Everything you need to know about the FIBA OQT in Kaunas

KAUNAS (Lithuania) - The FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Kaunas is almost upon us as six teams do battle for the one available ticket to Tokyo.

Here's a quick look at what you need to know before Angola, Korea, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia and Venezuela take to the floor.

Group A

0/3 games played

		GAMES				GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Lithuania	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Korea	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Venezuela	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Tuesday, June 29

18:30 CET - Lithuania v Venezuela
Wednesday, June 30
18:30 CET - Venezuela v Korea 
Thursday, July 1
18:30 CET - Korea v Lithuania

Lithuania will be considered the favorites - certainly for the Group Phase and perhaps beyond - as they look to utilize the home court advantage in Kaunas. The frontcourt tandem of Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas headline a strong roster and only qualification will be deemed a success.

The challenge of contending with the local support will be one to embrace and Korea and Venezuela will be out to spoil the party as they take on the hosts. Guna Ra shoulders a lot of responsibility in the paint for Korea, while Venezuela's core is filled with experience at big events. Their meeting on Wednesday could prove crucial in determining who goes through.

Young guns:

The latest bright talent out of Lithuania Rokas Jokubaitis (20 years old) will feel right at home in Kaunas. The Zalgiris guard made his Senior debut during the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 Qualifiers and had 7 points and 6 assists in a solitary appearance.

Hyunjung Lee (20) had a big impact for Korea at the recent FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers with averages of 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and will be out to make a similar impact in Kaunas following his sophomore year at Davidson College.

Meanwhile, Venezuela have an average age of 30 years old so 1999-born Garly Sojo (21) represents an outlier to the overall trend and offers a glimpse to a future with a great chance of learning from the team's experienced core. 

Olympics experience:

Lithuania have competed in every Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament since 1992 and will be desperate to avoid seeing that streak broken on home soil. They achieved three consecutive bronze medals from 1992-2000, but have not made it back onto the podium since.

Venezuela also competed at the last Olympics in 2016 after qualifying through their Continental Championship, while Korea have to go back much further - 25 years in fact - to their last appearance when they took part at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. 

Group B

0/3 games played

		GAMES				GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Poland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Slovenia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Angola	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Tuesday, June 29

15:30 CET - Poland v Angola
Wednesday, June 30
15:30 CET - Angola v Slovenia 
Thursday, July 1
15:30 CET - Slovenia v Poland

Two strong contenders in Slovenia and Poland will go head-to-head in Group B, but Angola are adamant not to be making up the numbers as they give an opportunity to some newer faces amongst the group alongside ever-present 42-year-old captain Eduardo Mingas.

Luka Doncic's inclusion has considerably raised the hopes of a historic week for Slovenia and their meeting with Poland on Thursday could well decide who wins the group ahead of the Semi-Finals. Poland have a team that needs little time to gel and impressed on the global stage with their performances at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.

Young guns:

Perhaps incredibly, Doncic (22 years old) is the youngest player on the roster for Slovenia, yet arrives with more eyes on him than any other player which also adds extra emphasis on his meteoric rise in recent years in becoming a global superstar.

Aleksander Balcerowski (20) is leading the way for the next generation in Poland with the talented forward already with experience of competing at a FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2019, whilst honing his skills in Spain.

Angola have several players getting their first taste of international basketball with Selton Miguel (20) the youngest of an emerging group that will also lean on the vast amounts of experience of some of their teammates.

Olympics experience:

Reigning European champions Slovenia are looking to make history with a first trip to an Olympics, while Poland hope to end a 40+ year wait of a return to competing in the Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament.

Angola do have more recent experience having last competed in Beijing in 2008 as part of a stretch of five consecutive appearances at the Games before missing out on a spot in 2012 and 2016.

All games can be watched on LiveBasketball.tv (geo-restrictions may apply), with highlights available on YouTube.com/FIBA.

You can also follow all the action of the other FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in Belgrade, Split and Victoria.

FIBA