It is not only all about Luka: things to watch in Kaunas / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Undeniably all eyes will be on Luka here in Kaunas. After four years, Luka Doncic is set to lead his National Team again. The Dallas Mavericks guard is the brightest star of all four Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. But there will be more things to watch in Kaunas. BasketNews.com gives you a few more reasons to stay tuned with Kaunas OQT.

Domantas Sabonis

Team:Indiana PacersLithuaniaPosition:PF, CAge:25Height:211 cmWeight:109 kgBirth place:Portland, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

Basketball island

Emotions will boil again on the famous basketball island in Kaunas.

Eleven thousand fans will be allowed to enter Zalgiris Arena to watch Lithuania, Slovenia, Poland, Venezuela, South Korea, and Angola fighting for a single ticket to Tokyo Olympics.An exemption from the Lithuanian Government enabled such crowd gathering, as basketball is a historically larger-than-life phenomenon of this Baltic country.

No other OQT venue will have as many fans as Kaunas.

Credit FIBA

For example, Split expects to welcome up to 10,000 fans in Spaladium arena. Around 2,000 fans will be allowed to watch OQT games in Serbia, Aleksandar Nikolic Hall. In Victoria, up to 800 spectators will enter Memorial Arena, but only from July 1st.

Per BasketNews.com sources,7,000 tickets have already been sold for theOQT Final game in Kaunas.

Slovenians are expecting their fans to arrive. One charter flight full of supporters is coming for the first game against Angola. The second one is landing in Lithuania before the match versus Poland. But it is obvious who will enjoy the biggest support from the stands.

"We were missing our fans because they couldn‘t watch and support us for almost two years. It also adds some pressure, but at the same time, they were our sixth player on the court in all the competitions. So we expect a huge help from them," Mantas Kalnietis, the captain of team Lithuania, told.

One of the best fans in the world will make this OQT experience in Zalgiris Arena even more exciting. Just like in the good old days before the pandemic.

Slovenia / Schedule

Angola SloveniaWed13:30 GMT Slovenia PolandThu13:30 GMT

Twin Towers

Vilnius TV tower is the tallest structure in Lithuania, which is 326.5-meter-tall. But there is a new sight in town this summer.

Lithuania National Team will have famous Twin Towers with Jonas Valanciunas and Domantas Sabonis in the paint.

Credit D.Lukšta

Valanciunas and Sabonis were among the TOP 4 NBA rebounders this season. No other country had at least two players who made the TOP 10. Moreover, both Lithuanian bigs come tothe OQT after their career seasons.

Valanciunas averaged 17.1 PPG, 12.5 RPG in the Memphis Grizzlies, while Domantas Sabonis, two-time NBA All-Star, added 20.3 PPG, 12 RPG, and 6.7 APG for the Indiana Pacers.

In three friendly games, coach Darius Maskoliunas used them on different lineups, which helped Lithuanians keep the pressure under the basket all 40 minutes. If needed, Maskoliunas will use them both on the court.

No team in Kaunas can match such size and physicality. Domas and JV are set for dominance.

New partner in crime for Luka

When Jordan Morgan seriously injured his knee in the EuroCup semifinals, the Slovenian Basketball Federation had only two months for a plan B.

Coach Aleksander Sekulic made a list of a few players who would fit Luka Doncic and the rest of the group. Then, on June 15, just two weeks before the start of OQT in Kaunas, Mike Tobey suit up for the team on a last-minute call.

Credit FIBA

Mike's teammate at Valencia Klemen Prepelic was the only Slovenian he ever played with. But it seems like Tobey played with this group for years.

In their first game together, Doncic fed Tobey with seven lobs. A naturalized center scored 26 points in 29 minutes (10/13 FGs), Doncic dished 17 assists, and Slovenia defeated Croatia 97:88.

Tobey, 26, averaged 9.6 PPG and 5 RPG for Valencia in the last EuroLeague season. 2.13 m center can stretch the floor (39.6 3P%), has perfect hands for putbacks, and fits Slovenia NT loaded with shooters just perfectly.

"So far, it looks good. We‘re really happy not just by the way Tobey and Doncic clicked together, but the way how all the team clicked together. Players know each other for a long time, and they accepted Mike as their own," Slovenian NT coach Sekulic told.

Don't sleep on experience

Two years ago, this team reached the highest place among all the Kaunas OQT participants in China. But nobody talks about the 8th best FIBA World Cup 2019 team as the main favorite to win it all in Zalgiris Arena.

Every Lithuanian who bought tickets for the final OQT game on Sunday expects to see the battle of Luka Doncic and Lithuanian NT. But there is a team that is ready to surprise you all - Poland.

"The atmosphere is great. We played many years together under Mike Taylor. So basically, we know systems, we know each other, we know the roles in the team. So it can be an advantage for us. We come here with huge hopes and a good mentality. But we also understand the situation. We know that we are not the favorites of this tournament. But I believe that it is always good to be an underdog. So we will try to surprise some people," Polish NT veteran Mateusz Ponitka smiles.

Credit FIBA

The captain of Zenit St. Petersburg is the only Euroleague player on the Polish lineup. But this team has something which neither of their main rivals has.

Five Polish team members, who you will find on the current Mike Taylor's lineup, played for the National Team since 2015. Eight of them reached the World Cup quarterfinals two years ago. This group of guys played together every three months throughout the World Cup or EuroBasket qualifiers the past four years. And they were led by coach Taylor since 2014.

Moreover, Polish NT played six friendly games before packing up for Kaunas, beating Mexico, Tunisia, and Latvia along the way. When Lithuania NT head coach Maskoliunas had the first practice with his players, the Polish team already had three quality repetitions. Slovenians played only two games before their trip to Kaunas.

When it comes to a two-week preparation and a quick tournament like OQT, don't ever sleep on chemistry and experience.

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