Lithuania and Serbia win - FIBA U-19 World Championship Semifinals Roundup
Lithuania 85 – Russia 68
In the first semifinal at the FIBA U-19 World Championship, Team Lithuanian triggered a dominating performance in the first half and raced away to a comprehensive 85-68 victory over Russia.
Small forward Rolandas Jakstas smashed the opposition with 11 points in the opening 10 minutes of the game from where the Lithuanians showed no signs of retreat. After gaining a massive 14 points lead in the first quarter, the
Lithuanians were keyed by Jonas Valanciunas. Jonas finished off the night with a team-high 21 points and 13 rebounds in 35 minutes of playing time.
On the other hand, Russia’s sharp-shooter Dmitry Kulagin posted a magnificent offensive performance with a game-high 27 points.
Lithuania had a slow start and failed to land a bucket in the preliminary three minutes of the game. However, they made a quick recovery and romped with 13-0 run midway to procure a comprehensive lead. The Russian team tried hard
to retaliate, however Lithuania were just too dominant in the back court and ended the first period with a 25-11 lead.
Lithuania kept the momentum going in the second quarter and erupted with 28 points to virtually put the game to bed at 53-26. The second half proved to be a mere formality as Lithuania cruised to a 85-68 win.
Serbia 76 – Argentina 71
Shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic racked up a game-high 25 points to marshal Serbia to a thrilling 76-71 victory over Argentina in the second semifinal.
Bogdanovic was instrumental on the back court as well and clutched all of his eight boards on the defence. Neman Besovic and Marko Gujanicic also delivered in the nail biting contest with 15 and 14 point respectively.
Marcos Delia was the top performer for Argentina. He finished the game with 19 points and 10 rebounds in 37 minutes of playing time.
In a tightly contested first frame, Serbia displayed managed to squeak out a 16-14 lead. Argentina responded swiftly at the start of the second quarter and managed to go ahead by securing a 32-28 advantage as the game progressed
into the second half.
However, Serbia fought back and keyed by Bogdan, they took back the lead midway through the third period. Argentina made the life difficult for the Serbians in the passage that followed, however Serbia kept their composure and
procured 57-54 lead just before entering the final quarter. The fourth quarter turned out be yet another intriguing passage. The South Americans did their utmost to peg back the Serbian, but fell just short as Serbia hung tough for a 76-71 win.
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