First up for Baltic giants Lithuania is journey to Kosovo

PRISHTINA (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - European minnows Kosovo survived a difficult Pre-Qualifying campaign to clinch a spot in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers.

Now they'll get a reality check with a Group C game against one of the traditional powerhouses of international basketball, Lithuania.

A team that fell well short of its lofty expectations at FIBA EuroBasket 2017 with a Round of 16 exit at the hands of Greece, Lithuania will be looking to hit the ground running in the World Cup Qualifiers at Kosovo.

Underdogs, yes, but Kosovo can be difficult opposition on their own floor, something they proved on August 2 and August 19 in wins in the Pre-Qualifiers over The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MKD) and Estonia, respectively.

Lithuania are the No. 6 team in the FIBA World Ranking, presented by Nike, a country rich with tradition in international basketball that captured the FIBA EuroBasket crown as recently as 2003 and one that has also played at every Olympics since 1992 following their independence from the old Soviet Union.

Marius Grigonis, a 2016 Olympian and member of this past summer's EuroBasket team, had been named in the squad but an ankle injury has ruled him out. Lithuania do have plenty of players champing at the bit to show what they can do for the country, including Neptunas Klaipeda's 25-year-old Arnas Butkevicius, the reigning Player of the Week in the Basketball Champions League.

While some players are hurt or are unavailable, Adomaitis said: "Everyone must understand that we currently have the best players in the team who can currently represent Lithuania. I believe in them. Let's trust everyone."

Key Matchups: It's difficult to think of Kosovo basketball without conjuring up the image of Dardan Berisha, the exciting guard of club side Pristina who was instrumental in the Pre-Qualifiers victories. More important than anything when it comes to the 29-year-old is that he can put the ball in the basket. Ditto for Scott Bamforth, the naturalized guard from the United States who is wheeling and dealing this season for Italians Dinamo Sassari in the Basketball Champions League. The experienced Adas Juskevicius will be an important player for Adomaitis. The 28-year-old point guard averaged more than 20 minutes per contest in his last five EuroBasket games this summer and he exploded for 20 in a big win over Italy. The contributions of two Basketball Champions League players, Gediminas Orelik (Umana Reyer Venezia) and Butkevicius, should be vital.

Key Stats: The 19 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 blocks that Butkevicius had in his last game with Neptunas in the Basketball Champions League. The motor of the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship winner with Lithuania is always running full throttle. Adomaitis would like to see him have a big couple of games in November's World Cup Qualifiers, including in Butkevicius' native Klaipeda on Sunday against Poland. Another key stat - the 28 points Berisha scored in each of Kosovo's home wins in the Pre-Qualifiers against the Macedonians and Estonia.

FIBA