After three horrendous quarters, Lithuania
stepped up in the final period to punch a ticket to the quarter-final with a 76-63
victory against Tunisia on the final day of the group stage.
The victory allowed Lithuania to improve to a
2-3 record and take the fourth spot in Group A, setting up a quarter-final
match-up with the Russian team.
Tunisia got off to a quick start, scoring the
first five points of the game, but Rimantas Kaukenas kept Lithuania close.
However, with the Baltic side coughing up the
ball constantly and finishing the first quarter with nine turnovers and an 18-7
deficit on the scoreboard.
With Tunisia dictating the tempo of the game, Lithuania
started to chip away at the deficit after Darius Songaila and Renaldas Seibutis
first stepped on the court in the third period.
It was Songaila, who gave Lithuania the first
lead of the game at 56-54 with an and-one play a minute into the fourth
quarter.
Soon after, Seibutis added two clutch
three-pointers to increase the gap to 63-56 and allow Lithuanian fans to breathe
a sigh of relief, as the team managed to hold on to the lead until the final
buzzer.
Darius Songaila finished the game with 13
points, Sarunas Jasikevicius also scored 13 and added 5 assists, while Renaldas
Seibutis, Rimantas Kaukenas and Simas Jasaitis all chipped in with 10 points
each.
Amin Rzig led Tunisia with 17 points, Salah
Mejri dominated inside with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Makrem Ben
Romdhane collected 12 points.
