By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The Lithuanian national team joined Turkey and Germany in the 2025 EuroBasket quarterfinals after defeating hosts Latvia in Riga.
Led by Arnas Velicka’s heroics, Rimas Kurtinaitis’ side prevailed 88-79 at the Xiaomi Arena, eliminating the home team despite Kristaps Porzingis’ standout night.
Velicka delivered an outstanding performance in the absence of the injured Rokas Jokubaitis, orchestrating Lithuania’s offense and closing the Baltic derby with 21 points, 12 assists, and five rebounds.
Azoulas Tubelis added another double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Deividas Sirvydis had his best EuroBasket showing, contributing 18 points.
Interestingly, Jonas Valančiūnas logged fewer than 10 minutes but still managed to score nine points.
On the other side, Porzingis had a monster game with 34 points and 19 rebounds for a PIR of 39, before fouling out in the final minutes. Only Arvydas Sabonis (23 v Greece in 1995) and his fellow countryman Andris Biedrins (20 v France in 2009) have grabbed more in a single EuroBasket game over the last 30 years.
Rihards Lomažs was the only Latvian to provide consistent support for the Atlanta Hawks big man, contributing 21 points and seven assists.
Lithuania is back in the EuroBasket quarter-finals for the first time since 2015, after missing this stage in both 2017 and 2022, and is set to face the winner of the Greece–Israel clash.