Saulius Štombergas (born December 14, 1973) is a retired Lithuanian professional basketball player, basketball coach and businessman. Štombergas is one of the greatest Lithuanian basketball players of all time, and he was also considered to be a great team leader, as he managed to play very well under pressure, and at the end of games. He was also known for his 3-point shooting ability.

Saulius Štombergas
Štombergas, while coaching, in 2013.
Personal information
Born (1973-12-14) December 14, 1973 (age 50)
Klaipėda, Lithuania
Listed height6 ft 8.5 in (2.04 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
Playing career1992–2010
PositionSmall forward
Number7
Coaching career2011–2014
Career history
As player:
1992–1993Žalgiris Kaunas
1993–1997Atletas Kaunas
1996–1997Shanghai Sharks
1997–1999Žalgiris Kaunas
1999–2000Kinder Bologna
2000–2001TAU Cerámica Vitoria
2001–2002Efes Pilsen Istanbul
2002–2003Žalgiris Kaunas
2003–2004Unics Kazan
2004–2005Ülker Istanbul
2005–2007Unics Kazan
2007–2008Naglis-Adakris Palanga
2009–2010Unics Kazan
As coach:
2011Žalgiris-Arvydas Sabonis school Kaunas
2011–2013Žalgiris Kaunas (assistant)
2013–2014Žalgiris Kaunas
Career highlights and awards
As player:
Medals
Representing  Lithuania
Men's Basketball
FIBA Europe U18 Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Greece Under-18
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1996 Atlanta
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Sydney
EuroBasket
Silver medal – second place 1995 Athens
Gold medal – first place 2003 Sweden

Professional career

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Štombergas' club teams during his playing career, were, in the order in which he played for them: Atletas Kaunas, Vostok Shanghai (Chinese CBA), Žalgiris Kaunas, Kinder Bologna, TAU Cerámica Vitoria, Efes Pilsen Istanbul, Unics Kazan, and Ülker Istanbul. He holds the record in the EuroLeague, since the year 2000, for the most 3-point field goals made in a game, without a miss.

National team career

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Štombergas played for the senior men's Lithuanian national basketball team, from 1995 to 2004.

During the 11 years that he played as a Lithuanian international national team player, he played in 97 official games, and scored 1,036 points, for his home country. He won two bronze medals at the Summer Olympic Games, in 1996, and 2000. He also won a silver medal at the EuroBasket 1995, and as the captain of the senior national team, he won the gold medal of the same competition, in 2003.[1] He was also named to the All-Tournament Team.

He also played at the EuroBasket 1997, the 1998 FIBA World Championship, the EuroBasket 1999, the EuroBasket 2001, and the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. He was the flag bearer for Team Lithuania, at the 2004 Olympics.

Coaching career

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After he retired from playing professional basketball, Štombergas began his career as a basketball coach in 2011. He worked as a head coach for BC Žalgiris-2 in the NKL, before joining BC Žalgiris as an assistant coach for the 2012-2013 season. He briefly served as head coach in the 2013-2014 season, before resigning in April after disappointing results.

Career player statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

EuroLeague

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2000–01 TAU Cerámica 22 20 27.2 .520 .512 .827 2.4 .7 .9 .2 12.0 10.5
2001–02 Efes Pilsen 20 19 27.3 .493 .487 .770 3.0 1.2 1.6 .1 11.6 10.1
2002–03 Žalgiris 14 13 30.0 .475 .415 .886 4.1 1.3 .6 .1 13.6 12.1
2004–05 Ülker 22 22 29.5 .405 .299 .838 3.5 1.0 1.3 .1 10.3 7.9
Career 78 74 28.5 .469 .420 .825 3.2 1.0 1.2 .1 11.7 10.0

Awards and honors

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As a player

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Pro clubs

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Lithuanian senior national team

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References

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