Quarter-Final preview: Serbia and Lithuania in an all-European classic

MANILA (Philippines) – Tuesday will start with a bang in Europe, as two continental powerhouses are set for a big Quarter-Finals battle in Manila. Lithuania and Serbia add a global episode to the rivalry.

The game starts at 10:45 CET, which would be 16:45 local time in the Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines’ capital.

Key matchup: One of the best in Europe against one of the best in the NBA. Nikola Milutinov has been arguably the best center of the Old Continent over the past five years, and his Manila experience goes in line with that premise, because he delivered 14.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.0 block in just 25.0 minutes per game.

Milutinov’s biggest test of the event would be facing off with the mighty Jonas Valanciunas. The Lithuanian man in the middle averages 13.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while playing even less than Milutinov, just 20.6 minutes per game.

One thing is certain. Those collisions inside will be powerful and painful at the same time.

X factors: People tend to forget how lethal Bogdan Bogdanovic is whenever he wears the Serbian jersey. While Milutinov will get the big defensive assignment, look for Bogdan to do it all by himself offensively, and don’t be surprised if there’s a points-assists double-double by the end of the game.

For Lithuania, Rokas Jokubaitis fueled the offense for most of the tournament, and as the stage is getting bigger, so is his role. He didn’t have the flashy numbers against the United States, but he conducting helped the Kazys Maksvytis Orchestra sound so flawless in that win.

Stats don’t lie: Look for coach Svetislav Pesic to push the tempo. They average nine steals per game, they put up 25.2 points from turnovers every night, and 22.8 fast break points. Lithuania have four, 12.6 and 10.6 in those departments.

Lithuania’s key stat will be their three-point shooting. They made their first nine shots against the United States, and they are shooting 46.4 percent from beyond the arc, a tournament-high by some distance (South Sudan, 40.7 percent). Serbia are also top ten in three-point shooting at 37.6 percent.

Past matchups: Lithuania and Serbia played only once in FIBA Basketball World Cup history, back in 2010 when Linas Kleiza’s 33 points powered the Baltic nation to a 99-88 win in the Third Place Game in Istanbul.

From 2009 to 2015 they saw each other four times in FIBA EuroBasket, with a 2-2 score between them. However, if you add FR Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro to the mix, you would find three more Lithuanian defeats in as many games in FIBA EuroBasket in the 1990s, and one Lithuanian win over Serbia and Montenegro in 2003.

In that name lineup, they have one win each in the Olympic Games in 1996 and 2000.

They said: “We told the players in the locker room (after the win over the USA) to celebrate shortly, and save all the energy and emotions for the upcoming game (against Serbia). It’s very hard for everyone, it’s one of the biggest wins in our careers, but you don’t have time to celebrate, because Serbia is waiting for us. And they are now awaiting us with the flowers and a red carpet.” – Kazys Maksvytis, Lithuania head coach

“Against the Dominican Republic, it was enough for us to win the game with solid defense and an average offense. Against Lithuania, we have to have both excellent defense and excellent offense. We have to be on our best level yet. It’s going to be a challenging game for us, we need maximum concentration, like we are playing four games of ten minutes.” – Svetislav Pesic, Serbia head coach

FIBA