The Lithuanian men’s basketball team has completed the preparation stage for the EuroBasket qualification matches against the Danish and Belgian national teams. Summarizing this preparation cycle, team’s head coach Darius Maskoliūnas assessed the process positively.
“I think the process itself went normally, without any disruptions. We will see what we can achieve on Friday and Sunday. The Danes have really good defenders, one is playing at a really good level, he was also an ACB player at the time, now their leader is playing in the Polish league, which competes in the VTB league and shows really good results.
There are several physical players. It’s hard to highlight something special to describe their team, but phrase that everyone knows how to play basketball fits perfectly here. They’re really tall, maybe a little slow. I will be honest, I don’t know them very well, but what we analyzed when watching their matches is that players on the court are brave, there is no pressure on them, they don’t feel any great responsibility. They are seen as an outsider, which gives them freedom and courage and therefore makes them a dangerous team for anyone,” – said head coach D. Maskoliūnas.
Team captain Mantas Kalnietis has backed up head Coach.
„We managed to get the maximum benefit at this moment. You are not going to prepare for much in this short time, but the conditions are the same for everyone. We have trained our defense, set a few plays for offence, we have introduced the basic elements for the game, there is no time to build something special. It’s hard to see the benefits of a summer camp, perhaps just so much so that in the summer we learned the overall framework of the game, both in defense and offense. Of course, there are benefits, but half of the current team was not there, therefore, it makes it a bit complicated.
Youngsters look good, as always, there are no problems, all young Lithuanians come to the national team to give something good. Of course, there is probably excitement, but the whole situation with a pandemic, the whole start without spectators may take away some of that tension,” – shared his thoughts Mantas Kalnietis.
