The Ukrainian national team secured a historic first-ever victory against Lithuania on their home court the day before. The friendly match ended with the yellow-and-blue side triumphing 96-92.
The Lithuanian media responded to their team’s home defeat with measured tones. Basketnews.lt published a match report titled “Yakuchonis announced himself in the national team with a double-double, while Buzelis impressed with a powerful shot.” The journalists also singled out the standout performance of Ažuolas Tubelis:
“Tubelis’s phenomenal display wasn’t enough to save the Lithuanians. The Kaunas Žalgiris forward scored 28 points (8/10 two-pointers, 1/3 three-pointers, 9/14 free throws), grabbed 8 rebounds, made 2 steals, contributed 3 assists, blocked 1 shot, committed 9 fouls, 4 turnovers, 3 personal fouls, and posted an efficiency rating of 35 in nearly 33 minutes,” the article stated.
Another outlet, krepsinis.net, headlined their coverage with “NBA debuts overshadowed by Tubelis and Ukraine’s victory.” The journalists highlighted Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk from the Ukrainian squad and noted the strong pace Ukraine maintained in the fourth quarter.
Delfi also focused on Lithuania’s debutants, stating: “Buzelis and Yakuchonis’s debuts were bitter as Ukraine defeated Lithuania.” They added that Augustas Marciulionis, Regimantas Miniotas, and Matas Jogela were not registered for Lithuania’s lineup in this match.
The news agency 15min.lt quoted Rimas Kurtinaitis during the post-match press conference. In their introduction, the journalists criticized the Lithuanian coach:
“The Lithuanian national team, which assembled nearly all of its top players, suffered a blow in their only friendly test. However, Rimas Kurtinaitis, who experimented extensively and fielded debutants Matas Buzelis and Kaspars Yakuchonis, did not treat it as a tragedy,” the report noted.
Overall, the article criticized Kurtinaitis’s experiments, particularly his attempt to use Buzelis as a point guard, which led to a local 2-9 run and allowed Ukraine to seize momentum.
