Jasikevicius stays in Zalgiris for the next season 18

Sarunas Jasikevicius is staying in Kaunas for at least another year. Jasikevicius, the Kaunas native who ended his own amazing playing career in the city, didn’t take long to make his decision to stay in his hometown, despite the coaching prodigy having multiple offers from other clubs competing for his services.

Saras elaborated on the reasoning behind his decision to stay, “Here I have optimum conditions to excel as a coach. This is my hometown, my family and I feel loved and respected here. We got a great Zalgirio arena, a wonderful basketball infrastructure, and passionate sports fans at our games.”

Upon becoming the head coach of the Zalgiris last season, he has turned the team into one of the most feared in the EuroLeague. Consequently, he was considered one of the most sought after coaches in all of Europe before his announced decision to stay.

Jasikevicius, the Kaunas native who led the Zalgiris to the EuroLeague Final Four last season, was even offered a job on the coaching staff of the Toronto Raptors. He resisted the temptation to coach in the NBA and turned them down in order to finish the job he started here in Lithuania. He already has a great basketball foundation in place to further dominate much closer to home. His own coaching system has proven very successful in Kaunas.

Translated by Neal Maloney