Kestutis Kemzura, head coach of Lithuania, named 24 players as the candidates for the national team which will play in FIBA World Championship 2010 in Turkey and 11 players for the reserve team. The official list is different compared to the previously published unofficial one. The biggest surprise is the inclusion of Ramunas Siskauskas who announced his international retirement back in 2008 and hasn’t worn the green jersey since then.
All of the main stars are on the list with the exception of two NBA players – Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Darius Songaila. The latter did not rule out the possibility of playing for his country again in Eurobasket 2011 which will be hosted in Lithuania.
Seven players could be making their international debut for Lithuania if they are selected to the final squad. Those players are Martynas Gecevicius, Arvydas Eitutavicius, Martynas Pocius, Renaldas Sebutis, Mindaugas Katelynas, Tadas Klimavicius and Donatas Motiejunas. It is almost certain that Gecevicius will be playing in Turkey after the best season in his career so far. The 21-year-old shooting guard became a star of Lietuvos Rytas and could be looking to get an important role in the national team as well despite the fact that it will be his debut.
Marijonas Petravicius is currently injured and will miss the rest of the season. It is still unknown whether he’ll be fit to play for the national team. However, this loss could open the door to the international stage for one of the most promising centers in Europe, Donatas Motiejunas who is having a good season in Italy with Benetton Treviso.
As it was rumoured before, Arvydas Macijauskas is also on the list. If he manages to get in shape in time then he’ll be playing for Lithuania for the first time since FIBA World Championship 2006 in Japan. One of the best shooters in Europe at his prime is eager to represent his country again.
Lithuania will play in Group D with current World Champions Spain, France, Canada, Lebanon and New Zealand.
| First team candidates | |||
| Player | Team | Pos | Age |
| Sarunas Jasikevicius | Panathinaikos (Greece) | PG | 34 |
| Mantas Kalnietis | Zalgiris (Lithuania) | PG | 23 |
| Arvydas Eitutavicius | Cholet (France) | PG | 27 |
| Giedrius Gustas | Free agent | PG | 30 |
| Rimantas Kaukenas | Real Madrid (Spain) | SG | 33 |
| Arvydas Macijauskas | Free agent | SG | 30 |
| Renaldas Seibutis | Bilbao (Spain) | SG | 24 |
| Tomas Delininkaitis | PAOK (Greece) | SG | 27 |
| Martynas Gecevicius | Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania) | SG | 21 |
| Martynas Pocius | Zalgiris (Lithuania) | SG | 24 |
| Arturas Jomantas | Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania) | SF | 24 |
| Mindaugas Lukauskis | Asvel (France) | SG | 30 |
| Ramunas Siskauskas | CSKA Moscow (Russia) | SF | 31 |
| Simas Jasaitis | Galatasaray (Turkey) | SF | 28 |
| Jonas Maciulis | AJ Milano (Italy) | SF | 25 |
| Mindaugas Katelynas | Alicante (Spain) | PF | 26 |
| Linas Kleiza | Olympiacos (Greece) | SF-PF | 25 |
| Paulius Jankunas | Khimki (Russia) | PF | 25 |
| Tadas Klimavicius | Zalgiris (Lithuania) | PF | 27 |
| Ksystof Lavrinovic | Montepaschi (Italy) | PF | 30 |
| Darjus Lavrinovic | Real Madrid (Spain) | C | 30 |
| Robertas Javtokas | Khimki (Russia) | C | 30 |
| Marijonas Petravicius | AJ Milano (Italy) | C | 30 |
| Donatas Motiejunas | Benetton (Italy) | C | 19 |
| Reserve team candidates | |||
| Player | Team | Pos | Age |
| Zygimantas Janavicius | Atletas (Lithuania) | PG | 21 |
| Sarunas Vasiliauskas | Zalgiris (Lithuania) | PG | 21 |
| Aidas Viskontas | Perlas (Lithuania) | PG | 23 |
| Martynas Mazeika | AEK (Greece) | SG-PG | 25 |
| Adas Juskevicius | Zalgiris (Lithuania) | SG | 21 |
| Arvydas Siksnius | Siauliai (Lithuania) | SF | 22 |
| Mindaugas Kuzminskas | Siauliai (Lithuania) | SF | 20 |
| Deivydas Gailius | Siauliai (Lithuania) | SF | 22 |
| Saulius Kuzminskas | Trefl (Poland) | C | 27 |
| Martynas Andriuskevicius | Alicante (Spain) | C | 24 |
| Mihail Anisimov | Budivelnyk (Ukraine) | C | 25 |
