VILNIUS, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Lithuanian basketball star Donatas Motiejunas on Wednesday praised China for its efforts to boost the country's basketball.
In an interview to Lithuanian media, Motiejunas, 27-year-old Lithuanian forward, who will play in China for the second season, noted China has been investing heavily to strengthen its basketball.
"They have been constantly hiring coaches from Europe, they have been putting efforts to foster players. Eventually, I think China will have a strong generation of players, they really have many tall people," Motiejunas told delfi.tv.
The Lithuanian basketball player also praised Chinese passion for basketball.
"Chinese people are really crazy about basketball, and they really love the game," said Motiejunas.
The Lithuanian basketball star emphasized the competitive environment in the Chinese basketball teams, and that foreign players also have to work hard to stay in the Chinese basketball clubs.
"The competition in Chinese basketball clubs is really tough, many players want to play in China, and it is really hard to get there, and I am really happy that I have managed to get there," said Motiejunas.
Motiejunas will remain in China next season playing for Shandong Golden Stars which he had played for during the previous season.
During his previous season in China, Motiejunas scored 23.2 points per game and grabbed 11.8 rebounds per game helping the team to reach semifinals of the Chinese League.
On Wednesday, Motiejunas said his first season in China was interesting, he is satisfied with the time he gets to play.
"I play around 30 minutes on average," said Motiejunas.
Before coming to China, Motiejunas had spent a few seasons in NBA, playing for Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets, New Orleans Pelicans.
