By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
In a game expected to be dominated by the front line, the hero was a swingman. Reinaldas Seibutis scored 19 points and led the charge for Lithuania in the 73-61 win over Turkey. Of course, Jonas Valanciunas had one more double double (12 p., 13 r.) in a game decided in the last quarter.
A 6-0 run by Lithuania, which started with a buzzer beater at the end of the third quarter, gave a 7 points advantage with 8 minutes to go and Turkey couldn’t cut the lead again to less than five points. The big come back of the “Dev Adam” never became a reality as the players of coach Ergin Ataman had just 3/18 three point shots in this contest and couldn’t turn the tables this time.
As Sinan Guler said: “If we just compare the three points percentages, then it shows the result of the game. They shot with 53%, we shot with 17%. That took us out of our rhythm. Still I am proud of everyone in this team and I hope we make everyone proud also back home”. However, according to coach Ataman the story is different: “We tried to feed Omer Asik in the paint and he got only two free throws. Terrible referees. Also in the end of the third quarter, the rule should be changed, like in Euroleague, and apply instant replay. Cedi Osman stepped on the line. The ball should be given to Lithuania, but with less than one second. I agree that my team missed a lot of open shots, Lithuania deserved to win, but we didn’t get any calls despite putting the ball in the paint”.
Lithuanian coach Jonas Kazlauskas was more than happy: “We did a great job in stopping Preldzic, getting rebounds and playing defense. Before the game we focused on those three keys. You said we don’t have good shooters. Every one in Lithuania can shoot, even me. It depends on the defense. Turkey gave us a lot of space and we took advantage of it”. And when he was asked about a possible revenge of Lithuania against USA in the semifinal for the 2010 loss, he smiled: “I was not on the bench of this team then, I was coaching Greece. USA and Spain are the big favorites of the tournament and they are great teams”.