By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Lithuania defeated Ukraine 69-68 in Riga, in a close game closing out the action in Group D for today. After a preparation period that saw the Lithuanians win seven of the ten games they played, Kazlauskas’s team kicked off their tournament with a close victory.
Jonas Valanciunas completed a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds (plus 1 assist) but it was Paulius Jankunas who scored the most with 22 (5 rebounds). Jonas Maciulis was the third best scorer with 11, followed by Renaldas Seibutis who got 8. Together these four accounted for almost all of Lithuania’s points.
Ukraine, with new coach Yevgen Murzin at the helm, got really close but in the end succumbed to their opponents. In the third quarter they scored 19 against Lithuania’s 17 after they both got 14 apiece in the second. In the fourth they were actually better, getting 23 against their opponents’ 19, at one point even tying the game.
But in the end, Maxym Korniyenko missed a buzzer with 1.6 seconds left on the clock, essentially gifting the win to the Lithuanians. Their star player, Kyrylo Fesenko, had an excellent game, completing a double-double after racking up 19 points and collecting 11 rebounds. Olexandr Mishula and Jerome Randle got 13 and 12 respectively and Korniyenko (8 points, 2 assists) and Ihor Zaytsev (7 points) contributed with 5 boards each.