Lithuania edge out Greece 73 – 69 for the fourth spot in FIBA EuroBasket - Part 2
Greece had been in the ascendency until now, but the third quarter completely belonged to Lithuania. The hosts came out of the interval fired up and determined to make an impression. Greece didn’t look like taking it lying down
but after a quick exchange of baskets at the start, they were simply blown away by the Lithuanian onslaught.
Lithuania went on a 10 – 0 run that not only diminished the lead of the Greeks, it also put the home side ahead by 5 points with 5:15 left on the clock. They then had a 6 – 2 spurt to further cement their position which finished
at 50 – 43. Lithuania couldn’t recover from the heavy blows dealt and the period ended with Lithuania in the lead at 56 – 48.
Greece came back fighting in the final period of the game. They actually outscored the hosts by 21 to 17, but fell just short in the end. The Greeks showed great spirit throughout the last quarter and went into the lead with a
huge 3-point shot that brought the score to 69 – 68 with just 0:26 remaining. The home team though refused to accept defeat and produced some intense basketball in the final seconds to clinch victory at 73 – 69.
The game was a strange one as both teams had their ups and downs while being pretty evenly matched. Greece shot a slightly higher percentage from the field but Lithuania offset that by taking more shots. The important factor seemed
to be Lithuania’s domination on the boards. They outrebounded the opponents an amazing 47 to 29 on overall, including 20-to-8 on the offensive glass.
The second chance opportunities afforded to Lithuania really seemed to hurt Greece.
Lithuania Head Coach Kestutis Kemzura admitted that because of the lack of importance of the game, both sides could have had motivational problems. He was though happy that his side played well in front of the hoe support and gave
them something to cheer for.
"This was a strange game to play. For us the biggest problem was motivation and I'm sure it was even more so for our opponents. At least we played in front of our fans and we had to respect them and respect ourselves and try to
win. It was a close game and we were lucky to win. Thank you to our fans that have supported us from the beginning to the end."
Lithuania Centre Robertas Javtokas was of pretty much the same view and added that it was a nice feeling to end with a win.
"Everyone knows that this game was not important for any team but we tried our best and we wanted to win. In the second half we played better and we won. It's good to end the tournament with a win."
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