vainauskas.

"He wants more titles at our club and comes to win."

Lietuvos Rytas have suffered four defeats at the start of Europe's elite club competition.

Two of those setbacks were by just four points, to Montepaschi Siena on October 27 and to Cholet Basket the following week.

The club is undefeated in the LKL but two wins adrift of rivals Zalgiris.

FIBA