{"id":2044,"date":"2013-05-24T13:01:59","date_gmt":"2013-05-24T18:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/salfass.org\/?p=2044"},"modified":"2013-05-24T13:09:40","modified_gmt":"2013-05-24T18:09:40","slug":"easter-in-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.salfass.org\/sportas\/easter-in-washington\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithuanian Easter in Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lithuanian Easter in Washington, DC – with basketball diplomacy<\/h2>\n

Laurynas-Larry R. Misevi\u010dius (Chair of the Board \u2013 LAUNA)<\/h3>\n

10th traditional international basketball tournament, organized by the Lithuanian Embassy in DC as well as Lithuanian Athletic Union of North America took place in the nation\u2019s capital Easter weekend (March 31-st, 2013)
\nIt was back in the Spring of 2003 when the already rich Lithuanian basketball history opened up another fresh page\u2026the then Ambassador of our Baltic Nation to U.S.A. and Mexico H.E. Vygaudas U\u0161ackas called upon the local Lithuanian American Community chapter sports actyvists to start a new tournament, dedicated to March 11-th, 1990 \u2013 Lithuania\u2018s Independence Restoration. Later on he named this project as \u201ebasketball diplomacy\u201c, soon this phrase becoming legendary. It appeared to be a huge success right off the bat, as the time went by, this basketball meet-up turned into an international competition, other Embassies from the Eastern and Middle Europe sent their teams to participate alongside the State Department. Ambassadors changed, but the tradition went on \u2013 a few years back our biggest amateur sports organization in the exile Lithuanian Athletic Union of North America joined the Baltic country\u2018s diplomats in co-sponsoring \u201eAmbassador\u2018s Cup\u201c in Washington, DC. As we all know, in 2013 Lithuanians everywhere commemorate 80-th anniversary of the first Transatlantic flight, executed by our national heros Steponas Darius and Stasys Gir\u0117nas. \u201cIn their speech before the flight, the pilots declared that the flight was to enhance the spirit of the sons of Lithuania by inspiring them to new journeys. It is symbolic that during all this eighty years\u2019 period, apart from the memories of the legendary flight, one of our nation\u2019s most important sources of inspiration and spiritual strength is basketball. Even more symbolic is that Steponas Darius is considered a pioneer of Lithuanian basketball, \u201d co-organizers of this year\u2019s basketball tournament Mr. Art\u016bras Vazbys said, naming it \u201cLituanica 80 Cup\u201d.10 teams competed in the championship, organized by the diplomats for the 10th time, including the American and Canadian Lithuanian teams from Washington (DC), New York, Toronto, Baltimore, Philadelphia and NJ. The staff of the Lithuanian Embassy together with the diplomats from the Latvian and Estonian embassies united to form a team of \u201cBaltic Unity\u201d. There was a team of the US State Department representatives, too.
\nThe winners of the \u2018Lituanica 80 basketball Cup\u2019 tournament were New York\u2019s \u201cGele\u017einis vikas\u201d (\u201cIron Wolf\u201d) – team that, after a very dramatic finish and overtime came out on top of Toronto\u2019s \u201cAu\u0161ra\u201d (\u201cDawn\u201d) 40:34, third place was taken by Baltimore\u2019s \u201cPartizanai\u201d (\u201cGuerillas\u201d), who beat the only American team \u2013 Dept. of State by just one bucket 48:46.<\/p>\n

\"washington-1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo by Ludo Segers
\nThe NBA and the Lithuanian national basketball team player Jonas Valan\u010di\u016bnas joined everyone at the \u201cLituanica 80 Cup\u201d finals in the Columbia Heights Educational campus as he arrived to play against the local \u201cWizards\u201d together with Toronto \u201cRaptors\u201d on Easter Day at the \u201cVerizon Center\u201d. Jonas supported his Canadian hometown\u2019s \u201cAu\u0161ra\u2019s\u201d rally against a bit stronger NY team wildly and even received a technical foul from one of the Lithuanian referees Vidmantas Petraitis. After the tournament, the Lithuanian Embassy hosted an awards ceremony, which was attended by J. Valan\u010di\u016bnas who, together with the ambassador \u017dygimantas Pavilionis as well as LAUNA\u2019s chairman Laurynas R. Misevi\u010dius, presented trophies and medals, manufactured by the Lithuanian Basketball Federation to the best players of the tournament. As we\u2019re eagerly awaiting next year\u2019s \u201cAmbassador\u2019s Cup\u201d, most of the American and Canadian Lithuanians, near and dear to the athletics, are getting ready to visit Klaip\u0117da \u2013 Lithuania for the IX-th World Lithuanian Games, a greatest festival, run every 4 years as an amateur competition in about 30 different sports. If anyone\u2018s looking for more information about this fantastic get-together June 27-30-th at the Baltic seashore, would you please kindly go onto Lithuanian Athletic Union\u2018s website www.launa.org or contact Laurynas-Larry Misevi\u010dius by phone No. 203-895-7147 or e-mail rytupakrante@yahoo.com.<\/p>\n

\"Niujorko<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Wizards<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Penketukas\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lithuanian Easter in Washington, DC – with basketball diplomacy Laurynas-Larry R. Misevi\u010dius (Chair of the Board \u2013 LAUNA) 10th traditional international basketball tournament, organized by the Lithuanian Embassy in DC as well as Lithuanian Athletic Union of North America took place in the nation\u2019s capital Easter weekend (March 31-st, 2013) It was back in the … <\/p>\n

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