Lithuanian Twin Towers too much for Poland / News - Basketnews.com

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Jonas Valanciunas and Domantas Sabonis combined for 32 points and 16 rebounds in Lithuania's victory over Poland 88-69 (23-19, 23-26, 16-6,26-18). Lithuania will face Slovenia on Sunday. The winner of this matchup will get a ticket to the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Player of the Game EFF 19 Domantas Sabonis Points 17 Accuracy 7-10 Rebounds 8 Assists 2

Lithuania jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter. However, Poland retaliated and cut the deficit to two (11-9). Jonas Valanciunas scored eight points in the period, helping his team win the first quarter 23-19.

Poland took the advantage into their hands in the second quarter. A.J. Slaughter scored nine points in the period, leading his team into a 38-35 advantage with 4:16 remaining. Lithuania regained the lead right before halftime (46-45) after Arnas Butkevicius floater.

Going into halftime, Mantas Kalnietis told in the courtside interview that the team was not happy with their performance on defense. Lithuania made an effort to correct that and allowedonly six points in the third period. The quarter ended with a 62-51 advantage for the home team.

Lithuania's lead only kept growing in the fourth quarter. They secured a 19-point victory and a ticket to tomorrow's final against Slovenia. The match will begin at 19:30 (EEST).

NBA big men Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas led Lithuania with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Both players also added eight rebounds each. Point guard Mantas Kalnietis supplied 14 points and four assists, while his back-up Rokas Jokubaitis added 13 points.

A.J. Slaughter was the scoring leader for Poland with 19 points. Mateusz Ponitka, Aleksander Balcerowski and Jakub Garbacz scored 10 points each.

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