The Wisconsin Badgers went into the overseas pool of talent with their 2025 recruiting class, landing New Zealand guard Hayden Jones and Lithuanian forward Aleksas Bieliauskas in the cycle.
Jones, playing in the NZL, got a chance to shine nationally earlier this month, as he helped New Zealand earn a fourth-place finish at the FIBA U19 World Cup.
Now, Bieliauskas is getting a chance to represent his country at the FIBA U20 Eurobasket, which is currently ongoing.
The Badgers freshman big man has played
in four games so far for Lithuania, making his debut against Greece in the Group Phase stage. He scored 10 points in the opener, while also notching 11 rebounds and shooting 2/8 from the field, including 1/4 from deep, in 28 minutes of action.
In Lithuania’s second game against Romania, Bieliauskas shined, scoring 15 points and notching eight rebounds while shooting 6/7 from the field and hitting his lone three-pointer.
That has carried over to the last two games, as Bieliauskas went 2/4 from deep against Czechia, while getting eight rebounds and two blocks in an 82-79 loss.
Then, against Poland in the Round of 16, the Badgers big man put up 15 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks to help Lithuania advance to the quarterfinals.
Now, Lithuania will face Slovenia on Thursday, with the winner moving on to the semifinals on Saturday.
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