Faced with a disappointing Slovenia team and undoubtedly demotivated and tired by their defeat the day before against Canada, the Lithuanians put in a solid match to win by a large margin and play for fifth place, against Latvia, on Saturday.
This victory is obviously good news, but it does not erase the disappointment of the quarter-final against Serbia, the only missed match of the competition for Jonas Valanciunas and his gang.
“It’s a good question whether it alleviates the pain,” wonders the inside, 24 points and 12 rebounds against Slovenia, for BasketNews. ” I don’t know. Because this defeat prevents us from going further, so it hurts. No matter how much time passes, it’s a wasted opportunity. But that’s how it is, there’s nothing we can do or change. We must look forward. »
Same answer for Mindaugas Kuzminskas. “We played like that throughout the competition, except for one match and that was the most important, and it hurts,” deliver the latter for Eurohoops. “Even though we played well in this game, the memory of the lost match remains. »
So how did the Lithuanians find the motivation for this classification match?
“We play for the fans who came to see us in Manila, who watch us on television, who support us. Maybe these two matches don’t mean much, but we play for the fans. We don’t want to leave this World Cup with the image of a team that is giving up.” explains Valanciunas. “Even if we don’t play for a medal anymore or can’t qualify for the Olympics, have you seen the number of fans today? “, continues Kuzminskas. “We fight for them, for those who supported our team, who missed school or work because of this. We play for our pride and for them. »
