Before the upcoming Lithuanian men’s basketball team’s training camp for the Olympic qualifying basketball tournament, the changes affected the roster of the national team. Ignas Brazdeikis, who was on the list of candidates, will not debut in the Lithuanian national team this summer, and will focus all his attention on the NBA summer league and the upcoming season.
„Wearing Lithuanian national team jersey and representing my home country is my dream, but this summer I have to make a very difficult decision and refuse the invitation to the national team training camp. This summer is crucial to my career, so I have to focus entirely on improving my game, improving my physical abilities, and preparing for the NBA Summer League. My main goal now is to get an NBA contract for the next season.
I would like to thank the Lithuanian Basketball Federation, whose representatives helped to solve all citizenship issues. Also a big thank you to the Canadian Basketball Federation for not hindering my dream of representing Lithuania. I wish the team all the best and look forward to the opportunity to join the national team in the future”, – said Ignas Brazdeikis.
As a replacement, Lithuanian national team head coach Darius Maskoliūnas invited Regimantas Miniotas to the national team training camp. During the EuroBasket qualifiers tournament, the forward averaged 6 points, 3 rebounds.
„We had a conversation with him, he explained his position and it is fully understandable. He has a desire to establish himself in the NBA. He will fully focus on that this summer. I think we all want him to succeed and in the future we will have another Lithuanian who has established himself in the NBA”, – said the head of the Lithuanian national team Darius Maskoliūnas.
The Lithuanian Basketball Federation has taken all the necessary steps to provide him an opportunity to represent Lithuania. The Canadian Basketball Federation has submitted to the Lithuanian Basketball Federation and FIBA the official consent of Ignas Brazdeikis’ right to represent Lithuania.
The Lithuanian men’s basketball team should start its training camp for the Olympic Qualifiers tournament in Kaunas on June 16th, when the players will finish their seasons in the club. Before the main qualifying tournament, Lithuanians will play three friendly games with other teams, which are also preparing for similar tournaments in other countries.
Lithuanians will start the Olympic qualifying basketball tournament with a match against the Venezuelan team on June 29th and on the July 1st they will face South Korean national team. Other group (B) has Slovenia, Poland and Angola. The top two teams in each group will advance to the semifinals.
Tickets can be acquired on the Bilietai.lt platform, starting from just 10 euros. The organizers also invite you to purchase a ticket to the entire tournament, which costs 99 euros. Ticket prices will rise as the tournament approaches.
The organisers remind that access to the games will be possible only with a valid national certificate and ID.
The Tokyo Olympics will take place on July 23rd – August 8th in the summer of 2021.
