Valanciunas, Sabonis and recovering duo Maciulis, Gudaitis in Lithuania's 19-man World Cup squad
VILNIUS (Lithuania) - Lithuania coach Dainius Adomaitis has narrowed down the list of players he will choose from to form the country's squad for this summer's FIBA Basketball World Cup to 18 players.
VILNIUS (Lithuania) - Lithuania coach Dainius Adomaitis has narrowed down the list of players he will choose from to form the country's squad for this summer's FIBA Basketball World Cup to 19 players.
Among the candidates for the final roster are Arturas Gudaitis and Jonas Maciulis, who have been uncertainties due to injuries.
| Lithuania's 18-player preliminary squad for FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 | |||
| Eimantas Bendzius | Arnas Butkevicius | Martynas Echodas | Martinas Geben |
| Rokas Giedraitis | Marius Grigonis | Arturas Gudaitis | Zygimantas Janavicius |
| Paulius Jankunas | Adas Juskevicius | Mantas Kalnietis | Mindaugas Kuzminskas |
| Lukas Lekavicius | Jonas Maciulis | Gytis Masiulis | Domantas Sabonis |
| Renaldas Seibutis | Edgaras Ulanovas | Jonas Valanciunas | |
"This list is a result of long discussions within the coaching staff," Adomaitis said. "The players had good seasons last year and everyone on the list deserves to be on it. The availability of Arturas Gudaitis and Jonas Maciulis is still unclear, as they are recovering from injuries.
"Arturas will undergo some tests next week which should provide us with more information. The chances of Jonas joining the team will be clear just before the camp, when the doctors provide us some answers from the scheduled tests."
Maciulis has been a linchpin in the national team since FIBA EuroBasket 2007 in Madrid. One of his best tournaments was FIBA EuroBasket 2015 when Lithuania played in Riga and Lille. In the Round of 16 of the event, Maciulis put Lithuania on his back and carried it to a thrilling victory over Georgia.
The rest of the squad for the first-ever 32 team World Cup includes Memphis Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas and Indiana Pacers forward Domas Sabonis. Both players appeared in two of the country's games in the European Qualifiers.
Lithuania are in what has been described as the 'Group of Death', Group H, with Australia, Canada and Senegal. Only the top two sides from that pool will progress to Second Round Group L, which will also consist of the two teams that come out of a Group G that is made up of France, the Dominican Republic, Germany and Jordan.
The sides that finish first and second in Group L will advance to the Quarter-Finals.
FIBA