“First of all, I wanted to thank everyone who came,” the Chicago Bulls forward said in English. “I want to emphasize that I can speak Lithuanian, but this press conference will be held in English.”
Read more Man accuses ‘Penkta koja’ of taking his dogs: shelter retorts – owner himself gave them up
“I spoke with Rimas Kurtinaitis and I want to say that this summer I will play for the Lithuanian national basketball team!”
The stands of the almost packed “Active Vilnius” arena – filled with children finishing school on Friday morning – roared.
A professional DJ was spinning the knobs next to the console, checking the eardrums and musical taste of the attendees, while the head coach of the Lithuanian national team, Rimas Kurtinaitis, and director Linas Kleiza were also moving around, and the press conference itself left no doubt that a true star had landed in Vilnius.
And if there were any who didn’t know who M. Buzelis was, a huge LED screen reminded them of the impressive episodes of the flying Lithuanian in the NBA league when the lights were dimmed. The stands screamed with admiration.
The noise level rose highest when R. Kurtinaitis presented M. Buzelis with the Lithuanian men’s national team jersey marked with the number 14.
Read more Tenth-grade achievement test results announced: check how they did
“Now the plan is that I will play in the first national team window in July, and I cannot say for sure about August yet,” M. Buzelis added.
To be updated…
The 206 cm forward’s statistics this NBA season were 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 29 minutes of play.
M. Buzelis has not played for the Lithuanian national team until now, but Rimas Kurtinaitis spoke optimistically about his debut when presenting the list of 30 candidates at the end of May.
- Guards and Forwards: Kasparas Jakučionis, Arnas Velička, Kristupas Žemaitis, Augustas Marčiulionis, Dovydas Giedraitis, Margiris Normantas, Ignas Sargiūnas, Ignas Brazdeikis, Matas Jogėla, Deividas Sirvydis, Mantas Rubštavičius.
- Forwards and Centers: Gytis Radzevičius, Marius Grigonis, Paulius Murauskas, Arnas Butkevičius, Matas Buzelis, Edgaras Ulanovas, Ąžuolas Tubelis, Eimantas Bendžius, Paulius Danusevičius, Gytis Masiulis, Donatas Tarolis, Mindaugas Kačinas, Marekas Blaževičius, Jonas Valančiūnas, Motiejus Krivas, Laurynas Birutis, Martinas Gebenas, Matas Vokietaitis, Martynas Echodas.
This summer, the Lithuanian national team awaits two FIBA “windows”. First, at home on July 2nd with Great Britain and on July 5th away with Italy.
The second “window” will take place at the end of August, and the opponents in it will be announced later. Among the possible opponents are Serbs, Turks, Bosnians.
- June 28 (Šiauliai) – vs Ukraine (friendly match)
- July 2 (Klaipėda) – vs Great Britain (World Cup qualifier)
- July 5 (Bologna) – vs Italy (World Cup qualifier)
- August 20 (Kaunas) – vs Estonia (friendly match)
- August 22 (Alytus) – vs University of Arizona (friendly match)
- August 23 (Vilnius) – vs University of Michigan (friendly match)
- August 28 (away) – vs opponent to be announced after the July “window” (World Cup qualifier)
- August 31 (home) – vs opponent to be announced after the July “window” (World Cup qualifier)
The Lithuanian men’s national team will also play four friendly matches this summer.
