Antanas SIREIKA

Nationality: Lithuanian
Date of Birth: 11/05/1956
Place of birth: Siauliai
Club Team 2005-06: Zalgiris Kaunas (Lithuania-LKL)
Career: Siauliai (Lithuania-LKL, 1995-2002), Zalgiris Kaunas (2002-06).
International career: Lithuanian National Team (2001-06)

It's been five years already since Antanas Sireika took over for legendary coach Jonas Kazlauskas. Sireika quickly made a name for himself winning EuroBasket 2003 in Sweden, the first continental crown for Lithuania in 64 years.

He also had a nice run at the 2004 Olympics, beating the United States in the Round Robin before finishing fourth. He achieved both runs the same way Lithuania has been doing things over the past 14 years, with a constantly-moving offence that allowed the team to score 93 points in the EuroBasket 2003 final, for example.

Sireika began his career with the Lithuanian team Siauliai, a small club that couldn't compete against the likes of Zalgiris Kaunas. At 33, he took them to the third place in the Lithuanian League (LKL). He would later move on to Zalgiris Kaunas, where he came within a few possessions of the 2004 Euroleague Final Four, losing a close game to eventual winner Maccabi Tel Aviv.