Lithuania had reached the Olympic semifinals
five times in a row. There will be no sixth, as the Baltic side was eliminated
by Russia in the quarterfinal, losing the game 83-74 (17-10, 15-17, 22-23,
29-24) on Wednesday afternoon.
Having started the game well, Russia stepped up
their game after Jonas Valanciunas was benched by Kestutis Kemzura, finishing
the quarter strong and racing ahead to a 17-10 lead.
Russia were ahead 51-37 as the third quarter
was nearing to an end, but Mantas Kalnietis and Rimantas Kaukenas inspired a 16-3
run for Lithuania to get back within 53-54.
However, the Russians regained a bigger advantage
after a 7-0 spurt (64-55), but Jonas Valanciunas made two free-throws to keep
Lithuania close, cutting the gap to 69-74.
Even despite a late effort to stay in the game,
Russia managed to hold on and advanced to the semifinal, where they will face
Spain, who defeated France in the other quarterfinal.
Rimantas Kaukenas had a team-high 19 points for
Lithuania, Darius Songaila collected 15 points, while Mantas Kalnietis had his
best game of the Olympic tournament, finishing the game with 14 points.
For Russia, Andrei Kirilenko had a big
double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds, Timofey Mozgov scored 17 points,
while Viktor Khryapa collected 12 points, six rebounds and eight assists.
