RIGA (Latvia) - Don't look now, but Lithuania have another pass-first playmaker ready to deliver, in all possible ways.
With Rokas Jokubaitis suffering a horrible injury in the Group Phase, Arnas Velicka took over point guard duties, going off for 21 points, 12 assists, 5 rebounds and an efficiency rating of 24 in the Round of 16 matchup with Latvia.
He joined Sarunas Jasikevicius and Mantas Kalnietis as only the third Lithuanian with 10+ assists in an elimination game in EuroBasket history.
He's a good player, he's a baby-faced killer.
Must be a special feeling, being in the same sentence with those incredible players.
"I'm just happy to be on this stage," Velicka said, although his face did not change expression at all.
Calm and collected, as if he didn't just ruin the dreams of the host nation.
"Before summer, it was like a dream to be a part of the team. I'm just glad to have this opportunity to play and perform today."
Lithuania were a +15 team with him on the floor. Without him? An abyss; -6 in 4:29 of action.
"I always knew he had it in him. He's a good player, he's a baby-faced killer," Jonas Valanciunas laughed out loud.
"(Arnas) was great. When Rokas was still here, he didn't get a lot of minutes. Even if he's quiet, he's super-confident," Deividas Sirvydis offered his two cents.
"Coach (Rimas Kurtinaitis) has been on his ass that he needs to take a step up because we don't have one of the best point guards," Azuolas Tubelis explained.
"We thought it was going to be hard, but he stepped up, he showed himself what a basketball player he could be at the highest level, against all these players," the power forward added.
While the rest of the continent stood amazed, thinking where did this come from out of nowhere, the 25-year-old never doubted his time will come.
"I knew that players could go out, so somebody would have to step up," he said about Jokubaitis' injury.
"It's my position, so I have to do my best and try to execute what the coach is asking me to do, lead us, help us bring the ball down, make plays for everybody. I'm just happy to be here. I've been playing like that in my season before, so I think I was ready for this."
Velicka is what you could call a career journeyman, spending his club career in Lithuania, Spain, Estonia, France, Germany and Italy since turning pro.
He demonstrated what he was capable of at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket in 2019, when he had tournament averages of 16.4 points, 6.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds, just missing out on a spot in the All-Star Five.
We waited along with him for that kind of a performance in a major event with the senior national team. We finally got it, but he didn't forget about the man who brought Lithuania to the Knock-Out Phase in the first place.
"Rokas was our leader. He was basicaly carrying our whole offense, so it was very sad what happened to him. This win is for him," he said.
Job is not done.
Up next for Arnas and Lithuania, the winner of the Greece and Israel matchup. We can hardly wait to see where he puts his name in the record books on Tuesday.
FIBA