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The defender of the Lithuanian national team, who recovered from a bad start to the tournament, already broke the defense of the opponents on Thursday not only arrogantly as usual, but, most importantly, with success.
The rookie from the CSKA Moscow (Russia) club, who scored 13 points, shared second place in the team with Rokas Jokubaitis in terms of performance, and his “+/-” indicator was the best (+27).
The Koreans were crushed by the hosts of the tournament in Kaunas 96:57.
“When you win by such a difference, no great conclusions will be drawn. Well, we defended well, we dominated the fight for bounced balls, we were able to gain confidence in our own strength, we were not afraid to shoot. But it will all be seen when we face opponents stronger. Now serious things will begin, “said M. Grigonis.
He will have to roll up his sleeves in the semifinals waiting for Saturday by stopping the best player of the Polish team and its captain, M. Ponitka of Zenit Saint Petersburg (Russia).
The latter in Kaunas is both the most productive (average 19 points) and the most useful (18 points) in the Polish ranks.
But when asked about his direct opponent, M. Grigonis did not think for a long time.
“They have a bigger problem figuring out how to stop our two tall NBA players. The question is how they will stop us and not the other way around, ”smiled the 27-year-old from Kaunas.
Jonas Valančiūnas, who once again took the lead, emphasized the growing importance of competition.
“It took us a point to take first place in the group, and we did. We know why we have come here, what we have to do. Yes, there is pressure, but we are just doing our job, ”said the Memphis Grizzlies midfielder, who had 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Lithuania will play Poland in the semi-finals of the tournament on Saturday, Venezuela will try to face Slovenia. The owners of the only Olympic ticket will be announced in Sunday’s final.
The competition for the remaining teams from South Korea and Angola at the bottom of the groups has ended.
The Lithuanians began their performance in Kaunas on Tuesday, 76:65, by defeating Venezuela. The latter then bowed against the Koreans in 94:80 and finished second in Group A.
It is recalled that similar Olympic qualifying tournaments take place simultaneously in Split (Croatia), Belgrade (Serbia) and Victoria (Canada).
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