By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Succeeding Kazys Maksvytis, experienced tactician Rimas Kurtinaitis is the new head coach of Lithuania.
After approving the candidacy, the Lithuanian Basketball Federation, LKF, announced the new selector of the senior national team on Tuesday.
Kurtinaitis, 64, takes over entering a new international cycle leading to the 2028 Olympic Games.
A few months after becoming the head coach of Sabah and recently coaching the Azerbaijani club in the Qualification Rounds of the Basketball Champions League, the native of Kaunas got the nod for the senior national team of his country. Through coaching spells with several clubs all around Europe since 2002, including 113 features in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games as the head coach of Khimki Moscow Region and Lietuvos Rytas, Kurtinaitis is set to expand his career to the international level.
On top of the schedule for Lithuania is the next set of games in the Qualifiers of the 2025 EuroBasket. Carrying a 1-1 W-L tally in Group H, the approaching international window of FIBA features matchups against North Macedonia on the road on November 21 and at home on November 24. Visiting Poland and hosting Estonia next February are the remaining challenges on the quest for a EuroBasket ticket with the top two out of Lithuania, Estonia, and North Macedonia advancing. Poland has instead secured an automatic berth as one of the four EuroBasket hosts.
Beyond next summer’s EuroBasket, Lithuania also sets sights on the 2027 FIBA World Cup and from there to the Los Angeles Games.