Lithuania has announced a preliminary 14-man roster for the upcoming FIBA World Cup Qualifiers window in August, but will be without a large number of their main stars.
Lithuania and head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis will not be able to count on NBA stars like Domantas Sabonis, Matas Buzelis, Kasparas Jakucionis, or even Jonas Valanciunas, who recently returned to Europe and signed with Zalgiris.
In addition to them, the list also excludes Rokas Jokubaitis, Tadas Sedekerskis, Arnas Butkevicius, Laurynas Birutis, Ignas Sargiunas, Arnas Velicka, Ignas Brazdeikis, Deividas Sirvydis, and Arturas Gudaitis.
Taking into account Lithuania’s roster from the July window, eight players will not return for the August window. Besides the aforementioned Valanciunas, Buzelis, Jakucionis, Brazdeikis, Sargiunas, and Velicka, Margiris Normantas and Donatas Tarolis are also absent.
Furthermore, only two EuroLeague players, Azuolas Tubelis and Marek Blazevic, will be available for the games.
“This is the reality of modern basketball. The national team selection windows are scattered throughout the year, and the club season will start soon. We understand absent players – they need to settle in new clubs, solve household issues while creating in a new city or country. At the same time, we are grateful to those who do not refuse to help the national team at such an important moment”, Kurtinaitis said.
Lithuania faces crucial matchups in hopes of keeping their FIBA World Cup qualification dreams alive.
Rimas Kurtinaitis‘ team will play away against Turkey on August 28, before facing Bosnia and Herzegovina three days later, on August 31.
Lithuania finished the First Round with a 3-3 record and sits in fourth place in the Second Round, behind Turkey, Italy, and Serbia. Only the top three teams will qualify for the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Qatar.
