By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Manila, Philippines – Lithuania proved to be more fresh and ready than Greece, had a great second half, and got an easy 92-67 win which is enough for a spot in the quarterfinals.
To be exact, Lithuania and the USA are sharing the top of Group J with a 4-0 record, while Greece and Montenegro dropped to 2-2, making the next two games of the group a formality and the duel between the two perfect teams deciding the first place.
Rokas Jokubaitis with 19 points led the charge for the winners, getting solid support from Ignas Brazdeikis (18 p.), as well as Eimantas Bendzius and Jonas Valanciunas who scored 15 points.
The game started with a 7-0 run by Lithuania and Greece airballing three three-point attempts. What followed, however, was 4/4 threes by the Greeks who got an 18-13 lead.
The first quarter ended tied at 20 with Greece having already 4/12 threes and Lithuania just one out of two.
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With Lithuania feeling the pressure, the Greeks started to get inside and built an 8-point advantage (40-32) led by the guard duo of Thomas Walkup and Giannoulis Larentzakis who scored 15 points each in the first half.
However, thanks to Jokubaitis who scored five straight points and stole the ball twice, Lithuania trimmed the lead to four (43-39).
With two more threes, one by Jokubaitis and one by Ignas Brazdeikis, Lithuania took the lead to start the second half (45-43) and the fight continued. The score was tied at 54 with four minutes left in the third period, which ended with Lithuania up by six (64-58) thanks to a three by Donatas Motiejunas.
One more three by Bendzius made it a nine-point game, Greece’s main lineup was visibly gassed out and one more long-range bomb by Mindaugas Kuzminskas (70-58) essentially put the game out of reach.
Lithuania led by 14 (74-60) with seven minutes left and there was no coming back after that, shooting 12/16 threes in the second half. Thomas Walkup was amazing for Greece with 21 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, while Giannoulis Larentzakis added 17 points.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL