July 14, 2017
University of Notre Dame men’s basketball rising senior Martinas Geben (Vilnius, Lithuania) has been named a candidate for the Lithuanian Students National Men’s Basketball team that will compete in the World University Games in Taipei, Taiwan, in late August of 2017.
Geben is one of 15 players invited to the team camp in Druskininkai, Lithuania, from July 18 through July 25. All 15 players will then travel to China for a pre-tournament exhibition tour in China before selecting the 12-man team that will represent Lithuania at the World University Games from August 13 through August 30, 2017.
“You can’t always play for Lithuania, so you have to do it,” Geben told Tom Noie from the South Bend Tribune earlier this month. Geben could miss the first full week of classes at Notre Dame for the World University Games but remains in strong academic standing and is on pace to graduate in May of 2018.
“You don’t get a chance to represent your country every day. I didn’t want to pass up that opportunity. It will be an honor to put on that Lithuania jersey.”
Geben joins Laimonas Chatkevicius and Mindaugas Kacinas as the three candidates who have played at the collegiate level in the United States. Chatkevicius and Kacinas were both members of the South Carolina 2015-16 team.
A veteran of the Lithuanian national team system, Geben was a member of the 2013 FIBA U-19 World Championship Team that won a bronze medal in Prague, Czech Republic. This also will mark the second consecutive summer that Geben will compete internationally. In 2016, he was a member of the East Coast All-Stars, along with teammate Matt Farrell. The collegiate all-star team compiled a 3-1 record while traveling in Italy.
This summer, Rex Pflueger and Austin Torres will be competing for the East Coast All-Stars in Spain, giving the Fighting Irish three players competing internationally this summer.
Lithuanian Student National Men’s Basketball Team Schedule
Pre-World University Games:
July 29, 2017 vs. Angola (Kunshan, China)
July 30, 2017 vs. New Zealand (Kunshan, China)
July 31, 2017 vs. China (Kunshan, China)
August 2, 2017 vs. China (Chengdu, China)
August 3, 2017 vs. Angola (Chengdu, China)
August 4, 2017 vs. New Zealand (Chengdu, China)
August 9, 2017 vs. Serbia (Dalian, China)
August 10, 2017 vs. China (Dalian, China)
August 11, 2017 vs. Montenegro (Dalian, China)
World University Games (Group D):
August 20, 2017 vs. Israel
August 21, 2017 vs. Australia
August 23, 2017 vs. Mozambique
August 24, 2017 vs. Ukraine
August 25, 2017 vs. Russia
Championship play will begin after pool play ends