By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Jonas Valanciunas was a towering presence inside the paint with 21 points and 16 rebounds to lead Lithuania past Finland 84 – 80 in an exhibition game held in a sold-out arena in Klaipeda. The Lithuanian team got a bit of payback after losing to the Finnish side in Tampere.
Lauri Markkanen’s 32 points (5-10 3-pointers) and 11 rebounds weren’t enough for Finland. He and his teammates tried to come back from down 77 – 67 in the fourth period and approached 82 – 80 with four seconds to play but a pair of free throws by Ignas Brazdeikis secured the hosts’ win.
Donatas Motiejunas scored 12 points for Lithuania. Rokas Jokubaitis posted 10 points plus seven assists and Mindaugas Kuzminskas had 10 points.
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Apart from Markkanen, Olivier Nkamhoua finished the game with 10 points and five rebounds for Finland.
Lithuania will now travel to Taipei, Taiwan to participate in a preparation tournament ahead of the World Cup, together with Latvia and Puerto Rico from 19 to 22 August.
Photo: FIBA Basketball