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Denmark, not Lithuania, looked half a foot closer to the European Championship the moment Adama Darboe passed Manta Kalnietis and tried to shoot two points from below the basket.
However, the 196cm tall Lithuanian hand reached out to his opponent stretching his hand towards the basket and thinking about the historic throw.
At the lockdown, M. Kalnietis stopped the decisive Danish attack, which could have left Lithuania without the Euro: Lithuanians who broke their rivals in Vilnius 77:76 fell through the keyhole in 2022. priorities.
“I lost my position, it had already happened, so what was left to me.
The coach said this morning that I would not jump much because I am too old. But nothing, jump and nothing “, joked M. Kalnietis about the most important episode of the match while sitting next to Darius Maskoliūnas during a press conference.
M. Kalnietis, who scored 11 points and made 6 effective passes, was the Lithuanian team’s most productive and useful player on the slippery court of the Avia Soliution stadium in Vilnius on Monday.
Group C table
| Place | The team | Victories | Losses |
| 1. | Belgium | 4 | two |
| two. | Lithuania | 4 | two |
| 3. | Czech Republic | two | 4 |
| Four. | Denmark | two | 4 |
The 35-year-old, who has represented the Lithuanian national team since 2006, said he tried to ease the tension, although the price of the match was very high.
“We have not been in a situation where we have had to fight for the Euro Cup. But both the coaches and the players have seen a lot in the face of pressure, said M. Kalnietis.” Of course, it would be the biggest tragedy for Lithuania to be without the European Championship, but you’re still playing and doing what you can. “
Photo by Rokas Lukoševičius / 15min / Mantas Kalnietis
It was no accident that the Lithuanian national team found themselves in a corner.
The Danes had already beaten the Lithuanian team in the first “bubble” in Vilnius last November, and in this match they were always hot on the Lithuanians’ heels until they pulled it off. They led by 2 points after three halves, with a maximum advantage of 5 points.
Sometimes the free and sometimes difficult three-point Danes came close to the biggest upset in the European Championship qualifiers.
“First of all, it wasn’t a big deal if you hit heavy triples. It’s a problem when shooting free throws: M. Kalnietis taught about tough games. – Of course, everything comes together, sometimes the ball does not fall there, something gets stuck somewhere. But in most cases, the result of a match is not determined by the difficulty, but by the free throws. “
Jonas Mačiulis made it clear that victory was mainly determined by “success”, but M. Kalnietis was not willing to agree with the opinion of another former member of the Lithuanian team.
Perhaps not much, thought M. Kalnietis. “The strongest have won.”
Understand instantly
- Selection of Lithuania in the selection of partiesBelgium – Lithuania 86: 65 Lithuania – Czech Republic 97: 89 Lithuania – Denmark 76: 80 Lithuania – Belgium 84: 71 Lithuania – Czech Republic 94: 74 Lithuania – Denmark 77:76
Lithuania and Belgium went up to the European Championships, along with the Czech Republic, which will host the 2022 championship alongside Germany, Italy and Sakartvel.
During each of the three selection windows, D. Maskoliūnas’ team, which had serious problems, won four of the six games, losing to Belgium and Denmark.
When asked what lessons or benefits the fight for the national team could bring, M. Kalnietis did not think for a long time: “We can only take one ticket, it is nothing more.”
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