As has become customary in this national team “window,” in the first half of the game, the Lithuanians were forced to chase their opponents and had their noses in front for only a minute during the first two quarters.
The situation changed in the third quarter. Finally finding antidotes to Jusuf Nurkić and other Bosnian players, the Lithuanians allowed only 27 points in the second half (46 in the first half), and after taking the initiative, managed to secure a much-needed victory.
“It’s very nice to win. Of course, the trend doesn’t change, one win out of two, but we are alive, so at least that’s something,” sighed Marekas Blaževičius, who scored 11 points and 17 efficiency points after the 78:73 victory.
These games could have resembled an earlier friendly match held in Vilnius against Michigan students, where the Lithuanians, trailing for two quarters, turned the game around in the second half. However, the team’s center was reluctant to equate these matches.
“I wouldn’t say the games were similar to Michigan because we weren’t that far behind. Strategically, we were prepared and played our defense steadily throughout the game, tormented them, ran fast breaks because their rotation is shorter. That was our plan because they got tired faster, and our physicality remained,” said the player returning to Kaunas “Žalgiris.” “As the coach says, we put it together bit by bit, and it worked. They started to get nervous, received technical and unsportsmanlike fouls, and we stayed cooler.”
These games took place less than three days after a gloomy national team performance in Turkey and a 66:94 loss. How much doubt was there among the players about their abilities before the game against the Bosnians?
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“It’s unpleasant to lose by such a margin, but you can’t really think about the past, you have to prepare for the next games. You can’t change the past; we can only change something in the future. We are still alive because of the World Championship; there are two more ‘windows’ left, and we will have to fight,” said M. Blaževičius.
4 wins, 4 losses, and fourth place in the tournament table with four rounds remaining. How should this Lithuanian situation in the qualifiers be assessed?
“Shitty,” M. Blaževičius said bluntly. “The situation is bad, but we can’t change anything about the past; we have to look to the future. We will need to win the home game against the Turks, and we will have two games with the Serbs and Bosnians away.”
Could this “window,” when almost two dozen important players did not come to the national team and the team balanced on the edge of the abyss, become a signal to other players before the upcoming qualifying “windows”?
“At the end of the day, I am a player, so I don’t want to comment on those things. I go, play, and fight for Lithuania; there are other people who hold other positions in the federation, and they should be asked such questions. We come, play, fight for Lithuania, and that’s it,” Marekas concluded.
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