Jon Ingram

After 2 surprises in the quarter-finals, form was finally obeyed in the match-up between Lithuania and Czech Republic.

The Czechs have done an excellent job in reaching the quarter-finals, but the task of beating the Lithuanians proved to be insurmountable.

Lithuania inflicted most of the damage in a 29-point second quarter, but by the end of the first, they already led by 8, 22:16.

Steponas Babrauskas was the chief architect of Lithuania's dominance. He scored 15 points in a perfect first half shooting display, hitting all 6 of his field goal attempts, including three 3-pointers. Arturas Jomantas was almost as dangerous and he nailed 14 points.

Lithuania’s strength was not just offense, however, and they also turned up their defensive intensity a notch or two. The result was that Czech Republic could hit just 7/23 field goals and the fact that they could make only 2/8 free throws also didn’t help.

The second half told a similar story.

Lithuania were comfortably able to hold onto their lead and close the game well in front.

Brabauskas made one further shot in his final 7 minutes on court. That kept his 100% shooting record intact and he finished 7/7 from the floor for 17 points. He was joined by another 5 Lithuanian players in double figures. Paulius Jankunas produced his 4th double-double of the tournament, 10 points and 11 rebounds.