Lithuania's historic victory over the US at FIBA World Cup 2023: Three generations, three wins
The Mall of Asia Arena with 11,349 spectators became a historical witness for Lithuanian basketball against the "giant" of the US team.
Starting the match with a 31-12 run, the Lithuanians maintained their advantage until the beginning of the third half and resisted all attempts by the Americans to come upstream to eventually become the winner with a score of 110-104. .
This is the first defeat of the Chinese team at the FIBA World Cup 2023, also the glorious victory of the team from the Baltic Sea.
But every time the US rose up, the Lithuanian army responded forcefully. Hot hands from outside the 3-point ring help their attack create enough pressure on the opponent.
In defense, NBA bigman Jonas Valanciunas plays the role of leader and is also a big wall right in front of the basketball board, many times stopping the big stars on the other side of the battle line.
A special feature of Lithuania in this victory is that coach Kazys Maksvytis rotates the squad very evenly. Up to the fourth half, no player in Mr. Kazys' hand exceeded 18 minutes while the US team had many people reaching the 30th minute.
The US team tried hard to close the gap, but in the end, they never shortened the score to more than 4 points. Even entering the tense final minute with nerve-wracking free throws, Lithuania still stood firm to preserve the victory.
"This is an important victory for our country, the players and coaching staff against the world's top team," defender Vaidas Kariniauskas shared.
"But the whole team needs to soon forget this achievement and aim for the quarterfinals. We didn't come here to defeat the US team, we have a bigger goal."
