2024-07-03 10:40:31
The Lithuanian men’s basketball team defeated the Mexicans (0/1) 96:84 in the first match of the Olympic qualifying group A thanks to a powerful third quarter.
The students of K. Maksvytis lost 0:9 in the first two minutes of the match, then the Lithuanians lost 11:2, during the second half our team also organized several periods (7:0 and later in the second half M.Grigonis scored 8 points in a row) in a row , but in the end the Lithuanians could not get ahead before the long one.
However, in the third quarter, our team decided not to joke anymore. Within 5.5 minutes of the game, the Lithuanian national team won the section by as much as 25:6 and began to crush the opponents (74:50). However, the Lithuanians ultimately did not keep their advantage and celebrated the victory with a difference of 12 points.
“The first match is difficult – we don’t know what to expect from the opponents, the pressure and that expectation come… we started the match nervously, poorly, there were two bad sections – the beginning of the match and the end of the match, where we squandered the difference.
There were some good moments, I liked the way we started defensively in the second half, we were pretty good in quick attack and eventually we built a lead. We won the victory, we will go for the next one, but we know that the opponents will get stronger”, K. Maksvytis summed up the match.
“Fell (a stone from the heart – ed.). The goal was to win. We wanted to finish the match with the lead we had built and win by 20-some points, but we squandered it. We won a point, and that’s what we need going into the next round,” added the worker.
In the match against the Mexican team, Domantas Sabonis spent 25.5 minutes on the court, during which he recorded a double-double – 12 points (6/9 doubles), 11 rebounds, 5 fouls and finished the match with 16 utility points.
The stats look nice, but.
Joshua Ibarra, D. Sabonis’ direct opponent, finished the game with 18 points (7/14 doubles, 4/4 penalty), 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 errors and 20 utility points.
“First of all, the team won, so it’s a good thing. As Domas has been saying, he is still not in the best athletic shape, – said K. Maksvytis about the team leader. “I think his curve is going up with every game, and I hope he keeps adding something with every game.” He also needs time to adapt to international basketball.”
Marius Grigonis improved his performance record in the ranks of the Lithuanian national team in the match against the Mexican national team.
The Kaunian scored 21 points (4/6 doubles, 4/7 triples, 1/1 penalty) and improved from 2019. a lifetime record of 19 points. That time, the defender scored 19 points for the Australian national team.
However, after the impressive show in the attack, K. Maksvytis did not expand on the leader of his national team.
“Marius found his shots, his teammates also found him, we (coaches) are also looking for him. Some are drawn in defense, others in attack. Marius was one of those (in the attack)”, said K. Maksvytis.
Looking to the near future, the Lithuanian basketball players will play the second match of Group A in less than a day, where they will meet the national team of Ivory Coast.
K. Maksvytis revealed the Lithuanian plan and reviewed the future opponent in the fight for the second victory.
“We won’t train because we finished playing the game very late today, until we get back, until the players eat, until the players have procedures. Tomorrow we will rest, the match is at half past six in the evening (Puerto Rico time), so we are trying to conserve energy. When there are two games in a row, we have a practice of not training between them.
I think this is an even more physical, more athletic opponent. “We had to play against the Ivory Coast team more than once, when we were young, in children’s basketball, their school was always characterized by physicality and athleticism, so we expect that from the next match,” said K. Maksvytis.
We remind you that the Lithuanian men’s basketball team will play a match against Ivory Coast on the night from Tuesday to Wednesday (0:30 a.m.) in Lithuanian time.
– After today’s match, how worried are you about the national team’s defense?
– We made some changes in the second half, so the defense was satisfactory in the third and fourth quarters. We had to make small changes, add physicality and we were much better in the second.
– During the first half, you allowed the opponents to score 26 points, although before the game you talked about concentration from the beginning of the match.
– We conceded too many cheap points, opened passing lanes and wanted to defend better.
– You mentioned that the time of the match is a bit late, and seeing that the players made uncharacteristic mistakes in the first half of the match, does it have anything to do with the poor start of the match?
– If before that we did the training in the first half of the day, yesterday we had a late training, there were some mistakes. It’s good that we had that practice, we got used to it a bit, but we weren’t the best version of ourselves.
– In today’s match, Tadas Sedekerskis, Arnas Butkevičius and Mindaugas Kuzminskas seemed to fall on the floor for every ball. To what extent does such an example of basketball players inspire other national team players?
– Arnas set a very good tone today both in defense and in the transition from defense to attack. When there is a good example, it is easier for us as coaches to start a team.
– You used 12 players quickly in this match. What was the reason for this?
– We tried to maintain the pace, we tried to look and give the players a chance. Maybe we got some answers about rotations in the future.
– How do you assess the level of contact that caused the players anxiety?
– I think the level of contact was allowed to be a little harder. At first we were not used to it, but in the second part of the meeting we entered that (contact – ed.) level.
– Did you feel the support of the fans?
– A lot of fun. I saw quite a few American Lithuanians who came from Chicago, I saw people who came from Lithuania. The fans are what we play for.
2024-07-03 10:40:31