2024-05-01 11:08:04
At the press conference in Kaunas, Kazys Maksvytis presented the plans of the Lithuanian men’s basketball team for the upcoming selection for the Olympic Games in Puerto Rico.
The Lithuanians will fight for a ticket to Paris on July 2-7, where they will face the teams of Mexico and the Ivory Coast in the group stage, and in the next stage our team will face a potential challenge from the teams of Italy, Puerto Rico or Bahrain.
“As Mindaugas (Balčiūnas) and President Vydas Gedvilas mentioned earlier, an interesting summer awaits. Since there is an opportunity, I will organize the first round (reserve team – ed.), which I could not do last year, said K. Maksvytis. – We will vote on June 3. and we will finish before the camp of the main team. Generally speaking, one week we will train, the next week we will play three friendly matches against Lebanon. The goal is to collect players who are close to the threshold of the national team, young players and touch them yourself. As we saw last year, we saw the project pay off last year. Deividas Sirvydis and Gabrielius Maldūnas from the reserve team made it to the main team.”
The main Lithuanian men’s basketball team will start a little later, as some national championships will have to end.
K. Maksvytis was happy with the decision made by LKL and revealed that the Lithuanian national team will face the challenge of Luka Dončičius and the Slovenian national team in preparation for the selection.
“We will start with the main team on June 16. in Palanga. I had to communicate with LKL, which made some concessions and shortened its championship. I hope that if the circumstances work out successfully, the players in Lithuania will get a week to rest after the national championships. We will play the second round in Palanga, we will play a friendly match against the Slovenian national team (June 23 in Vilnius and June 25 in Slovenia). After that we will go directly to Puerto Rico.
Wanted more matches before the selection but couldn’t find opponents that were suitable. The main national teams that will play in the Olympic Games will not have started their preparations yet. But there is no such thing as bad that does not turn out to be good. We will have to train for a few days, it is better to prepare for the championship.
Olympic years are always the kind of year when players eagerly choose the national team. I was willing to travel around, talk live, and I hope that this year we will gather a strong, competitive national team. The main goal is to get to the Olympic Games,” explained K. Maksvytis.
You can find the schedule of friendly matches HERE.
Both Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valančiūnas have already finished their seasons in the USA, the strategist of the Lithuanian men’s basketball team spoke about the NBA Lithuanians playing in the Lithuanian national team.
“Yes, we have a firm yes that they will be in the national team. Of course, I had to communicate with both. Both asked for the plans of the national team, and the federation is coordinating the terms of the insurance,” said K. Maksvytis.
When asked about how he intends to use the two leaders of the national team, K. Maksvytis did not elaborate, but he noticed one trend in the NBA that D. Sabonis has.
“There is. It will be a little difficult to fit them on the field, but it is good to have the luxury of having one good player replaced by another player or playing together. The most important thing is that they are healthy and willing.
He adopted this tendency from Nikola Jokic. He wins the ball and is an offensive player. He probably feels good himself, he doesn’t spare passes to his teammates. Probably, there is no need to cover up his bad qualities”, said K. Maksvytis.
The specialist of the Lithuanian men’s basketball team also said that this year the basketball players are eager to enter the national team, and at the same time it will be difficult to choose the final twelve of the Lithuanian national team.
“Unfortunately, I think we will not invite all (players). But, of course, you will need to be insured in case of injuries. We will have a first-round squad where we can fill up with promising players.
There is no one who refused to play for the national team. Unless the injuries linger and new ones emerge. There is nothing new about players wanting to rest in the summer.
I think there will be about 15 people. We don’t practice like the US national team. You just have to choose. There are over 20 players on the current roster. It will have to be shortened”, said K. Maksvytis about the list of candidates.
– How did your work look like since the beginning of January, when you remained in only one position?– journalists asked K. Maksvytis.
– I had to visit the USA, then in Greece to watch the match and meet the Lithuanians of the Euroleague. Rokas Jokubaitis, Marius Grigonis and Ignas Brazdeikis were visiting at that time. Last week I was in London, where I had a basketball clinic to help our Lithuanian community.
I spend a lot of time talking with the players, meeting with the coaching staff, I’m rested, you can probably see it, I’m tanned (laughs – ed.).
– Does it feel different to work in the national team when you don’t have a job in the club?
– It feels. You have a little more time, a little less work for assistants, you take on more work yourself.
– What is the situation of Matas Buzelis? Will he be in the national team this year or not?
– They made it clear that they are ready to participate (in the national team) this year. We hope they will. It will be very interesting how the situation with the predicted high calling will turn out. Will the team release him? If we talk about examples, Victor Wembanyama did not participate in the French national team. On the part of Matas Buzelis, they mentioned to the agent that they would like to participate in the Lithuanian national team.
We have planned that if he is released, he will join camp immediately after the NBA draft.
– Is there no concern about Igno Brazdeikis, who was one of the leaders of the national team at the last World Cup in the Philippines, and this club season he practically spends on the bench?
– If we go back a couple of years, he also had a cameo role in the USA, but he had a great desire to rehabilitate, to play. I hope this year will be the same. On the other hand, let’s hope that he will have licked his injuries and will have a greater passion for basketball.
– Does playing in last year’s national team help players who claim to be in this year’s national team?
– First of all, the best players must play in the national team. If it happens that they are of similar level, similar capacity, maybe.
– What are the question marks when choosing an extended national team list?
– We have excess competition from high-level players in the midfield position. There is less competition for power forward, attacking defender and playmaker.
– It is more or less clear what the Italian national team will be, but the Puerto Rican national team is not at all clear. Any news on who could be playing for Puerto Rico?
– One thing we know is that Jose Alvarado, who was not present last year, should join the national team. The fact that we played against them in a friendly before the World Cup last year makes things a little easier for us.
The first game against Mexico is the hardest to prepare for, and after that it will be easier to prepare for the other games because we will see them in the qualifiers. The leader of the Mexican national team should be Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez. Not a bad addition for sure.
– Are there not 2 matches too few before the selection for the Olympic Games?
– Preparation – two weeks. Let’s be realistic, how many matches can we play in 16 days? It is necessary to play, to lay the foundations of the team. Probably, if there was one more match, it would be even better, but we will use everything for training.
2024-05-01 11:08:04