Lithuanian basketball is back on top of the world

Lithuanian basketball is back on top of the world, well, at least of Europe—after winning the European Championships for the first time since the then-dominant Lithuanians won in 1939 and 1937. The Sunday victory over favored Spain by a comfortable 93-84 margin prompted displays of euphoria in the streets of basketball-crazed Lithuania, which has long been to European basketball what Indiana is to the United States. Along the way, Lithuania beat the likes of France and also Latvia—by just one point. By making it to the finals, Lithuania automatically qualified for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, where they will be favorites for a medal. They had only one NBA player at the European championships in Sweden, but could have as many a three in Athens—should twin towers Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who plays for Cleveland, and Robertas Javtokas, who plays for San Antonio, be fully fit to play by then. Since independence, Lithuania has won a clutch of bronze medals at the Olympics. During Communist rule, Lithuanians made up the bulk of the gold-medal-winning Soviet teams, and they also comprised the core of the Soviet teams that won the European Championships eight straight times starting in 1957. Many considered Lithuania one of the chief pioneers of European basketball before the war—at a time when few of the large countries on the continent paid the sport much heed.