Olympic hopes will have to be postponed for a while: the Lithuanian basketball players did not hold their own against the Dutch in the final

The second Olympic 3×3 basketball qualifying tournament ended on Sunday in Utsunomiya (Japan). In it, the Lithuanian men’s national team remained one step away from a ticket to Paris (Evaldas Džiaugys, Aurelius Pukelis, Darius Tarvydas and Šarūnas Vingelis).

Lithuanians in the semi-finals 21:15 beat the French and was one step away from the Olympic Games.

The French could not score points for almost the first 2 minutes, but the Lithuanians did not use the opportunity to break away – they scored only 1 point during that time. Later, the Lithuanians accelerated their attack and began to increase their advantage (4:1, 6:3). In the middle of the match, the French restored the balance (8:8). Later, A. Pukelis picked up fouls in the attack, and the French for the first time overtook the result (10:11).

Less than 3 minutes left. A. Pukelis took the initiative in the attack, helping the Lithuanians break away (16:14). The French soon exceeded the foul limit – D.Tarvydas hit 1 penalty out of 2 (17:14), Š.Vingelis did the same (18:14). Later Š.Vingelis added 3 more points and cemented our victory.

Lithuania: Š.Vingelis 7 points, E.Dziaugys 7 (5 rebounds), D.Tarvydas 4, A.Pukelis 3.

France: H.Suhard 6, J.Rambaut 5, L.Konate 2, A.Vialaret 2.

The Lithuanians significantly won the battle for rebounds (13 to 6), while the French did not throw any penalties during the entire match (Lithuanians hit 2 of 4).

There was no intrigue in the first semi-final – the Dutch 21:11 left no hope for Mongolia.

Unfortunately, the Lithuanians are in the final 15:19 lost to the Netherlands, to whom they also lost in the group stage.

From the beginning of the match, a tough fight between equal rivals was brewing. E.Dziaugys fell clutching his stomach after an elbow from one of his rivals. Fortunately, the Lithuanian quickly recovered and was able to continue the final later. After playing a little more than 3 min. the Dutch raced (4:8). The Lithuanians got out of this small hole (9:9). Just over 4 minutes left to play. after a long break, the Lithuanians rebalanced the result (10:9). The Dutch responded to this with two long shots in a row and went away again (11:15).

After a couple of minutes, Lithuanian hopes began to fade (12:17). The Lithuanians were still close to 3 points (15:18), but then they committed a foul and there was too little time left to save themselves.

Lithuania: D.Tarvydas 6, A.Pukelis 6, E.Dziaugys 2, Š.Vingelis 1.

The Netherlands: J. Driessen 6, A. Slagter 6, W. de Jong 4 (5 goals), D. van der Horst 3.

This time, the Lithuanians stopped the rival star Worthy de Jong, but other Dutch players showed up. The Lithuanians hit only 2 of 14 long shots (the Dutch – 3 of 7).

The Dutch national team qualified for the Olympics for the second time in a row. Three years ago in Tokyo, the Dutch were 5th.

Lithuanians in group A 21:14 defeated the Brazilians, but 18:21 lost the battle of favorites against the Dutch. Later, our people, having nowhere to retreat, 21:12 left no hope for Puerto Rico and advanced to the semi-finals.

Our people have one more chance on May 16-19. in the qualifying tournament to be held in Debrecen (Hungary). The remaining 3 tickets will be distributed there.

Currently, 5 of the 8 participants in the men’s 3×3 basketball tournament at the Paris Olympics are known. Previously, Serbia, USA and China entered the Olympics according to the ranking, and Latvia won the first qualifying tournament.

Lithuanian basketball players did not qualify for the Tokyo Olympics after losing to Latvians in the selection. It was Latvians who later became Olympic champions.

The women’s selection was also held in Ucunomy, which was won by the Australians in the final 19:16 after defeating the Canadian women. Previously, the national teams of France, China, USA and Azerbaijan qualified for the Olympics.