JONAS Valanciunas muscled his way to a double-double as Lithuania scored a 76-65 triumph over Venezuela to start the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Tuesday in Kaunas (Wednesday, Manila time) at Zalgirio Arena.
The Memphis Grizzlies center went 8-of-9 from the field to topscore with 20 points, while grabbing 11 rebounds to lead the Lithuanians to their first win.
Indiana Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis had 12 points, eight boards and two assists, as Mantas Kalnietis also scored 12 points on 2-of-4 three-point shooting, along with four assists and two rebounds.
Lithuania punished Venezuela down low, winning the battle of the boards, 41 to 31, to overcome its sluggish start.
The hosts fell behind by eight, 28-19, midway through the second quarter, but slowly went to work and held Venezuela scoreless for the next six minutes to flip it to a 38-28 advantage in Lithuania's favor.
David Cubillan was the lone Venezuelan player to score in double digits in the defeat with 11.
STRONG OQT START FOR POLAND
In the other game, Poland blew Angola out of the waters, 83-64.
Mateusz Ponitka captained the assault with 22 points, three rebounds, three steals, and two assists, while naturalized player AJ Slaughter went to work as he shot 3-of-6 from distance for 16 points, to go with six assists, four boards, three steals, and one block.
Aleksander Roman Balcerowski added 14 points built on two long bombs, while also collecting four rebounds and three assists in a game where Poland led by as many as 24 points.
The Angolans briefly held the 18-17 lead, but the Polish were in control most of the game, securing 10 steals and forcing the opposition to commit 20 turnovers which was turned to 26 easy points.
Yanick Moreira carried the torch for Angola with 27 points, seven rebounds, and two assists, and Edson Ndoniema scored 11, but the duo did not get the needed support.
Luka Doncic and Slovenia will take the spotlight on Thursday when it faces Angola in Group B action, to be followed by the clash between Venezuela and Korea, both of which are seeking their first wins in Group A.
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