LITHUANIA made it rain in Manila with 14 three-pointers and dampened Team USA’s erstwhile perfect record with a 110-104 win in the 2023 Fiba World Cup at the MOA Arena on Sunday.
Vaidas Kariniauskas led the way with 15 points as Lithuania remained unbeaten in five games and dented the Americans' confidence ahead of the quarterfinals.
Both sides have locked in their Final 8 places ahead of their fierce contest, but Lithuania now gets the upper hand in terms of seeding in the quarterfinal round.
Firing six-of-six from downtown in the opening frame, the Lithuanians were unassailable from range and led by as much as 21.
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From 17 down at the half, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jalen Brunson took over in a 15-2 USA run to bring the Americans within range.
The European side, however, held its own in the face of multiple American rallies through a near-perfect display from downtown en route to a five-game prelims sweep.
In a bid to push the Lithuanians right to the very end, Brunson missed an open three that would've cut the lead to a single possession in the dying seconds.
Nonetheless, USA coach Steve Kerr was proud of what he saw from his wards despite the defeat.
"Great basketball game. Lithuania obviously just came out of the gates on fire, made their first nine threes, took it to us," Kerr said.
"I love the way our guys fought back, played much better in the second half, competed like crazy, gave it a really good run, but it wasn't enough," he added.
His Lithuanian counterpart Kazys Maksvytis stressed on keeping their emotions in check as a fierce Serbian side awaits in two days' time.
"We need to save our emotions and our effort for the next game. Just in two days, we're starting the playoffs. Congratulations to my players, but we need to have short memory to prepare for the second game," Maksvytis said.
The scores:
Lithuania (110) - Kariniauskas 15, Kuzminskas 14, Valanciunas 12, Brazdeikis 11, Sedekerskis 11, Dimsa 11, Bendzius 10, Jokubaitis 9, Motiejunas 9, Sirvydis 2, Maldunas DNP.
USA (104) - Edwards 35, Brunson 14, Bridges 14, Ingram 10, Reaves 7, Portis Jr. 7, Banchero 6, Jackson Jr. 3, Haliburton 3, Johnson 3, Kessler 2, Hart 0.
Quarterscores: 31-12; 54-37; 71-65; 110-104.
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