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Žalgiris Kaunas: basketball quiz

16 October 2026 · The green and whites: from the first Soviet titles to Munich, the legends and the coaches.

Quiz questions

  1. Before it took the name Žalgiris in 1950, the Kaunas club played as ASK and SKIF. It won its first Soviet title as early as 1947. Which year does the club count as its founding year?

    • 1939
    • 1944
    • 1945
    • 1947
    Answer

    1944, the year Soviet troops retook Kaunas. The team played as ASK in 1945-1947 and as SKIF in 1947-1949, and won its second Soviet title in 1951, by then as Žalgiris.

  2. In April 1999, at the Final Four in Munich's Olympiahalle, Žalgiris won the EuroLeague for the first time. Which team did they beat in the final?

    • Teamsystem Bologna
    • Olympiacos
    • Stefanel Milano
    • Kinder Bologna
    Answer

    Kinder Bologna, 82-74. Žalgiris had beaten Olympiacos in the semi-final, and Tyus Edney was named Final Four MVP. Both Bologna clubs were in Munich that year.

  3. In his whole professional career Paulius Jankūnas left Kaunas only once, for a single season. His coach that year was an Italian who went on to win the 2019 NBA title as a Toronto Raptors assistant. Where did Jankūnas spend that season?

    • Unicaja Málaga
    • Khimki Moscow Region
    • CSKA Moscow
    • Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
    Answer

    Khimki, in 2009-10. Sergio Scariolo coached Khimki from 2008 to 2010, and his earlier clubs included Málaga and Vitoria. Žalgiris later retired Jankūnas's number 13.

  4. In January 2016 Žalgiris dismissed its head coach and handed the team to his assistant, Šarūnas Jasikevičius. Two years later Šaras took the club to the Final Four. Which coach did he replace?

    • Saulius Štombergas
    • Joan Plaza
    • Gintaras Krapikas
    • Darius Maskoliūnas
    Answer

    Gintaras Krapikas, in his second spell in charge, with LKL titles in 2014 and 2015. As a Žalgiris player he had won the 1987 Soviet title.

  5. All four of these Lithuanians were named EuroBasket MVP. One of them is still the youngest winner of the award: he was 20 years old and a Žalgiris player at the time. Who is he?

    • Modestas Paulauskas
    • Arvydas Sabonis
    • Šarūnas Marčiulionis
    • Šarūnas Jasikevičius
    Answer

    Modestas Paulauskas, in 1965, when the Soviet Union beat Yugoslavia 58-49 in the final. Arvydas Sabonis was also a 20-year-old Žalgiris player when he won it in 1985, but about three months older.

  6. In 2018 Žalgiris finished only sixth in the regular season. In the playoffs they knocked out the third-placed team 3-1, sealing it 101-91 at home in Game 4. A year earlier that opponent had played in the EuroLeague final. Who were they?

    • Fenerbahçe
    • Olympiacos
    • CSKA Moscow
    • Panathinaikos
    Answer

    Olympiacos, who had lost the 2017 final to Fenerbahçe. In Belgrade Žalgiris then lost the semi-final to Fenerbahçe and beat CSKA 79-77 for third place.

  7. In March 1985, in Grenoble, Žalgiris played the Cup Winners' Cup final and lost 73-77. A year earlier the winners had also reached the Champions Cup final, only to lose it in Geneva to Banco di Roma. Who beat Žalgiris?

    • Real Madrid
    • CAI Zaragoza
    • Barcelona
    • Cibona Zagreb
    Answer

    Barcelona. Žalgiris had reached the final by edging ASVEL 172-171 on aggregate in the semi-finals.

  8. For decades Žalgiris played in the old Sports Hall, until a new arena rose on Nemunas Island. Its first game was Lithuania against Spain, and a few weeks later the Spaniards lifted a trophy on the same floor. In which year did Žalgiris Arena open?

    • 2009
    • 2010
    • 2011
    • 2012
    Answer

    18 August 2011. A few weeks later it hosted the knockout rounds and final of EuroBasket 2011, won by Spain. The old Kaunas Sports Hall had been built for EuroBasket 1939.

  9. He coached Žalgiris to three Soviet titles in a row, from 1985 to 1987, and in 1990 he took the Soviet Union to the World Championship final. Who is he?

    • Jonas Kazlauskas
    • Alexander Gomelsky
    • Antanas Sireika
    • Vladas Garastas
    Answer

    Vladas Garastas. With Lithuania he later won Olympic bronze in 1992 and 1996 and EuroBasket silver in 1995.

  10. All four played in the NBA, and three of them also wore the Žalgiris shirt at some point in their careers. Which of them never played for Žalgiris?

    • Šarūnas Marčiulionis
    • Šarūnas Jasikevičius
    • Mindaugas Kuzminskas
    • Martynas Andriuškevičius
    Answer

    Šarūnas Marčiulionis's only European club was Statyba Vilnius (1981-1989). Jasikevičius finished his playing career at Žalgiris in 2014, Kuzminskas played in Kaunas from 2010 to 2013, and Andriuškevičius left Žalgiris for the NBA in 2005.

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