Spain fight off Lithuania in OT, make history with spot in Quarters

BERLIN (Germany) - Spain's storied history on the continent received another impressive chapter as the three-time winners defeated Lithuania in a 102-94 overtime thriller to book their spot in the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 Quarter-Finals.

By grabbing the victory, Spain locked up a top-eight finish for the 21st consecutive EuroBasket - dating back to 1979 - moving into sole possession of the longest streak as Soviet Union also finished in the first eight teams in 20 straight events from 1951 to 1989.

 
Turning Point: The first half was a back and forth affair and neither team led by more than seven points. Lithuania extended their advantage to 11 points midway through the third quarter only to see Spain pull within three points late in the quarter. Spain trailed by seven points with under five minutes to play but reeled off a 12-3 spurt to go ahead 80-78. The final minute of regulation was fitting for such a battle of titans with three lead changes before Ignas Brazdeikis tipped in a miss at the buzzer to force overtime. Lorenzo Brown finished the deal in the extra session with 12 points, including two free throws with 29 seconds left.

TCL Player of the Game: Lorenzo Brown was too much to handle for Lithuania all game as the Spain guard collected 28 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.

 
Stats Don't Lie: Spain committed only 8 turnovers while taking advantage of 20 Lithuania miscues for a 33 to 13 difference in points off turnovers. The Spanish also grabbed 15 offensive rebounds.

Bottom Line: Spain are just one win from reaching the Semi-Finals for the 11th straight tournament as Sergio Scariolo's men will take on the winner of Finland versus Croatia on Tuesday, September 13. 

They Said: "It was almost overwhelming seeing this effort of this young team with nine players who never played at a EuroBasket. Coming back from kind of a huge deficit - 11 points at some point. We got the lead and they came back. We didn't shake. We stood firm and found a way to win it. Even in overtime, we got the lead early and they came back. We were still there fighting, not losing our faith in ourselves. You have to give credit to the heart of these guys. This is amazing. And this is a matter of pride because we work during the year - during many years - to make these kids grow with the right values, with the right way to compete, to stay together, to welcome people who come new into the group. All of these things are above and beyond basketball. It's something that is really delightful. But at the same time, we are here. We made it so surprisingly to the Quarter-Finals. We are one of the top eight teams of this unbelievably high level championship. We'll try to give ourselves another shot, why not."

"This is like a fairytale and we don’t want it to end without having done everything we can possibly do." - Spain coach Sergio Scariolo 

"It took a lot of guts out there. Well-fought game by both sides. We stuck to the game plan that coach drew up for us. Sat down on defense, we had some great stops by Alberto (Diaz), big time shots by Rudy (Fernandez) and everyone else played their part as well. I'm just thankful to be on a great team like this. It's just a blessing." - Lorenzo Brown, Spain

This game had overtime, a shot to tie it, a a shot to win it, it had everything there is in basketball. But we never thought we were gonna lose it. That is the essence of this team." - Juancho Hernangomez, Spain

"They were a little bit better, one step ahead throughout the game. From our side, it was not the best quality game but we were still in the game. But 15 offensive rebounds, 20 turnovers and 33 points from those today killed us and Lorenzo Brown. We are disappointed. We were in front but we still do not know how to play at the end of the game." - Lithuania coach Kazys Maksvytis

"Looking at the details, it's impossible to win a game when you make 20 turnovers. Spain once again showed they know how to play the most important games. For us, if you look at how we played the whole championship, I think we played pretty good. But unfortunately we lost a lot of games by a few points, 1 rebound, 1 steal. And now we are going home, which is a bit disappointing for us as a team and for our country." - Mindaugas Kuzminskas, Lithuania

FIBA