Atamanui showered with praise Kurtinaitis: “Sometimes it’s not bad to be in the role of an underdog”

Although Rimas Kurtinaitis promised to take all fourteen candidates to Turkey before this crucial FIBA “window”, Laurynas Beliauskas and Karolis Lukošiūnas were thanked for their work while still in Lithuania, so the main twelve participated in the training.

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These two national teams have faced each other fourteen times in official matches, with Lithuania winning eleven times.

Recently, the situation has fundamentally changed.

The national team, which went through a chaotic preparation phase and suffered many losses, has seriously complicated its position in the fight for a spot in the 2027 World Championship in Qatar, while the European vice-champion led by Ergin Ataman is confidently advancing and won all six matches in the first qualifying stage.

Although E. Ataman will not have two NBA players Alperen Şengün and Tarik Biberović, or EuroLeague legend Shane Larkin in his squad, the Turkish team still has many well-known players.

The most prominent names are Cedi Osman, Adem Bona, and naturalized American Malachi Flynn, and Kenan Sipahi, Sehmus Hazer, Furkan Korkmaz, Onuralp Bitim, Sertac Sanli, Omer Yurtseven, and Ercan Osman have also made a name for themselves in Europe.

In a friendly tournament in Germany, the Turks lost 94:95 to Croatia led by Mario Hezonja but defeated the Czech Republic 99:84.

“It doesn’t matter that Turkey is a bit weakened, but it is still a good team. Many players play at the highest level. Today I reviewed the match against Croatia. Well, good players. Everything is fine with them. I think Ataman is one of the best coaches in Europe, and his teams play like that,” Rimas Kurtinaitis said on the eve of the match.

– Has Turkey changed much since the two friendly matches last year?

– Well, it’s hard to say because we had previously gained sports form. Even in Vilnius, we lost at the very end after making a mistake. But we had the advantage because the Turks gathered later. Now we gathered at the same time – they had a friendly tournament, and we also had two friendly matches. I think we are in equal form, so we will see how it goes. We are well prepared.

– Is Malachi Flynn the most important player on this team?

– Yes, one of the leaders. He is definitely a good shooter, so you need to defend closely, and he also plays well in “two against two”. Maybe he is not a very good passer, I mean he shoots more than he passes. But he can make a pass. Flynn has free hands. If we allow him to shoot three-pointers, then he is a dangerous player.

– After every friendly match, you talked about opponents’ offensive rebounds. Is this one of the main focuses against Turkey, which has a really strong front line?

– Yes, it is one of the main points, as well as mistakes. I think height does not always decide, there is also fighting spirit and desire. We clarified these things through video review. We saw it, and I hope we will fix it tomorrow.

– How much will psychology matter in such a match when the Turks have won everything, and the Lithuanians seem written off and perhaps do not feel huge pressure?

– Why? There is pressure, you have created that pressure. The point is that we came to win, no matter what lineup we have. We want to win.

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– Do you use the Turkish favorites’ cards as a way to relieve pressure from your players?

– One reason is that the Turks are one foot in the World Championship. We still have to prove ourselves. Sometimes it is not so bad to be in the underdog role.

– How has the Turkish team changed without Alperen Şengün, and what does Adem Bona bring?

– If we allow him to dominate under the basket, he really jumps high and is a physically strong player. But we have a plan on how we want to guard him. I hope everything will be fine.

– Do you have a player in the third position who could guard Cedi Osman?

– Name? (laughs). I hope we will contain him. We know how he plays, we have seen it and are prepared.

– Do you agree that this team is favorable for Ąžuolas Tubelis in Turkey?

– Analyses are different. Who analyzed? Šuliauskas? Glory and honor to him. Ąžuolas always plays well, so I hope he will play well tomorrow. It doesn’t matter to him which team, he always plays with all his strength. I hope to see that tomorrow.

– Was it a difficult decision to thank Karolis Lukošiūnas and Laurynas Beliauskas for their work?

– It is always hard for a coach. I am glad they came to the national team. Someone has to be the one to be let go if you select a list of 15-16 players. We had to let them go. But the guys worked well. We thanked them but did not remove them because we do not know what might happen during the matches. God forbid if an injury happens during the game. They are on our radar, so we will call them back if something happens.

– Although you planned to take 14 players to Turkey, you finally brought 12. Why did you change your mind?

– No, we took the optimal option, which is twelve players, to have a closer team connection.

– What can be expected during the match from Ergin Ataman, known for psychological games, who praised the Lithuanian team very much yesterday?

– I would not want to focus on what anyone says. We look at our team. We are ready.

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– Is everyone healthy and ready to play?

– Yes, everyone is healthy.

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