Laurynas Birutis, after discussing with his coach, has decided to withdraw from the Lithuanian national basketball team to focus on recovering from a knee injury. He emphasized the importance of health over participation in the upcoming games, indicating that he communicated this decision during a conversation with the coach after a recent semifinal match in the King Mindaugas Cup.

The Lithuanian team will still count on the contributions of three other players from Žalgiris, which are Ąžuolas Tubelis, Ignas Brazdeikis, and Mantas Rubštavičius, as they prepare for critical qualifying matches against Iceland. The first of these encounters will take place on February 27th on the road, followed by a home game on March 2nd at the Švyturys Arena in Klaipėda. The team aims to recover from previous mixed results in the group stage, where they secured a narrow victory against Great Britain but faced a defeat to Italy on their home court.

As the Lithuanian national team gears up for the upcoming matches, Birutis's absence may impact their strategy and performance, especially considering the tight competition within their group. The pressure is on for the remaining players to step up and secure crucial wins to advance in the qualifying rounds, especially with all teams in Group D currently holding one victory each after the initial two games of the series.