Austin Reaves was not surprised by the defeat against Lithuania, heading to the quarterfinals of the FIBA World Cup
Many fans were surprised when the US team lost to Lithuania in the last match of the second round of the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
The match opened with an advantage of more than 20 points belonging to the European team. Although the US team tried hard to go upstream, they were unsuccessful and accepted defeat with a score of 104-110.
This result does not affect America's ticket to the quarterfinals at the FIBA World Cup or the Olympic spot next year in Paris, but it is a wake-up call for the candidate to win the tournament.
Sharing about the loss, Austin Reaves said that he knew it would be a difficult match and understood the Lithuanian team's physical shape and good fighting ability.
“From the beginning we identified them as a strong opponent. They have good physique, a very high fighting spirit and are always ready to compete in many collisions," the US defender shared.
“We didn't perform well against the opponent, and they were too confident thanks to the first three points, so we lost the match. Personally, I have a lot of respect for them because I know in advance that they can beat us."
The biggest difference that the Lithuanian team created was 21 points, thanks to the extremely impressive long throw in the first half of the match.
In the 3rd and 4th rounds, when their pitchers cooled down, the European team used their strength and good physique to control the 3-second zone, contesting rebounds and defending the backboard.
In terms of rebound index, Lithuania overwhelmed the US team with statistics 43-27. This is a wake-up call for the American football team, and also a "key" that the next US opponents can learn from.
“The opponent's strength is his body shape and ability to compete. They showed that clearly in the last match against us," coach Steve Kerr said about the defeat against Lithuania.
“Personally, I'm not too satisfied with what the students performed. As long as they don't enter the game well and let the opponent gain confidence, that's the result we have to accept. I think my students have understood this."
Forgetting the loss to Lithuania as well as the results of the last two rounds, the US basketball team will enter its first knockout match tonight (September 5), where the teams will no longer have a chance to correct their mistakes. wrong.
The opponent of coach Steve Kerr and his students is the Italian team. A victory will send the US team to the semi-finals and surpass their performance in the most recent FIBA World Cup (7th place overall in 2019).
