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Team USA Suffers First Loss of FIBA World Cup 2023 to Lithuania

September 4, 2023
Image: @FIBA

Team USA’s unbeaten run at the FIBA World Cup 2023, winning their first five games of the tournament, came to an end on Sunday 3rd of September, when they lost to Lithuania in a thrilling encounter. The final score was 110-104 in favor of Lithuania and in front of 11,349 fans.

The game was played at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, and saw Lithuania, who played a physical and aggressive game, take control early on. The Lithuanias built a 19 pts lead (12 – 31) in the first qtr and ended the first half with a comfortable 17 pts lead (37 – 54). The Americans led by Anthony Edwards tried to staged a come back but could not get closer than 4 pts (85 -89) with 4:45 mins remaining in the game. Anthony Edwards scored 34 pts and 2 assists, Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges both scored 14 pts but where in effective in the closing period of the game. The trio are the only American player to score in double figures.

Compared to the Team USA, Lithuania played a more balanced game with 7 players in double figures. The team is lead by Vaidas Kariniauskas with 15 pts, followed by Mindaugas Kuzminskas and Jonas Valanciunas, who scored 14 pts and 12 pts, respectively. Valanciunas also grabbed 7 rebs with his 2 blocks.

Lithuania killed the Americans in the second chance points category, making 17 pts against 2 pts from Team USA, 61 – 38 point off the bench. They also shot 52.8% from the field and 56% from three-point range, compare to 37.9% in the 3-pts by the Americans.

The loss is a wake-up call for Team USA, which is still considered the favorite to win the tournament. However, they will need to play better if they want to avoid further upsets.
Despite the loss, Team USA still advanced to the quarterfinals of the FIBA World Cup and are qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics. They will face Italy on Tuesday, while the Lithuania will face Serbia, who are 4 – 1 in the tournament.

Game Highlights

Published in Basketball, FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 and Sports