After a stylish victory
against Venezuela the previous night, the Lithuanians fell to Nigeria, losing 86-80 (20-20, 21-18, 26-19, 19-23) on Wednesday night in the
Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Caracas.
However, this didn’t stop the
Lithuanians from finishing on the top of Group B, with Nigeria advancing to the
next round as the second seed.
With all teams finishing with
a 1-1 record, the hosts Venezuela had the worst point difference in the
three-way tie and found themselves eliminated.
Linas Kleiza was once again
the top scorer for Lithuania with 22 points, Sarunas Jasikevicius had 14,
Martynas Pocius scored 13, while Jonas Valanciunas finished the game with 10
points.
For Nigeria, Derrick Obasohan
collected 20 points, making 5-of-8 three-pointers, Al Farouq Aminu had 16
points and 9 rebounds, while Anthony Skinn chipped in with 15.
Lithuania will face Puerto
Rico in the quarterfinal, as the team from the Americas finished second in
Group A, having defeated Jordan 93-52 and lost to Greece 98-84.
