Lithuania is pulling out all the stops to hope to secure its place in Paris. Baltic team coach Kazys Maksvytis assured to local media 15min.lt that Domantas Sabonis And Jonas Valanciunas will be there for the TQO, from July 2 to 7 in Puerto Rico. Lithuania should therefore be able to rely on a high-level racket, while it will have to face Mexico and the Ivory Coast in San Juan, before meeting the winner of the other half of the field (Puerto Rico, Italy , Bahrain).
“ They had a complicated season, a marathon of difficult matches » explained Kazys Maksvytis about his twin towers. “ I spoke to both of them, and they even asked for preparation plans. We received a clear yes from them. »
Domantas Sabonis missed the last World Cup last summer after having surgery for a broken thumb. Lithuania was crushed in the quarter-final by the surprising Latvia, before finishing 6th, driven in particular by Jonas Valanciunas (18.6 rating on the competition). If Domantas Sabonis has never seemed at his peak in the national team in his career, his association in the racket with his Pelicans counterpart, very effective in FIBA basketball, seems to be a guarantee for Lithuania.
Matas Buzelis also present?
The two interiors in any case have enough to arrive rather fresh, while the Kings of Domantas Sabonis did not pass the cut of the play-in, released by the Pelicans of Valanciunas, who were swept 4-0 by the Thunder .
She might also have a bonus guest: Matas Buzelis. The G-League player Ignite (14.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2 blocks on average), regularly announced in the Top 10, or even better, of the next Draft, could also be part of the adventure… provided that it does not interfere not with the desires of its future franchise.
“ He is ready to participate this year » says Kazys Maksvytis. “ We hope he can. It will be very interesting to see how this situation turns out if he is drafted. Will his next team let him play with their selection? »
