Sabonis-Valanciunas duo push Lithuania over Hanga's Hungary / News - Basketnews.com

Lithuania came closer to making the 2023 World Cup after beating Hungary on the road. Jonas Valanciunas and Domantas Sabonis spearheaded the winners' efforts with 17 points apiece.

Credit: BNS Credit BNS

Lithuania (6-1) struggled a bit, before ultimately beating hosts Hungary (3-4) 88-78 (20-21, 22-17, 27-27, 19-13) at the Savaria Arena in Szombathely. With this result, the team coached by Kazys Maksvytis got closer to the 2023 World Cup, while the Hungarians have a long way to go.

Lithuania / Schedule

Hungary Lithuania78-88 Lithuania MontenegroSat16:30

The game was essentially decided in the lastthree minutes when the Lithuanians had the smallest lead (77-76) but an outburst from Jonas Valanciunas, Rokas Jokubaitis and Marius Grigonis was enough for a partial score of 11-2 until the end of the match.

The two NBA big men made the difference for the winning side. Domantas Sabonis had 17 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, while Jonas Valanciunas neared a double-double (17 points, 8 rebounds).

Marius Grigonis added 11 points, 5 rebounds and as many assists in 28 minutes, in addition to hitting the clutch three-pointer that made it 78-85.

Mindaugas Kuzminskas and Rokas Jokubaitis were the other two players of Lithuania in double digits.

Hungary's top scorer was Real Madrid's forward Adam Hanga with 21 points which weren't enough to save the day for the host team.

Up next, Lithuania host Montenegro (18:30 CEST) on Saturday evening, while Hungary play the Czech Republic in Prague th same day (18:15 CEST).

Hungary: Adam Hanga 21 (9/16 FG, 3/3 FT, 2 AST), David Vojvoda 15 (6/14 FG, 2/2 FT, 4 REB), Benedek Varadi 13 (4/9 FG, 2/2 FT), Janos Eilingsfeld 9 (5 REB), Zoltan Perl 8.

Lithuania: Domantas Sabonis 17 (7/10 FG, 3/5 FT, 3 REB, 4 AST), Jonas Valanciunas 17 (6/9 FG, 4/7 FT, 8 REB), Mindaugas Kuzminskas 14 (5/8 FG, 2/2 FT), Rokas Jokubaitis 12 (4/7 FG, 2/ FT, 4 REB, 4 AST), Marius Grigonis 11 (4/11 FG, 5 REB, 5 AST).

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