One of the top basketball countries in the world has offered to help Gilas Pilipinas in its quest to qualify for the basketball tournament of the Paris Olympics. In an exclusive interview with The Star, Dr. Mindaugas Balciunas, secretary-general of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation (Lietuvos Krepsinio Federacija), revealed that they have invited the Philippine men’s national team to a series of tune-up games in Lithuania prior to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) which is in Latvi, just across their border. Lithuania is ranked 10th in the world by FIBA in men’s basketball and has already qualified for Paris.