Motiejūnas returns to national team, discusses absent players

Lithuania's men's basketball team began their World Cup qualifier preparations with a narrow 108-110 overtime loss to Estonia in Kaunas. The match, led by coach Rimas Kurtinaitis, served as an opportunity for the team to test combinations and build chemistry, with limited time available before the official qualifiers.

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You play to win or to lose. These were friendly games. We had opportunities to try combinations and play together, and there is certainly not much time for that.

Veteran player Donatas Motiejūnas, who made a comeback to the national team after a hiatus, saw limited court time, playing just two minutes without scoring. He acknowledged the challenge of finding game rhythm after a period without competitive play. "You don't get game rhythm through training. You get it through games," Motiejūnas explained, emphasizing that the team is focused on moving forward without complaints.

Motiejūnas, who had previously expressed doubts about playing for the national team again, shared a lighthearted anecdote about his return, crediting his partner's "sixth sense" for predicting his comeback. "Playing for the Lithuanian national team is always an honor," he stated. "If I can show players how important discipline is at the highest level and help them, then my presence here will be fully realized."

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You don't get game rhythm through training. You get it through games. Nobody here is looking for any complaints or excuses. We are just looking forward.

He also addressed the significant number of top players absent from the current squad, noting that his role is to be ready when called upon, not to select teammates. "It's not my job to pick players," Motiejūnas said. "I try to focus on what I control. If you burden yourself with who is coming and who isn't, what good will that do? It's funny. The Lithuanian national team is the greatest honor. Players should want to come here and fight for a spot on the team."

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Playing for the Lithuanian national team is always an honor. And if I can show players how important discipline is at the highest level and help them, then my presence here will be fully realized. Did I expect the call? I thought I wouldn't play anymore. I looked at everything logically. My other half always said I would be ready because you never know. Women do have that sixth sense. She predicted this at the beginning of the summer.

Currently without a club, Motiejūnas sees his participation with the national team as a way to regain form and rhythm. He reflected on the career challenges faced by athletes, referencing Kobe Bryant's sentiment that many end their careers not with ovations, but by waiting for a final call. The Lithuanian team is scheduled to play two more preparation games against the Universities of Arizona and Michigan.

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I look at it this way: if they call, I go to the national team, and if they don't call, I don't go. That's how it is, that's life. My job is to always be ready. It's not my job to pick players. I try to focus on what I control. If you burden yourself with who is coming and who isn't, what good will that do? It's funny. The Lithuanian national team is the greatest honor. Players should want to come here and fight for a spot on the team.