Lithuanian basketball team gears up for World Cup qualifiers with new focus on individual talent

Lithuanian national basketball team coach Rimas Kurtinaitis expressed optimism about his team's preparation for upcoming World Cup qualifiers and friendly matches. Following a week of intensive training, Kurtinaitis noted the players' diligence and good teamwork, stating, "The men are diligent, working well, the coordination is good, the training quality is not bad. I am actually optimistic. Of course, there is always room for improvement."

The team is set to face Ukraine in a friendly match on Sunday. Kurtinaitis mentioned that Kasparas Jakučionis joined the training camp with a minor injury but was cleared for contact in the final sessions. Jakučionis is expected to play the point guard position and potentially shooting guard.

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The men are diligent, working well, the coordination is good, the training quality is not bad. I am actually optimistic. Of course, there is always room for improvement.

Kurtinaitis outlined the objectives for the match against Ukraine: "First – we must win, we must cultivate a winning mentality, and that can only be done by winning. We want to play the minimum of what we want. There is no goal to reveal everything before the important games against the British and Italians. We will have to learn something from the match with Ukraine to play the official World Cup qualifying matches as well as possible."

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First – we must win, we must cultivate a winning mentality, and that can only be done by winning. We want to play the minimum of what we want. There is no goal to reveal everything before the important games against the British and Italians. We will have to learn something from the match with Ukraine to play the official World Cup qualifying matches as well as possible.

The team's playing style is evolving, with a greater focus on individual player strengths, particularly those of Matas Buzelis and Kasparas Jakučionis. "We play many things a bit differently. We have to utilize the individual abilities of our basketball players, especially Matas Buzelis, Kasparas (Jakučionis). If at the beginning of the year we played a team game, now we are focusing on individual abilities. Of course, this does not mean that we will forget the team game. It will remain and it should help to reveal individual players," Kurtinaitis explained.

Notable absences from the squad include Domantas Sabonis, Rokas Jokubaitis, Arnas Butkevičius, Edgaras Ulanovas, Deividas Sirvydis, and Marius Grigonis. The team's schedule includes a friendly against Ukraine on June 28, followed by World Cup qualifiers against Great Britain on July 2 and Italy on July 5. Further friendlies are scheduled for August.

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We play many things a bit differently. We have to utilize the individual abilities of our basketball players, especially Matas Buzelis, Kasparas (Jakučionis). If at the beginning of the year we played a team game, now we are focusing on individual abilities. Of course, this does not mean that we will forget the team game. It will remain and it should help to reveal individual players.