By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
MANILA, Philippines – All teams have an equal chance to showcase their skills in the FIBA World Cup stage, but not all teams are created equal.
That’s pretty much the story between Lithuania and Egypt with the team guided by Kazys Maksvytis strolling to the win, 93-67, Friday. Leading all scorers in the Mall of Asia Arena, Margiris Normantas finished with 18 points behind 6/8 field goals, including three three-pointers.
Despite their absences, the Baltic giants proved too much for their opponents, jumping into a 26-12 lead after the first quarter and never looking back.
Jonas Valanciunas scored 11 of these 26 points in less than six minutes of action en route to a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double in just under 17 minutes of action for Gameday 1 of the FIBA World Cup’s Group D. Lithuania got a 38-19 lead early in the second quarter and the game was practically over.
Egypt managed to cut the lead to 10 (44-34) but a shot at the buzzer by Ιgnas Brazdeikis gave “Lietuva” a 46-34 halftime advantage.
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That pretty much was the story of the rest of the game with Lithuania pushing the lead back to 18 points (70-52), closing the third period with the score 70-53, and ending up getting even a 27-point advantage (84-57).
Coach Roy Rana, a former assistant in the Sacramento Kings who has also served as interim coach in Canada and as an assistant in the German national team, managed to create a unit that showed pride, but on the other hand, wasn’t really competitive. Assem Marei with 14 points and Amr Gendy packing 13 points stood out in the losing effort.
In earlier Group D action, Montenegro rolled over Mexico. Seeking 2-0 starts, Lithuania and Montenegro switch opponents heading to Sunday’s Gameday 2.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL