By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Lithuania trounced their Baltic neighbors Latvia 49-68 in Riga. Kazlauskas’s team was improved from their opening game against Ukraine yesterday (which they won by a point) as they began to seize control of the game shortly before the end of the third quarter. The Latvians were keeping pace with their opponents for most of the first half but were unable to compete with the Lithuanians as they upped the intensity level when the game resumed.
Jonas Valanciunas was the top scorer with 13 points (7 rebounds, 1 assist) but it was another Jonas – Maciulis – who completed a double-double with 13 points, 10 boards and 3 assists. Mantas Kalnietis racked up 12 points and dished out 6 assists (plus 3 rebounds) and Deividas Gailius (5 rebounds, 2 assists), Paulius Jankunas (6 rebounds) and Mindaugas Kuzminskas (2 rebounds) all contributed 7 points each.
“When we started to control everything,” Maciulis said after the game, “we found our rhythm in offense. We found more options, not only under the basket, but inside and outside the paint scoring some three-point shots, which was the result of good ball movement. We made a run in the third quarter,” he added, “and they collapsed as a team and we were able to keep the lead until the end of the game.” Commenting on Latvia, he mentioned that, “It was a big deal for them because it is a Baltic rivalry and they are playing at home and they have big expectations to win. When we made a run, I think that was the key for their emotions to explode and to get technical fouls.”
For Bagatskis’s team, lots of players pitched in – including the 24 points they got off the bench – but Kaspars Berzins and Rolands Freimanis got the most with 8 apiece, with the latter also collecting 9 rebounds.
Coach Bagatskis commented on his team’s performance, saying, “In the third quarter I cannot say the Lithuanian team did anything really special, we just stopped playing offense. Simple things, if you cannot score, you cannot win.”