Lithuania reach FIBA Worlds final eight
Lithuania shrugged off a slow start and survived a late surge by China to reach the 2010 FIBA World Championships quarter-finals.
Linas Kleiza erupted for 13 points in the final period to power the Lithuanians to a 78-67 victory at the Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul.
China started the game as the more aggressive squad, forcing their higher-ranked opponents to commit turnovers. A three-point play from Sun Yue gave the Chinese a 16-5 lead with four minutes and 48 seconds left in the quarter. But the Lithuanians quickly rallied to close the gap. A basket from Simas Jasaitis trimmed China's lead to two points before Liu Wei closed out the period with a trey to give the Asian giants a 22-17 advantage.
China continued their aggressiveness in the second, extending their lead to 29-20 behind the efforts of Yi Jianlian and Sun. The Lithuanians, however, unleashed a 16-2 run to take a 36-31 lead with 3:21 remaining in the quarter. Kestutis Kemzura’s wards remained in control as they took a 43-40 half-time lead. Kleiza, Mantas Kalnietis and Martynas Gecevicius led the Lithuanians' comeback. Kleiza finished the first half with 13 points while Kalnietis had 11.
China regained their composure in the third, tying the scores twice. But it proved to be the closest they could get back into the game as Lithuania responded with an 11-0 run. Led by Kleiza and Gecevicius, the Lithuanians surged to a 59-48 lead before the Chinese finally scored a basket. The Lithuanians extended their lead to 64-51 after three quarters.
Kleiza opened the fourth quarter with another basket to give Lithuania a 66-51 cushion. But Yi and Liu sparked a 9-0 run to put China within 60-66. Kleiza converted a free throw on the other end but Wang Zhizhi responded with a basket to trim Lithuania's lead to 62-67 with 5:04 remaining. But the Lithuanians did not lose focus, thanks to the heroics of Kleiza. The National Basketball Association veteran scored four straight points to extend Lithuania's lead to 71-62. Kleiza scored three more baskets to thwart any hopes of a Chinese comeback.
Kleiza, who will play for the Toronto Raptors in the upcoming NBA season, finished with 30 points. He also grabbed nine rebounds and made two assists. Gecevicius had 14 points as he went 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Kalnietis had 11 points and made five assists. Liu led the Chinese with 21 points, including three treys. Yi had 11 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Wang Zhizhi also scored 11 points and hauled down seven boards while Wang Shipeng contributed 10 points.
Lithuania will play Argentina tomorrow for a place in the semi-finals. The Argentines reached the last eight after beating South American rivals Brazil, 93-89.
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