Lithuania secured its spot in the knockout rounds of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 with a dominant fourth quarter performance against Greece in Group J, winning 92-67 on Friday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
With Lietuva improving to 4-0, Team USA has already advanced to the quarterfinals. They will compete for Group J leadership on Sunday.
“Two different parts of the game. In the first part, we weren’t strong enough to change the game, but everything changed in the second half. I’m very happy with how the team reacted to the slow start,” said head coach Kazys Maksvytis.
Facing a four-point deficit at halftime, the Lithuanians turned the tide in the third quarter, with Rokas Jokubaitis and Ignas Brazdeikis taking charge to secure a 64-58 lead heading into the final quarter.
Lithuania then opened the floodgates in the payoff period, dominating the Greeks 28-9.
Three-point shooting propelled Lietuva to a 25-point victory, as they made 15 of their 24 attempts from beyond the arc, an impressive 63 percent success rate.
Jokubaitis led the charge with 19 points, including a flawless 3-of-3 effort from beyond the arc.
Brazdeikis followed suit with 18 points, making a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, including three three-pointers. Eimantas Bendzius also contributed three treys and finished with 15 points, while Jonas Valanciunas added 15 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks.
Thomas Walkup and Giannoulis Larentzakis had a strong first half for Greece, scoring 15 points each, but they were limited in the second half.
Walkup ended with 21 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, while Larentzakis finished with 17 points but fouled out of the game with 4:39 left.
Hellas will conclude their campaign against also-ran Montenegro on Sunday at 4:40 p.m.
The Scores:
Lithuania 92 – Jokubaitis 19, Brazdeikis 18, Bendzius 15, Valanciunas 15, Motiejunas 8, Dimsa 6, Kuzminskas 5, Normantas 3, Sirvydis 3, Sedekerskis 0, Maldunas 0, Kariniauskas 0.
Greece 67 – Walkup 21, Larentzakis 17, Papapetrou 9, Rogkavopoulos 7, Moraitis 5, Papagiannis 4, Antetokounmpo 2, Lountzis 2, Bochoridis 0, Chatzidakis 0, Papanikolaou 0.
Quarterscores: 20-20, 39-43, 64-58, 92-67.
