Lithuanian 20-year-olds dramatically reached the final of the European Championship
The Lithuanian national team of 20-year-olds is in the final of the European Championship.
The pupils of Mindaugas Noreika in the fierce semi-finals of the championship 67:63 (15:17, 13:18, 24:14, 15:14) put the host Montenegrin team on their shoulders and will fight for gold medals on Sunday.
In the final, Lithuanians will face the Spanish team, which was defeated at the start of the championship. In the semifinals, the Spaniards defeated Israel 84:75.
Watch the decisive match of the tournament on Sunday from 21:30. FIBA YouTube channel.
Regardless of the color of the awards the Lithuanians will bring home, it will be the first medal in the boys’ youth championships since 2017, when the 1999 generation national team won bronze in the U18 championship.
The first half of the match was extremely persistent – after the first quarter, the Lithuanians trailed 15:17, and in the second half the score remained close until the last minutes, during which the Montenegrin basketball players built up a 7-point lead – the Lithuanian representatives went into the break trailing 28:35.
After the break, the home team started more successfully, increasing their lead to double digits. then the Lithuanians started chasing their opponents, overtook them and before the decisive ten minutes they were leading 52:49. The last quarter unfolded according to a dramatic scenario – Jakūb Rubin’s two-pointer with 40 seconds remaining allowed the Lithuanians to have a 2-point lead – 65:63. Finally, Mantos Rubštavičius’ free throws cemented our victory – 67:63.
Lithuania: Mantas Rubštavičius 18, Jokūbas Rubinas 11, Dominykas Stenionis 8, Dovydas Butka, Augustas Marčiulionis and Ugnius Jaruševičius 6 each.
Montenegro: Andrija Grbović 16, Fedor Žugić 14, Filipas Andjušić 10, Zoran Vučeljić 8, Djordije Ivanović 6.
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