VILNIUS (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - There are players who elevate their game in their national team uniforms and then there is Lithuania captain Mantas Kalnietis, who takes this phenomenon to another level.

To say that he has always answered when international duty called would be an understatement to the loyalty of the irreplaceable 32-year-old point guard, who appears to turn superhuman whenever the famous 'Lietuva' is spelled out on his chest, no matter the circumstances.

There have been numerous ups and downs scattered across his club career, but 'national team Kalnietis' has always delivered for Lithuania and his heroics in the September window of the FIBA Baskebtall World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers proved the notion to be very much still in effect.

"HE FEELS GOOD ON THE NATIONAL TEAM AND HIS ON-COURT PERFORMANCES REFLECT THAT FEELING."
- Lithuania head coach Dainius Adomaitis

It had been a rough year in Italy for the captain of the national team, with playing time at Olimpia Milan varying from scarce to none and opportunities to prove his worth to coach Simone Pianigiani nowhere to be found.

Despite not playing a single game since early February in Milan, Kalnietis was back in his element upon resuming captain duties for the Dainius Adomaitis-coached national team this summer.

Lithuania got by without any heroics from the player whose surname literally translates to 'Highlander' in June and July, but then needed all the help they could get against Croatia and the Netherlands in September.

"We won in Croatia despite not being the favorites, having played well as a team on defense. And we just came into the game [against Netherlands] with the wrong mindset," Kalnietis said in looking back at the recently-concluded window.

"You can no longer get away with that in Europe. If you relax one bit, your opponent will punish you. Especially without our key players in Jonas (Valanciunas) and Domantas (Sabonis), we cannot afford to not play at our best."

"THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT WE'RE HEADING TO CHINA."- Kalnietis

While the team as a whole might not have been showing its best basketball, national team Kalnietis was someone who kept pulling one rabbit out of the hat after another.

The captain made all the big shots down the stretch in the 84-83 road victory against Croatia in Osijek before doing it all over again in a dramatic double-overtime 95-93 thriller against Netherlands in Vilnius to clinch a ticket to the World Cup with a spotless 8-0 record in Group J.

.@MKalnietis9 SENDS @musukrepsinis 🇱🇹 to 🇨🇳! #FIBAWC #ThisIsMyHouse pic.twitter.com/TXgEcO8otY

— Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWC) September 17, 2018

"Mantas is the captain and most experienced player on the national team. One thing he certainly doesn't lack is bravery," Adomaitis said after Kalnietis shut out the Dutch with a game-winning three-pointer with the contest on the line at the end of the second extra period.

"ONE THING HE CERTAINLY DOESN'T LACK IS BRAVERY."
- Adomaitis

 A key figure for his country since helping an underdog side to a third-place finish at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Turkey eight years ago, the legend of national team Kalnietis has only grown as the years have gone by and back-to-back runner-up finishes at FIBA EuroBasket 2013 and 2015 are proof of that.

"It is the way it is because Mantas has a guaranteed role on the team that he has always had and will always have. He feels good on the national team and his on-court performances reflect that feeling," coach Adomaitis offered his explanation.

The positive national team vibes manifest themselves in the fact that Kalnietis averaged 18.0 points and 5.0 assists in the games against Croatian and Dutch opposition in September. However, as a captain would, he made a point of sharing the spotlight with other members of the national team, of whom there were many in the European Qualifiers.

"Over the course of all the windows in the Qualifiers, over 20 different player have played for the national team," Kalnietis said after Lithuania's spot for the World Cup was clinched with the win over the Netherlands.

"And I would like to thank everyone who wasn't on the squad now, the players who gave it their all back in November and February, for their contributions to get us where we are now. The most important thing is that we're heading to China."

No matter the circumstances, you can be sure that Mantas Kalnietis will be ready for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China. The question, instead, is whether China will be ready for national team Kalnietis?

FIBA