The Lithuanian national team (1–1) suffered its first defeat in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers.
Coached by Rimas Kurtinaitis, Lithuania lost a dramatic battle to Italy (1–1) at Klaipėda’s “Švyturys” Arena, 81:82 (19:16, 20:18, 15:20, 27:28).
In a packed arena in Klaipėda, Lithuania led Italy for three quarters, but in the fourth quarter Gabriele Procida delivered an outstanding performance. The Lithuanians’ final shot, which could have sealed the victory, missed its target.
Lithuania started the game energetically. Kristupas Žemaitis scored the first points and soon added a three-pointer. The hosts jumped out to a 7:0 lead, but Italy responded with a banked three by Stefano Tonut. Gytis Radzevičius answered with a long-range shot, yet Tonut put Italy ahead (11:10).
Lithuania regained momentum after mid-range baskets by Arnas Velička and Radzevičius to make it 14:12. Ignas Sargiūnas came off the bench and immediately knocked down a three-pointer, and the first quarter ended with Lithuania in front, 19:16.
In the second quarter, Mantas Rubštavičius traded three-pointers with Gabriele Procida, Martynas Blaževičius extended the lead with points off a spin move, and Radzevičius’ deep shot created a double-digit advantage at 31:21. Italy, however, quickly closed the gap, as Luigi Suigo’s three-pointer cut the deficit to 31:28.
Artūras Gudaitis converted free throws and soon followed up a teammate’s miss with a powerful dunk (34:30). Italian head coach Luca Banchi was assessed a technical foul after an emotional reaction. Lithuania went into halftime leading 39:34.
After the break, Lithuania began to struggle, committing more turnovers, but timely plays by Velička and Rubštavičius allowed them to briefly maintain the initiative (52:47). Still, the end of the third quarter belonged to Italy, who tied the score at 54:54.
Emotions continued to run high in the fourth quarter, with Rimas Kurtinaitis also receiving a technical foul. Three-pointers by Žemaitis and Sargiūnas kept Lithuania in the game for a while, but Procida scored five consecutive points to put Italy ahead. The Italians gained momentum, though Radzevičius answered from long range and Rubštavičius tied the score once again.
With a few minutes remaining, Italy built an eight-point lead, but Lithuania refused to give up. Points by Blaževičius and a three-pointer by Sargiūnas pulled the hosts back within reach (74:76).
With 13 seconds left, Velička hit a three-pointer to give Lithuania the lead, but after an Italian timeout Niccolò Mannion responded with a two-pointer to make it 82:81.
Lithuania entrusted the final possession to Velička, but his difficult shot did not fall, and Italy celebrated the victory.
In the other Group D game, Great Britain (1–1) defeated Iceland (1–1) on the road, 90:84. As a result, after the first qualification window all four teams in the group have identical win–loss records.
On February 27, Lithuania will face Iceland away, and on March 2 the two teams will meet again in Lithuania.
The top three teams from the group will advance to the next stage.
Source: lietuva.basketball
(Translated with the help of an artificial intelligence tool)
