By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Lithuania took care of business on Tuesday. The 92-69 victory over Canada in 2019 FIBA World Cup Group H action at Dongguan secured Dainius Adomaitis’ side a spot in Group L of the second round alongside Australia.
A flurry of offensive options helped the European national team retain control throughout the 40 minutes. Eleven players made at least one bucket with Jonas Valanciunas and Edgaras Ulanovas sharing a team-high 13 points.
“We looked solid in defense, that was a key” took out 27-year-old Ulanovas. “We shot the ball and shared to create opportunities for easy shots”. He furthered: “Every player has to be ready for the upcoming games.”
Paint domination via Domantas Sabonis and teammates showcased by 46-27 rebound advantage also was an aspect of the game the losing side provided no answer. “The size issue was pretty evident” Canada’s head coach Nick Nurse admitted in the post-game press conference.
The Lithuanians upped their Group H W-L tally to 2-0 following Australia’s example. The two undefeated teams will collide in a couple of days, one will move forward with a 3-0 record and the other with 2-1.
“Australia has more size in the roster,” said Adomaitis on the next contest. “We will see what kind of defense they will choose.”
Canada is now officially out of the second round, the same goes for Senegal. The pair of 0-2 sides will meet on Thursday with the result counting towards their upcoming Group P classification games.
Kyle Wiltjer made 3/3 beyond the arc en route for the game-high 24 points. “This is not the end of the tournament” he mentioned after the match. “Both teams we faced are very seasoned. We felt like we compete with both of them, but unfortunately, we did not come out on top.”
Cory Joseph was held to 6/16 from the field but added 15 points. Khem Birch was the other double-digit scorer with 12 points.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL