On August 28, the Lithuanian national team will face the undefeated group leader Turkey in Istanbul, and on August 31, they will host the Bosnia and Herzegovina team in Vilnius.
“We have our goals, we have a preparation plan prepared by physical training coaches. Everything is going according to plan. We have no injuries, everything is fine,” said Rimas Kurtinaitis.
Although three friendly matches were planned, as reported by “krepsinis.net” journalist Jonas Lekšas, according to FIBA rules, the national team can only play two control matches before the August window, so in Saturday’s encounter Rimas Kurtinaitis plans to rely on the reserve team core.
This apparently upset representatives of the University of Arizona, who were invited to Lithuania and the situation was presented quite differently.
“As far as I know, although I am not a technical staff member, some problems arose regarding our NCAA players who cannot play against NCAA teams. There are some issues, but I am a coach and I do not get involved in such matters. Ask Domarko, who is responsible. If we can, we will play, if not, then we will add someone to the reserve national team. We will not be left without games,” said R. Kurtinaitis.
- Lithuania – Estonia (Thursday 19:30, Kaunas)
- Lithuania – Arizona Wildcats (Saturday 19:30, Alytus)
- Lithuania – Michigan Wolverines (Sunday 19:30, Vilnius)
Last weekend, the national team played closed-door control matches with the reserve team, the results of which were not published.
| Place | Team | Wins | Points |
| 1. | Turkey | 6-0 | 12 |
| 2. | Italy | 5-1 | 11 |
| 3. | Serbia | 4-2 | 10 |
| 4. | Lithuania | 3-3 | 9 |
| 5. | Iceland | 3-3 | 9 |
| 6. | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2-4 | 8 |
R. Kurtinaitis was asked about the loud criticism from former national basketball player Jonas Mačiulis, to which the association “Lithuanian Basketball” also responded yesterday with a public statement.
“What do I have to answer? I will say this: back in 1990, when you yourself were drinking water straight from a bucket under the table, our parents and we wanted independence, which we got, and that independence gave us the chance to say whatever we want. That’s how it is,” said R. Kurtinaitis. “Should I comment on whether someone speaks well or badly? I know my path, and those people know theirs. I am not angry at them because they have the right to speak, whether they speak correctly or incorrectly. That is not for me to decide. We sought that and we have it. What should I say? Does Jonas speak well or badly? He says what he wants.”
– Coach, at the beginning of the training camp you publicized the reasons for Kasparas Jakučionis and Jonas Valančiūnas refusing to play for the national team, but what about Matas Buzelis?
– The point is that Matas sent me a message thanking me for the summer. The Chicago Bulls want to make him one of the leaders, so they want Matas to participate in all primary camps. You know, there are some FIBA rules that do not prohibit playing for the national team, but there are local NBA rules that they also have to follow. We do not have the power to pull them out from there if someone in the NBA club doubts it. I do not have such powers. They have expressed their desire. They came when they could, and now they cannot. What can I do? We try, we talked to everyone – I wrote to his coach and to Jakučionis in Milwaukee. We wanted to see them, and the clubs said they would look and try to find opportunities to release them. That’s how it ended, apparently there were no opportunities to release them. What more can I do? I did everything, the association did everything. We have what we have.
– How is Donatas Motiejūnas integrating into the team?
– He trains well. He is a professional who works during summers. He has a personal trainer whom we invited to the national team. He works well, I have no complaints.
– Is there even one player who refused to play for the national team because of Donatas Motiejūnas?
– I have not heard of that, it did not happen.
– Did you feel somewhat relieved seeing the list of candidates for the Turkish national team, which does not include Alperen Şengün or Tarik Biberović?
– There are still a bunch of good players there, so there is nothing to rejoice about. That is not my style. We have to prepare so that we can fight. That is what we are preparing the team for, and how it will be, we will see.
I want to remind you that Greece is in the same situation. The situation is not ideal, you just have to pull yourself together and play. We need calmness, maybe I would even ask you for that, because there is a lot of noise now, and many things are not even on topic. This concerns basketball the least, many personal matters. That should not be done now. We need to play, focus, the team must be in a fighting state.
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