It may have been its biggest game to date, but Lithuania is not allowing the momentous victory over Team USA to get the better of them as they prepare for a tough quarter-final clash against Serbia in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 at the Mall of Asia arena.
“In the locker room, I told my guys to celebrate briefly. Save all the energy and emotions for the upcoming game. We just achieved the biggest win of our careers, but we don’t have time to celebrate this victory because Serbia is waiting,” shared Lithuania coach Kazys Maksvytis about his locker room pep talk after their conquest of the US team.
Vaidas Kariniauskas, who was the top scorer for the Green Death with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, echoed his coach’s sentiments but relished the win reminiscent of Lithuania’s 94-90 triumph over Team USA during the group stage of the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics.
“It happened 19 years ago. I’ve watched that game maybe 20 or 25 times. Now we’ve done it. It’s crazy, but we have to stay calm,” he said.
“We don’t need to celebrate too much because there’s a game in 48 hours against Serbia. We’re happy, but we cannot be too happy.”
Maksvytis is also expressing concern about his team’s composure heading into their do-or-die encounter against Serbia, fully aware of how it affected today’s game.
“I think before the game, the players felt a little bit of freedom because this game wasn’t so important. The players started the game with less stress, shared the ball easily, and attacked the basket with no pressure,” he recalled.
“The next game will be the playoff game, an elimination game, so it will be different.”
He can only hope that Lithuania’s rousing win over Team USA translates into a momentum swing to make a run for the title this year.
