Valanciunas, Sabonis headline Lithuania final roster for World Cup
DONGGUAN (China) - Following their last friendly game in preparation for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019, Lithuania head coach Dainius Adomaitis has unveiled his final 12-man roster on Tuesday.
Jonas Valanciunas and Domantas Sabonis stand tall in the chosen dozen to vie for Lithuania's first title at this level even though they find themselves in Group H - the Group of Death.
| Lithuania's final roster for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 | |||
| Arnas Butkevicius | Rokas Giedraitis | Marius Grigonis | Paulius Jankunas |
| Mantas Kalnietis | Mindaugas Kuzminskas | Lukas Lekavicius | Jonas Maciulis |
| Domantas Sabonis | Renaldas Seibutis | Edgaras Ulanovas | Jonas Valanciunas |
For the 7ft (2.13m) center Valanciunas, this is an opportunity to chase the top crown at senior level having emerged victorious at all FIBA youth tournaments for his nation. His eight years experience in the NBA is expected to come in handy this summer.
Power forward Sabonis, who is making his debut on the world stage, has shown why he will play a key role for Lithuania if any of his performances in the preparation games are anything to go by.
Five players that were part of the 2014 World Cup edition in Spain including Paulius Jankunas, Mindaugas Kuzminskas, Jonas Maciulis, Renaldas Seibutis and Jonas Valanciunas are returning and their experience over the years will add a lot to the equation.
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Mantas Kalnietis will lead the squad as their captain while club teammates Marius Grigonis and Edgaras Ulanovas who feature for Zalgris Kaunas form a dynamic duo on the wings that should take care of business.
Coach Adomaitis went for defensive stalwart Arnas Butkevicius over point guard Zygimantas Janavicius and center Martinas Geben after critically looking at their contributions in the lead up to the World Cup - a tough decision he admits.
"THESE DECISIONS ARE ALWAYS UNPLEASANT. WE STAYED UP ALL NIGHT DISCUSSING IT WITH THE COACHING STAFF. WE LOOKED AT OUR FRIENDLY GAMES, ANALYSED THEM”
"These decisions are always unpleasant. We stayed up all night discussing it with the coaching staff. We looked at our friendly games, analysed them," said Adomaitis.
"We needed some insurance regarding the situation with Marius Grigonis even with him doing all he can to be back on his feet as soon as possible. Looking forward, we needed one more good perimeter defender."
Lithuania will be battling for the top two slots in Group H against Australia, Canada and Senegal with an eye on the Second Round and then the Knock-.
FIBA
