Giedrius Gustas (born 4 March 1980) is a former Lithuanian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. At the height of 1.90 m (6'2 3⁄4") tall and a weight of 86 kg (190 lbs.), he mainly played at the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

position. During his club playing career, as a member of Žalgiris Kaunas, he won the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

championship in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. As a member of the Barons LMT, he won the Europe Cup championship in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. He was also a member of the senior Lithuanian national team, and with Lithuania, he won the gold medal at the 2003 EuroBasket and the bronze medal at the 2007 EuroBasket.

Early years and life

Giedrius Gustas graduated from the Arvydas Sabonis basketball school. He started his training being at eight with the Lithuanian basketball coach Ramūnas Šalūga. He was a member of the 1980s boys' generation, the first generation to graduate from Sabonis' basketball school. 1996 played for the Lithuanian junior basketball team. 1998 together with R. Javtokas, A. Macijauskas, D. Zavackas, G. Kadžiulis, T. Nagis, played for the Lithuanian youth basketball team. In 1998, Giedrius Gustas graduated from the Kaunas V. Kuprevičiaus (former Kaunas 32) primary school.

Professional career

Giedrius Gustas joined the Lithuanian League club Žalgiris Kaunas, in 1998. With Žalgiris, he won the NEBL championship, the

championship, and the Lithuanian League championship in 1999. In 2008, while he was playing with the Latvian League club Barons LMT, he won the FIBA EuroCup championship, and he was also named the league's Final Four MVP. In 2009, Giedrius Gustas joined the Greek League club EKK Kavala.

National team career

Giedrius Gustas played with the junior national teams of Lithuania. With Lithuania's Under-18 junior national team, he played at the 1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. Giedrius Gustas was also a member of the senior Lithuanian national team. With Lithuania, he played at the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised b ...

. He also played at the 2003 EuroBasket, where he won a gold medal, the 2005 EuroBasket, and the 2007 EuroBasket, where he won a bronze medal. With Lithuania, he played in 72 games and scored a total of 298 points.

Coaching and managerial career

On 31 August 2016, Giedrius Gustas announced his retirement as a player, and he became the assistant

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

of the Lithuanian League club Dzūkija Alytus. From 2016 to 2017, he worked as the Sports Director of Dzūkija Alytus. In 2018, Giedrius Gustas became a member of the

Lithuanian Basketball Federation The Lithuanian Basketball Federation (), also known as LKF, is a national governing body of basketball in Lithuania. It was founded in 1936, but due to Occupation of the Baltic states, Soviet occupation, the federation disappeared from FIBA. It w ...

's board and the Director of the Lithuanian Women's League.

Personal life

In 2017, Giedrius Gustas graduated from

Vytautas Magnus University Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) (, VDU) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university. Initially it was known as the University of Lithuania, but ...

with a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in Business Administration and Management. Two years later, Giedrius Gustas graduated from the same institution with a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

Marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

and

Sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...

Career awards and achievements

;As player * NEBL champion:

champion:

* 4× Lithuanian League champion: 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004 * Lithuanian League Runner-up: 2002 *

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

* Latvian League Runner-up: 2006 *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

* FIBA EuroCup champion:

* FIBA EuroCup Final Four MVP: 2008 * Latvian League champion: 2008 * Polish League 3rd place: 2011 * Lithuanian League 3rd place: 2013 * Estonian League 3rd place: 2014

References

External links

Euroleague.net ProfilePolish League Profile

Draftexpress.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gustas, Giedrius 1980 births Living people 2006 FIBA World Championship players Basketball executives Basketball players from Kaunas BC Dynamo Moscow players BC Dzūkija players BC Neptūnas players BC Rakvere Tarvas players BC Žalgiris players BC Žalgiris-2 players BC Zenit Saint Petersburg players BK Barons players FIBA EuroBasket–winning players Kavala B.C. players Lithuanian basketball coaches Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Estonia Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Greece Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Latvia Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Poland Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Russia Lithuanian men's basketball players 21st-century Lithuanian sportsmen PBC Lokomotiv-Kuban players Point guards Shooting guards Trefl Sopot players Turów Zgorzelec players