FIBA quarterfinals: Lithuania closes out Turkey

Turkish center Omer Asik played admirably through flu-like symptoms, but the size and shooting of Lithuania sent the Turks packing with a 73-61 win, and set up a semifinal meeting with the winner of the United States and Slovenia. 

Asik spent most of the game matched up with Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas, a matchup that the Lithuanian big man ultimately took control of. The two battled early and often, sending each other tumbling to the floor in the first quarter. Valanciunas was assessed a technical foul after frustrations boiled over in the third quarter, right in the middle of a five-minute Lithuanian scoring drought. 

When cooler heads prevailed, Valanciunas ended up doing a little bit of everything, scoring 12 points and corralling 13 rebounds in over 27 minutes of action, most of it against Asik. He passed well out of the high post and did a credible job protecting the rim. 

Asik played well through illness, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in 27 minutes. The team noticeably struggled to get stops inside when he sat, an advantage the Lithuanians enjoyed while trotting out lineups with multiple bigs, including Donatas Montiejunas and Darjus Lavrinovic. 

The Lithuanians built their attack inside-out, where a dominant performance on the glass in the first half translated to perimeter success in the second. The team went 5-of-8 from three-point range in the second half, capped by a dagger three pointer from the game's leading scorer Renaldas Seibutis. Seibutis finished with 19 points, 14 of which came in the second half. 

Effectiveness from deep held up as the difference; Lithuania shot 52 per cent on 18 attempts from beyond the arc for the game, while the Turks hit 3-of-18. 

Lithuania's semifinal match is slated for Thursday.