Rimas Kurtinaitis’ men enjoyed the support of 8,000 compatriots at Riga Arena, but in the battle for a ticket to the semifinals they had to concede to Greece 76:87 (19:24, 19:20, 14:20, 24:23).
The Lithuanians opened the game with an impressive 7:0 run. Greece responded quickly, and after five minutes Lithuania led 9:8. By the end of the first quarter, Greece was in front 24:19.
In the second quarter, the Greeks began to pull away and after 15 minutes led 37:27.
Jonas Valančiūnas cut the deficit to 33:37, and Arnas Velička’s three-pointer brought Lithuania within one (38:39).
However, Greece finished the half stronger, taking a 44:38 lead into the break.
Midway through the third quarter, Greece extended its advantage to 51:43. Backed by a passionate crowd, Lithuania battled hard, but after three quarters trailed by double digits (52:64).
In the final quarter, the Lithuanians were unable to close the gap, and their road to the European Championship medals came to an end.
Lithuania: Jonas Valančiūnas 24, Arnas Velička 12, Gytis Radzevičius 10, Rokas Giedraitis 7, Deividas Sirvydis 6, Margiris Normantas 5, Ignas Sargiūnas 4, Marek Blaževičius 4, Tadas Sedekerskis 3, Ąžuolas Tubelis 1.
Greece: Giannis Antetokounmpo 29, Vasileios Toliopoulos 17, Kostas Sloukas 11, Kostas Papanikolaou 8.
Source: ltu.basketball
