Lithuania’s national basketball team faces a challenging path to the 2024 olympic games, beginning with crucial qualifying matches against Iceland later this month.The team will have to overcome significant hurdles, including limited preparation time due to ongoing EuroLeague commitments for key players from Kaunas Žalgiris. Despite the obstacles, head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis expressed confidence in assembling a competitive roster focused on individual skill, as the team prepares for back-to-back contests on February 27th and March 2nd.
Lithuania’s national basketball team faces a challenging road to the 2024 Olympic Games, with limited practice time ahead of crucial qualifying matches against Iceland. The team’s head coach, Rimas Kurtinaitis, acknowledged the difficulty of assembling a cohesive unit with only one full practice session available, particularly as players from Kaunas Žalgiris are scheduled to compete in a EuroLeague game just before traveling to Iceland.
“It will definitely not be easy to ‘put together’ a team with only one full practice session, as the Kaunas Žalgiris basketball players will still play in a EuroLeague game on the eve of their departure to Iceland,” Kurtinaitis stated. “We know this and are preparing for it, so the main criterion when assembling the team will be the individual skill of the players. Conversations with the players are going positively, the most important thing is that everyone is healthy. I believe we will form a really capable team.”
The upcoming qualifying window features back-to-back matchups against Iceland, with the first game taking place on February 27th in Iceland, followed by a home game on March 2nd at the Švyturio Arena in Klaipėda. Tickets for the home game are available here.
Lithuania began the first qualifying round with a dramatic win over Great Britain in London, but subsequently lost to Italy at home. Following these initial games, all teams in Group D have secured one victory each, setting the stage for a competitive qualifying process. Securing a spot in the Olympics is a significant goal for the national team and its fans.
Linas Kleiza, head of Lithuania’s men’s basketball team, emphasized the importance of this qualifying stage. “Iceland is a well-coordinated and strong opponent, a constant participant in the final stages of the European Championships, a very motivated and well-prepared team,” Kleiza said. “The victory over Italy was certainly not accidental. We must concentrate to the maximum and play at 100 percent capacity.”
The top three teams from each group will advance to the second stage of qualification, where they will be divided into four new groups of six teams. Results from the first stage will carry over to the second. This structure ensures that early performance continues to impact a team’s chances of progressing.
In the second stage, Lithuania and the other two teams from Group D will face three teams from Group C, which currently includes Serbia, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the winner of the pre-qualifying tournament (either Slovakia, Switzerland, or Ukraine). The three strongest teams from these groups will earn berths in the World Championship.
Extended roster:
- Arnas Velička (Klaipėdos „Neptūnas“)
- Artūras Gudaitis (Vilniaus „Rytas“)
- Ąžuolas Tubelis (Kauno „Žalgiris“)
- Donatas Tarolis (Klaipėdos „Neptūnas“)
- Dovydas Giedraitis (Kauno „Žalgiris“)
- Edgaras Ulanovas (Kauno „Žalgiris“)
- Eimantas Bendžius (Udinės APU)
- Gytis Masiulis (Vilniaus „Rytas“)
- Ignas Brazdeikis (Kauno „Žalgiris“)
- Ignas Sargiūnas (Vilniaus „Rytas“)
- Kristupas Žemaitis (Manisos „Basket“)
- Laurynas Beliauskas (Sasario „Dinamo“)
- Laurynas Birutis (Kauno „Žalgiris“)
- Mantas Rubštavičius (Kauno „Žalgiris“)
- Marekas Blaževičius (Bursos „Tofaš“)
- Margiris Normantas (Bilbao „Surne Basket“)
- Martinas Geben (Žironos „Basquet“)
- Martynas Sajus (Izmiro „Petkimspor“)
- Matas Jogėla (Trento „Dolomiti Energia“)
- Mindaugas Kačinas (Sopoto „Trefl“)
- Mindaugas Sušinskas (Žinoros „Basquet“)
- Regimantas Miniotas (Pezaro „Victoria Libertas“)
- Rokas Giedraitis (Tenerifės „La Laguna“)
- Vaidas Kariniauskas (Šiaulių „Šiauliai“)
