HAMBURG (FIBA U17 World Championship) – What was a defensive-minded game ultimately came down to which team had more energy left in the tank, as Lithuania prevailed a strong performance by hosts Germany.
Maybe Besnik Bekteshi (12 points) was in attendance when USA shooting guard Bradley Beal knocked down seven three-point shots earlier in the day, maybe he wasn't. Either way, the German wingman wasted no time to strike from beyond the arc.
Bekteshi hit three consecutive treys on the first three possessions to shock Lithuania (5-9, 2min). Trailing by five midway through the second quarter, Germany closed out the period with a 10-2 run to take the leaad going into halftime (30-33).
Going into the second half Radosavljevic continued to do what he did before intermission: he dominated the paint.
Connecting on a baby-hook on the one, swatting away a Lithuanian layup-attempt on the other end. To break it down, it was sheer effort on defense from both teams.
What Germany did at the end of the second quarter, Lithuania copied to finish the third – they ran past their opponents (50-42, 30min).
Fighting so hard on every single defensive possession sucked up Germany's energy.
Lithuania had more left in the tank to contain the hosts' last charges to finish 73-61 and advance to the semi-finals.
Quotes
Frank Menz, Germany head coach: “Of course I am disappointed that we were not able to win this quarter-final but we play well for some periods of the game and for some periods of the game we did not play as well. It is a long tournament, some players are tired. It’s too bad that we didn’t get closer.”
Darius Dickcius, Lithuania head coach: “The start was tough, we were a bit shocked, we couldn’t get our offense going. But this is the quarter-final stage, it is a whole different game, it is a fight. Playing against the home team is naturally going to be tough, difficult physically, psychologically…”
Beznik Bekteshi: We began the game well, unfortunately we were not able to play the whole game like we did in the first half. I am tired after a long tournament and was not able to play at the same level in all four quarters.”
Mantas Mockevicius, Lithuania number 8: “It’s a different game in the quarter final, you have to fight, but also you have to go step by step.”
FIBA / JB