Lithuanian national team: there can be no relaxation or tension, the middle of gold is sought

“The image is better, time is tightening, we cannot get too much into our heads. I think we all understand the difference between knowing and feeling: you know that there is an important combination, but you must also feel that it is an important combination inside and you have You have to find that balance so you don’t get too unbalanced, so you don’t overdo the pressure.

You have to demand yourself, feel the inner pressure, but in all that, the mind must be on so that you understand what the point is, how to play not only emotionally, but also with the head, with the idea, with the thoughts. It’s a bit overwhelming, there can’t be too much relaxation, there can’t be too much tension, there has to be a golden sock, that’s what we’re approaching now, “said Benas Matkevičius, national team coach.

What do you emphasize the most during your workouts?

Both defense and attack are important, of course a lot in defense depends on the desire and energy that we definitely have and you see, sometimes we even have to pause, but again defense needs to be played with the mind, knowing towards where. stand, how much to help, where to help, where not to help, it also becomes a bit clearer.

And in the attack you just have to remember the combinations, everyone finds their place little by little, those who have already been, those who have not been before, need to get used to it, especially me the players, but you can already see that those combinations are absorbed faster than before, that I think is a good sign here.

What is that first contender?

The Czech Republic is quite a different opponent from the one we saw in the first match, because there is no Mr. Audos who has hurt us in the first match, there is no one, Mr. Balvin, who was in the last window and now has suffered a minor injury, there are players who have experience, the same J. Bohačik, V. Hruban, it is also M. Peterka, who makes the difference with them, it will be very important to put everything on the field, to know who is who, because there are certain situations in which they can catch us.

We will have to talk a lot in defense, we will have to read all the situations and know which players are the pitchers, who are more like picnic players, know what to help, what not to help, we will analyze the video, It will be clearer, but that team has a lot of experience, he has played well together, some younger faces have been brought into this window, but those key players still survive and know each other very well, so we have to be very well prepared. For that.

In group C of the selection tournament, D. Maskoliūnas students share 2-3 places with the Danish national team, and the host Czech Republic and the top two teams in the group will enter the European Championship. February 20 The Lithuanians will face the Czech Republic, who won in the first match with the result 97:89 and on February 22. with the Danish team losing by 76:80.

The qualifying match for the European Men’s Basketball Championship on February 20-22, where the Lithuanians will face the Czech Republic and Denmark, will be played without spectators in the room due to the coronavirus situation, but fans are invited to watch the game and support our team virtually – by joining the specially organized Zoom virtual fan room on the device.

So, recharge your energy, wear the attributes of basketball fans, hang the Lithuanian flag in the background and click here on the day of the match broadcast: http://tiny.cc/sirgaliai – you will join the zone virtual fan in the Zoom app. Don’t skimp on emotions and other expressions of support as they will see you on the giant LED screen! This is a unique opportunity to support your basketball players.