The Other Dream Team
by Adam O'Connor
Starring Sarunas Marciulionis, Arvydas Sabonis and Rimas Kurtinaitis. Written by Jon Weinbach, Marius A. Markevicius. Directed by Marius A. Markevicius.
The story of Lithuania's national basketball teams – including their legendary bronze medal run at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona – has as much to do with sports as it does with the political happenings that plagued the country for decades.
For years, Lithuania and its athletes struggled under Soviet rule, held under lock and key by the Iron Curtain. Superstar players within the European community, they were prohibited from leaving to test their skills in America. A basketball-crazed nation for the past seven decades, their players had become a shining beacon and source of pride within the oppressed nation. And as this is a story less about individual accomplishments and more about a true sense of community, devotion and accomplishment for Lithuania as a whole, The Other Dream Team becomes a film about more than just basketball. Just minutes into the film, it transforms into a historical and policital documentary than wholly engrosses the viewer.
At the heart of the Lithuanian team were two stars from the same small town of Kaunas (both of whom would eventually make a mark in the NBA). Sarunas Marciulionis and Arvydas Sabonis were the talent, heart and soul of the '92 team – chock full of character and talent – and are able to provide many anecdotes and tales of happiness and pride from the accomplishments of their team and their nation.
© 2013
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