Linkevichene, Sandra

Linkevichene Sandra started basketball in Kretinga . At the age of 15, she left for the Vilnius Olympic School, after which there was her first club “Snayge” (“Snowflake”) from Alytus . Then Sandra moved to the strongest Lithuanian club Litovus Telecomas , where her ascent to the basketball olympic began. In the first season (1999/2000) she became the champion of Lithuania , the winner of the Baltic League , participated in the Ronchetti Cup , where the team reached the semifinals. At the end of the season, she received a call to the national team for the European Championship among juniors , where the team took 4th place, and Sandra was the best among her peers in the team in the following indicators - 15.5 points, 6.9 average picks per game.

In the 2000/01 season, Sandra repeated her success with the club in the domestic championships, as well as her debut in the Euroleague , where the team reached the 1/8 finals. At the World Championships among girls, the team took 8th place and it was the best in the attack assists team - 2.3 per game.

Starting from the 2001/02 season, Linkevicene became the main basketball player of Litovus Telecomas until her departure in 2008 . In 2002, at the age of 21, she first put on a shirt of the “adult” Lithuanian national team at the World Championships in China , where she played 8 games along with the old-timers of the national team.

Sandra and her team achieved the biggest success in the Euroleague in the 2004/05 season , where Litovus Telecomas took third place, defeating the Hungarian MiZo-Pecs in the match for the prize - 68:60. Throughout the tournament, she played all 19 games and was the second in the team in terms of the number of minutes on the court - 31.7 per game. But the season did not end there, at the 2005 European Championships, the Lithuanian team took 4th place and here Linkevichene was the leader in her team - 13.5 points, 3.8 assists, 30.8 minutes per game on average.

In the 2005/06 season , Litovus Telecomas , having made it to the Euroleague Final Four, could not repeat the success - it took 4th place, and again Sandra was a leader in the team in many respects. In 2006, at the World Championships in Brazil, the Lithuanian team took 6th place (repeating the success of 1998 ), largely due to the excellent game of Sandra Linkevicene.

Another stroke in her biography is the World Basketball League 2007 , where Sandra is the creator of the sensation of the tournament, when TEO beat the WNBA team (79:76) in which future Olympic champions of 2008 shone: Augustus , Pondexter , Taurasi , Bird and others . At this tournament, Linkevichene was the best among all the basketball players in the following indicators: 4.2 assists, 2.8 interceptions per game on average.

Throughout her career at the Vilnius Club, she won 9 consecutive Lithuanian and Baltic League titles. It is possible that she would have ended her basketball career in Lithuania if, before the start of the 2008/09 season, coach Algirdas Paulauskas (he had been training the team and the national team for 6 years) would not have joined Dynamo Kursk . Sandra left the TEO after him and signed a contract with Dynamo .

Already in the new team for two consecutive years Linkevichene reached the semifinal of the European Cup , for two consecutive years she took 4th place in the Championship of Russia ( 2009/10 , 2010/11 ), losing the series for 3rd place to the Orenburg Nadezhda . Again showing a stable game, Sandra was here one of the pillars of the Kursk Dynamo , constantly going out to the match in the starting five. In August 2010, Sandra played a key role in the fact that the Lithuanian team was able to qualify for Eurobasket 2011 from first place in its qualifying group.

At the end of 2010, she was nominated for the best basketball player of the Old World season 2009/2010 according to the International Federation of Basketball Associations ( FIBA ), where Sandra got thanks to her excellent game for the Dynamo Kursk and the national team of her country. Moreover, she was the only one from the “list of 16” whose club did not take part in the Euroleague . ^[1] And in her homeland she was recognized as the best basketball player of Lithuania in 2010 ^[2] (in 2009 she was second in the fans' survey). ^[3]

At the European Championship 2011, she was again the leader in her team - 12 points, 6.9 rebounds on average per game, but taking 7th place, the Lithuanian team did not qualify for the 2012 Olympics .

After the 2010/11 season, Algirdas Paulauskas left to train Yekaterinburg UMMC and in an interview with Sport-Express newspaper answered: ^[4]

- Would you like to invite someone from your team in Lithuania to Ekaterinburg?

- Considered the candidacy of Sandra Linkevichene. But in her position at the UMMC there were already good players with existing contracts. There was no point breaking something. In addition, Linkevichene is going to become a mother ...

Before the start of the 20011/12 season, Sandra decided not to renew the contract with Dynamo and returned to Lithuania , where she began to play for her former club , which changed not only its name, but also moved its residence permit from Vilnius to Kaunas .

Having won 6 games in the Euroleague and 4 matches in the national championship for “ HIVI Aistes ”, on December 5, 2011 Sandra signed a contract with the Yekaterinburg UMMC . And the club let go when the chances of getting into the Euroleague playoffs were already lost, and the offer for the player was tempting. Sports director Arvydas Tamasauskas said ^[5]

We want to sincerely thank the team leader and at the same time provide the opportunity to fight for the highest Euroleague awards, as the UMMC is one of the most real teams to win the title.

On December 7, 2011, the UMMC debut took place, having entered the venue in the Euroleague match against the French Bourges .

With an annual survey of basketball fans for the title of the best Lithuanian basketball player in 2011, Sandra entered the top three with 2187 votes. ^[6]

The 2011/12 season is rightfully considered the best Russian period for Sandra: on March 8 she won the Cup of Russia , having played 11 minutes in the final match against Nadezhda : 1 selection, 1 interception, and on April 27 she was the champion of Russia . Sandra also participated in the Euroleague Final 8 , where she won bronze medals, in this draw Linkevichene was the best in the interception team - 2.2 on average per game. Largely due to the excellent game of Linkevichene in the summer of 2012, the Lithuanian team overcame the qualification for the European Championship 2013 , where Sandra was the best in the team in terms of the number of attacking passes per game, on average, 2.3 and interceptions, 2.7, and showed the number of points scored 2nd result - 14.3. As a result of a successful season, Sandra Linkevichene was recognized as the best basketball player of Lithuania in 2012 ^[7]

Sandra decided to skip the 2012/13 season, explaining this with psychological fatigue from basketball ^[8] . In May 2014, she entered the extended list of players of the Lithuanian national team to prepare for the qualification tournament of the European Championship 2015 , but at one of the trainings she received a hand injury and was operated on. ^[9] .

Club Performance Statistics (Average)

* - the best indicator in the team

Lithuanian Team Performance Statistics (Average)

* - the best indicator in the team

** - qualification round

• Champion of Lithuania : 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008.
• Champion of Russia : 2012
• Champion of the Baltic League : 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008.
• Euroleague bronze medalist: 2005 , 2012
• Semifinalist of the European Cup : 2009 , 2010 .
• Russian Cup Winner : 2012

In the summer of 2009, Sandra married and changed her maiden name Valužite to Linkevichen ^[10] . Her husband Vilius is a footballer who plays in the amateur league for FC Vilkai ( Utena ) ^[11] .

• Sandra Linkevichene's profile at of. UMMC website (inaccessible link)
• Sandra Linkevichene: “In my childhood I was a fidget”
• Statistics Sandra Linkevichene at of. FIBA Europe website
• Statistics of Sandra Linkevichene in Lithuania (inaccessible link) (lit.)