Jokubaitis puts on a show with double-double in Lithuania win

TAMPERE (Finland) – Rokas Jokubaitis flexed his muscles with a double-double to guide Lithuania to a 94-67 victory over Montenegro and improve to 2-0 in Tampere.

The win also saw Lithuania set a tournament assists record with a collective effort of 35 for the most in a single game since the data was first collected in 1995.

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Turning Point

Jonas Valanciunas reached his milestone of 500 points at FIBA EuroBasket with 3:36 to play in the first quarter with a three-pointer. In reality, his accuracy from the field throughout the first half was pivotal in Lithuania’s second win in Group B. He hit three triples in a dominant first 20 minutes, where Lithuania led 47-28.

From there, Lithuania’s lead peaked at 32 points, as Montenegro was unable to threaten their counterparts despite promising spells in the second half.

TCL Player of the Game

Lithuania’s floor general, Jokubaitis, dazzled with a stunning double-double of 21 points and 12 assists, also shooting 56 percent from the floor to lead his side to a 2-0 start in Tampere.

Valanciunas scored 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting and added 5 rebounds to his tally, all of which came in a ruthless first-half assault by him and by Lithuania. Nikola Vucevic led Montenegro with an 20-point, 10-rebound double-double.

Stats Don’t Lie

Lithuania struggled from three-point land in their opening game against Great Britain, making only two from their 19 attempts. Against Montenegro, they had no such trouble, as they went 5-for-10 in the first half, ending on 9-for-22.

Montenegro connected on only one of their triples from 12 attempts in the first half, and shot 14 percent overall.

Bottom Line

Lithuania will face Germany on Saturday in what could be a pivotal matchup between the two unbeaten sides in Group B. Montenegro will face the hosts, Finland on the same day, still seeking its first victory.

They Said

“Again, we had good energy, perfect effort, speed, everything was good, and we got a record for assists. I’m happy, it was a good victory,” – Rimas Kurtinaitis, Lithuania head coach.

“Not much to say. One more very bad game for us, 26 turnovers. They scored 94 points, a little bit embarrassing for us.

“I’m still believing we can play better basketball than these two games. This is the worst basketball Montenegro has ever played in the history.” – Bosko Radovic, Montenegro head coach.

“Yeah, we know what kind of [team] Lithuania is, but it is what it is. Tomorrow we have one more big game for us against the home team, so we need to take a rest, prepare as much as we can for tomorrow’s game, and get onto the court with a lot more energy, a lot more focus if we want to win the game,” – Djordje Jovanovic, Montenegro.

For more quotes, tune in to the official post-game press conference!

FIBA