„It is an honor to hear my name in the context of the national team. I spent a significant part of my career playing under the Lithuanian flag, so representing the country again would mean a lot to me,“ said the head coach of „Šiauliai“.
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– Talks about this possibility took place in mid-summer. I am grateful to the Lithuanian Basketball Association for the trust shown at that time, but my decision was to focus on the work at „Šiauliai“.
The rumors circulating in the media these days have no basis. I have not received a new offer to work with the national team, and all my thoughts are dedicated to the upcoming season with the club.”
About another offer from the Lithuanian Basketball Association to D. Songaila, journalist Karolis Tiškevičius reported on Tuesday for „BasketNews“.
However, this information was denied on Tuesday by ALK Secretary General Dominykas Domarkas to 15min journalist Rokas Pakėnas.
„They (ALK) have made a generous offer to Darius Songaila, that is a fact,“ K. Tiškevičius said on the „BasketNews“ podcast. „(About the future) Songaila will decide, not Rimas Kurtinaitis. Of course, the situation is complicated because Songaila will play with „Šiauliai“ in the European Cup. „Šiauliai“ do not want to let Songaila go. If he accepts the national team’s offer, then the question is how it will be with the Šiauliai club. It is believed in Šiauliai that Songaila will stay in the organization. The club and the national team would be very difficult to reconcile. The sources who tell me this really know what they are talking about.”
The Lithuanian Basketball Association Secretary General Dominykas Domarkas responded to this information.
„I can definitely deny this information because there was no contact with Darius Songaila at all,“ D. Domarkas told the 15min portal. „No one from us spoke with Darius – neither I, nor Mindaugas (Mindaugas Balčiūnas – ALK president), nor Linas (Linas Kleiza – ALK men’s program director). Whoever is communicating something further, you probably need to ask Karolis Tiškevičius.“
According to 15min sources, ALK leaders after the painful loss in Bologna tried twice in July to persuade D. Songaila to take over the national team’s helm – both during and after the European Youth (U20) Championship. However, both times the legendary national basketball player said “no.”
R. Kurtinaitis replaced Kazys Maksvytis as head coach after the national team’s failure in the Olympic qualifiers in Puerto Rico.
Led by the Kaunas native who won the European Cup three times in his career, the Lithuanian national team confidently passed the 2025 European qualifiers and performed solidly in the main tournament in Tampere and Riga (5th place).
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R. Kurtinaitis’ position started to heat up already in the first stage of the 2027 World Championship qualifiers, when the national team, thanks to Ignas Sargiūnas’ miraculous benefit, escaped in London but later suffered two painful defeats against Italy and one in Iceland.
More than the result, fans were angered by R. Kurtinaitis’ rhetoric after the games, suggesting that the national team people do not make a tragedy out of the losses, even though the World Championship train has moved far away.
According to Lithuanian Basketball Association president Mindaugas Balčiūnas, the coach had submitted his resignation after the failure in Bologna in early July.
However, the unsuccessful search for a new head coach led to R. Kurtinaitis remaining in the position.
Does the lack of talks with D. Songaila mean that R. Kurtinaitis will continue working with the team?
„We are meeting tomorrow to review the entire strategy,“ D. Domarkas told 15min. „I think you will receive all the information about what will happen soon. At the moment, I can definitely deny the information about the offer to Darius Songaila.”
In the fourth FIBA „window“ the Lithuanians again won one game, defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina in Vilnius on Monday, thus keeping hope alive for a place at the World Championship.
„Of course, the result is not satisfying, but considering all the objective reasons, it is enough to keep hope,“ D. Domarkas assessed the loss in Istanbul and the win in Vilnius to the 15min portal. „We will definitely continue to fight to be at the World Championship.”
The last time the Lithuanian men’s national team missed the World Championship was in 2002.
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