Jonas Valanciunas was the best player on the floor as Lithuania humiliated the United States 108-75 in a tuneup for the FIBA under-19 championship, which gets underway on Thursday in Latvia.

The fifth overall selection by the Raptors imposed his will on the smaller Americans, compiling a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds, along with two blocks and a steal.

Valanciunas is rail-thin and must pack on 15-25 pounds before he can compete effectively in the NBA, but against those his own age, he has consistently dominated.

Previously, Valanciunas was named MVP of FIBA’s under-18 and under-16 tournaments.

Jazz center Enes Kanter plans to play for Turkey's national team in the 2011 EuroBasket tournament if there is an NBA lockout.

Kanter said last Wednesday before being drafted by Utah that he would likely participate in the tournament, which is scheduled August 31-September 18 in Lithuania.

He added that he would not play professionally in Turkey during a lockout, but would consider signing with a European team.

The Lithuanian U20 team easily defeated the USA U19 World Championship Team, 101-72, in a friendly game in Lithuania
(Global Games tournament) on Sunday.

Lithuania led by a margin of 44-16 after first 13 minutes.

Tim Hardaway, Jr. led the USA team with 18 points. Joe Jackson added 13 points and eight boards while Doug McDermott scored 12.

Brazil has been dealt a blow in preparation for this summer's FIBA Americas Championship with news that big man Nene will not be part of the team.

According to the Brazilian Basketball Confederation (CBB), Nene on Friday asked to be released from the national team citing personal and contractual reasons.

The FIBA Americas Championship takes place in Mar del Plata, Argentina, from 30 August to 11 September. The top two teams qualify automatically for the London Olympics.

A year after deciding to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks with little drama, Dirk Nowitzki has a difficult decision to make in the wake of his first NBA championship.

Nowitzki, the Finals MVP, is debating whether to play for the German national team this summer. Nowitzki said during an appearance on ESPN 103.3's Ben and Skin Show that he would make the decision within the next few weeks.

"After a long, long season, one side is the rest factor and going strong into next season," said Nowitzki, a 13-year NBA veteran who turned 33 on Sunday. "On the other side is obviously my national team that's been good to me.

"I'm just going to see how my body feels" Nowitzki said, regarding whether he would play for Germany this summer. "I still have that splint on my finger and just see how I recover here these next couple of weeks. Then I think we can make an educated decision."

Defending champion Spain included Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka in its preliminary team on Tuesday for the European championship.

Ibaka, who was born in the Republic of the Congo, is still waiting to become nationalized by Spain before the championship begins on Aug. 31 in Lithuania.

“We hope he can play, even though we are not sure that he will be able to,” Spain coach Sergio Scariolo said. “We are in the phase of waiting for the paperwork to go through.”

Ibaka played for Spanish clubs for three years before moving to the NBA in 2009.

Thirteen players were named Sunday as finalists for the 2011 USA World Championship under-19 basketball team.

The finalists were selected from among 20 players invited to the the USA U19 Team training camp, which began Friday in Colorado Springs. One more cut is scheduled Wednesday before the final 12-man roster is set. The team departs Friday for Europe.

The USA team will try to defend the gold medal it won in 2009 at the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship, which runs June 30 to July 10 in Latvia.

The 13 finalists: Keith Appling (Michigan State); James Bell (Villanova); Anthony Brown (Stanford); Jahii Carson (incoming freshman at Arizona State); Tim Hardaway, Jr. (Michigan); Joe Jackson (Memphis); Jeremy Lamb (Connecticut); Meyers Leonard (Illinois); Khyle Marshall (Butler); Javon McCrea (Buffalo); Doug McDermott (Creighton); Tony Mitchell (North Texas); and Patric Young (Florida).

Manu Ginobili’s focus is the FIBA Americas tournament, where Argentina must finish first or second to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.

“It is very, very important for me,” he said. “Not only because it gives me the opportunity to play in my last Olympic Games, but also the first time we have played in Argentina in a decade. After all we have accomplished, having the opportunity to play in front of our fans and our people is very important. It is going to be fun. It is just a short time, just nine games.”

Insurance issues must be resolved before Ginobili and other NBA players don their national team uniforms, with a looming lockout of NBA players adding to the confusion.

Would Ginobili play for Argentina, even if his contract weren’t insured against injury?

“That is a really tough decision to make if we arrived at that point,” he said. “We will have to dig down with teammates and friends and make a decision, a really difficult one, and I don’t think that many players are going to be able to play if we don’t find an option for insurance.

“I’m really hoping that the NBPA (players’ union) finds a good, solid insurance company; finds the money that is needed, and we can all think about playing.”

Spain center Fran Vazquez has decided not to play for the country this summer when the national team tries to defend its EuroBasket title.

The Barcelona big man, who just helped his club side capture the ACB title, competed for Spain last year at the FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

He has contacted Spain coach Sergio Scariolo and informed him of his desire to take the summer off.

"I have asked the national team coach not to include me in the team," Vazquez said in a statement.

"I think the best thing for me is to not play the EuroBasket and rest this summer so as to face next season with all guarantees."

Alex Mumbru has become the second prominent player in the Spain squad to announce his retirement from the national team this week.

Coming on the heels of Jorge Garbajosa's decision to stop competing in international basketball, the 32-year-old Mumbru has called it quits as well.

Mumbru played a vital role for Spain on their gold-medal winning team at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan and also captured silver at the 2008 Olympics and gold at EuroBasket 2009.