08/07/2024 Act. at 16:29 CEST
Rokas Jokubaitis Lithuania tried to qualify for the next Olympic Games by land, sea and air. To do so, the Lithuanian team had to secure a place in the pre-Olympic games in Puerto Rico, in which, together with the hosts, they competed against Italy, Mexico, Ivory Coast and Bahrain for the ticket that gave access to the Olympic event.
But in the grand final of the tournament, Puerto Rico surpassed Lithuania by 68-79, in a duel in which the Barça playmaker was the best of his team with 16 points, three rebounds and three assists that resulted insufficient to secure a place in Paris 2024.
Change of plans after failing to secure a ticket to the Games
Lithuania’s failure to qualify for the Games has changed Jokubaitis’ summer plans, and he will still have to wait to start his holidays. According to SPORT, the Barcelona guard will play in the NBA summer league with the New York Knicks, franchise that has his rights in the American league, after having been selected in the 34th pick in the 2021 draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder, but has been transferred to the New York team. Barça has given the green light for Jokubaitis to participate in the tournament, and he will soon join the team’s dynamic.
He already played in 2021
This will not be the first time that the player plays in the ‘Summer League’ with the Knicks. He did it in the summer of 2021, just after his signing for Barça was announced. Now, Jokubaitis is entering his last season of contract with the Blaugrana club, and his performance with the team from the Big Apple could influence their future, which is full of unknowns. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
Defining your future
And it is that, despite the fact that in its presentation, Joan Peñarroya explained that he was counting on the player because “he had a contract”, the same Barça coach also indicated that “the summer was very long”. For his part, the General Manager of the section, Juan Carlos Navarro, He said that the exit door was not yet closed. Today, already waiting for the official arrival of Juan Nunez, Barça has the Spanish international, with Tomas Satoransky and with Jokubaitis for the point guard position, and with Kevin Punter, Dario Brizuela, Nicolas Laprovittola and Michael Caicedo in the ‘2’ position, in which the Lithuanian has also played.
Jokubaitis’ schedule in the summer league
As for Jokubaitis’ summer league plans, the New York Knicks will play in a tournament to be held in Las Vegas between July 12 and 22. They will be measured against the Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets, Sacramento Kings y Detroit Pistons, in four guaranteed games that could be more if the New Yorkers advance to the playoffs.
Therefore, we will have to be attentive to the Jokubaitis’ performance this summer league with the Knicks. The Lithuanian point guard’s intention has always been to be able to play in the league, and at 23 years old, he is once again getting down to work and fighting for the American dream.
2024-07-08 11:41:16
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