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Photo: BNS
BNS photo
Lithuanian national team leader Coach Darius Maskoliūnas named the list of players who will come to training camp in July.
Mantas Kalnietis, Lukas Lekavičius, Rokas Jokubaitis, Marius Grigonis, Tomas Dimša, Rokas Giedraitis, Deividas Sirvydis, Edgaras Ulanovas, Arnas Butkevičius, Tadas Sedekerskis, Gytis Masiulis, Eimantas Bendžius, Arnoldas participated in the Birutis
It is true that due to extended local championships, players like Deividas Sirvydis, Rokas Giedraitis, Gytis Masiulis, Arnoldas Kulboka, Tadas Sedekerskis cannot be sure that they will be able to come to the camp, so other basketball players would be invited to their posts.
In addition to Jonas Valančiūnas and Domantas Sabonis, other famous names – Jonas Mačiulis, Mindaugas Kuzminskas and Paulius Jankūnas – are missing from the national team player list. According to Maskoliūnas, that decision was made to test young players.
“Yes, they will not be on the national team, but this does not mean that they are removed from the lists or that they do not have the opportunity to represent the Lithuanian national team.” We know what Mindaugas and Jonas can do, so during this camp we just want to see what future players can do in those positions and how they will look in men’s basketball, ”he told the situation while speaking with Vaida Čeponis.
According to him, all young talents already need to prepare for the national teams and possibly for the Olympic Games. The coach fears that as the NBA season continues and looking at projections for the next season for the world’s strongest league, there is a good chance that a significant number of players may simply not be able to participate in the Olympics.
Maskoliūnas admitted that the quarantine ruined all plans and that the uncertainty did not allow him to think more boldly about the idea of bringing together the best players in the country for the national team camp this summer. Gradually, as the pandemic subsided, the leadership of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation (LKF) took the initiative.
“The initiative to organize the camp came from the federation. After speaking with Mindaugas Špokas and offering him that idea, I answered unequivocally that it needs to be tried,” Maskoliūnas admitted.
When asked to name the goals set by the coaching staff at the camp this summer, the Lithuanian team strategist opened up that the camp will focus on verifying the possibilities of young players and getting to know them better and presenting their ideas and system to them.
“It just came to our notice then scaredBut, of course, we’re not going to any tournaments this summer, so the players at camp will basically prepare for the club seasons. As the opportunity arises to meet, we will use it to invite as many players as possible who were not on the national team to present our ideas.
At the beginning of the camp, we will try to prepare ourselves physically and work on injury prevention, and then we will move to the room, where we will work both individually and as a team. It has already been confirmed that at the end of the camp we will have two control matches with the Latvian and Estonian teams, so we will also have the opportunity to verify what we have learned, ”revealed the unexpected news from the head coach of the national team.
When Čeponis asked to specify the days of the tournament, the coach did not say much.
“As far as I know, we will play the match in Estonia from July 24 to 25, because this year the Estonians are celebrating the centennial of their basketball and on that occasion they are organizing a neighborhood tournament,” he said.
Website with Vaida Čeponis:
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