VILNIUS, October 19, BNS–Israeli president Reuven Rivlin met with Lithuanian counterpart Dalia Grybauskaite in Jerusalem on Monday and praised Lithuanian basketball player Šarūnas Jasikevičius, the star player on the Maccabi Tel Aviv team a decade ago.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Rivlin said he was happy that “one of the best players, champion of Europe, Šaras” had played for Tel Aviv. He called it an example of the close ties between the two countries.

Jasikevičius, 39, currently the coach of Žalgiris Kaunas, played for Maccabi from 2003 to 2005 and won the Euroleague and the Israeli championship with the team.