The Lithuanian national team in this tournament is represented by Aurelijus Pukelis, Evaldas Džiaugys, Ignas Vaitkus, and Rokas Jocys.
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The latter is making his debut in the men’s national team but immediately became the standout player of the match – R. Jocys made three long-range shots and scored a total of 9 points.
He was the one who provoked a foul with about a minute left and, after making two free throws, extended Lithuania’s lead to 20:14, and A. Pukelis secured our victory by making a free throw with 51.6 seconds remaining.
In total, 20 teams are playing in the tournament, divided into four groups of five teams each. The teams finishing first in their groups will advance directly to the quarterfinals, the teams in 2nd and 3rd places will play in the round of 16, and those in 4th and 5th places will end their participation.
The Lithuanians will also play their second match today, June 2nd, at 16:35 Lithuanian time against Brazil. On Thursday, the Lithuanian national team will also play against Puerto Rico and France.
The Lithuanian men’s national team is competing in the world championship for the sixth time. The only medal won so far was in 2022 in Antwerp, where they won silver.
Earlier, the Lithuanian women’s 3×3 basketball team started the tournament with a resounding victory. They will play their second match at 15:45 against France.
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