Gediminas Budnikas
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 11, 1944 Paąžuoliai, Ukmergė district |
| Height | 6 ft 7 in (201 cm) |
| Weight | ~220 lb (100 kg) |
Gediminas Budnikas (February 11, 1944 in Paąžuoliai) is a retired Lithuanian basketball player, most notable for his career in Žalgiris from 1964 to 1973.[1]
Biography
Both partisans parents died on July 26, 1945 fighting for Lithuania freedom. Gediminas and his brothers Juozas and Antanas grew up with relatives. In 1959, Gediminas graduated eight classes at Kaunas IV secondary school and finished Kaunas Food Industry Technical College. In 1979, he graduated Vilnius University Kaunas Faculty of Humanities and public administration at Kaunas University of Technology in 2005.
Professional sports career
In 1962, Budnikas was invited to join Žalgiris team, in 1962-1974 he was a member of Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic national team. In 1973, he became a USSR basketball championship prizewinner and later won Lithuanian league eight times. In 1997 (Helsinki), 1998 (Montevideo) and in 2001 (Ljubljana) he became a world champion as a member of Lithuania seniors basketball team. Budnikas also won European seniors championship in Riga, in 2000.
He is a Žalgiris member of the Board.