Lithuania’s journey to 2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championship glory (Part 1)
Game-1: Croatia 88 – Lithuania 75
Lithuanians did not make a dream start, as Croatia defeated them 88-75 in their first game of the preliminary round of the 2011 FIBA U-19 World Championship. The thrust behind Croatia’s victory were their three players - Toni Katic, Boris Barac and Dario Saric - who tallied 20 plus points.
Croatia outperformed Lithuania from the three-point range, as they shot 50 percent and limited the opposition to just 11 percent from the long range.
Toni Katic led Croatia with his game-high 23 points along with five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Katic went nine of 12 from the field, two of two from the three-point and three of five from the free throw line. Boris Barac and Dario Saric tallied 22 points apiece.
Croatia dominated Lithuania right from the start and outscored them 22-18 run in the first quarter. The Croatians continued their domination in the second quarter and made a 20-13 charge, propelling them into a double-digit (42-31) lead, when the first half closed.
Lithuanians failed to make a mark even after the break and Croatia steered their way to the victory by 13 points. Jonas Valanciunas took 36 minutes to notch up a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Zygimantas Skucas also added 13 points and clutched four rebounds for Lithuania.
Game-2: Lithuania 117 – Korea 64
Lithuania opened their account against Korea in their second game of the preliminary round. Jonas Valanciunas made a game winning double-double, as Lithuania thrashed Korea 117-64.
In comparison to Korea’s 31.8 percent shooting from the floor, Lithuania hit 65.3 percent. From the three-point range, the Lithuanians over shadowed them 33.3 – 11.1 percent.
It took Valanciunas just 19 minutes to score his 25 points with a 100 percent shooting from the field and charity stripe. His contribution also included 17 rebounds, one assist and a steal. Besides Valanciunas, point guard Vytenis Cizauskas made 22 points and catered for seven assists for Lithuania.
Lithuania tipped off belligerently and ripped the Koreans apart with a 33-11 burst in the first quarter. After getting toyed by the Lithuanians in the first period, Koreans made a better effort on the offense in the second period with 21 points. However, that was not enough to unsettle the Lithuanians. By the time the first half came to an end, Lithuanians were leading Korea by 63-32.
The game became even more lopsided after the break and the Lithuanians eventually registered the game in their favour by 53 points. Jun Y1 Kim led the Koreans with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists while Seounghyun Lee added 12 points and two assists.
Tags: