Lithuania is gearing up for a high-stakes EuroBasket 2025 Quarterfinal conflict in opposition to Greece, with the workforce emphasizing unity and collective effort as their guideline.
Jonas Valanciunas, the Denver Nuggets heart and Lithuania’s main massive man, spoke to the media in Riga forward of the matchup, underlining the significance of preparation, workforce id, and the problem introduced by famous person Giannis Antetokounmpo.
After a full day of preparation, Valanciunas highlighted Lithuania’s technique whereas acknowledging the issue of dealing with the most effective gamers on the planet.
“We spent two days – truly one full day – making ready for the Greek nationwide workforce. They’re workforce with weapons, particularly as a taking pictures workforce. They’ve Giannis, who’s very sturdy individually, so we have now to do job. We ready, we have now a recreation plan, and tomorrow we’ll present it,” he mentioned.
When requested about their plan to include Giannis, Valanciunas remained tight-lipped.
“I’m not going to inform you. That’s the sport plan,” he mentioned. “Each workforce has its personal type of play, and we have now ours too. We’re going to go on the market and use our strengths.”
Valanciunas additionally emphasised the menace posed by Greece’s expertise and long-range taking pictures.
“They’re three-point taking pictures workforce, they usually’re flattening the threes. In addition they have a whole lot of expertise and gamers who know play these sorts of video games, so we have now to keep away from errors, get rid of simple factors, and do job on protection and offense,” he defined.
Addressing Lithuania’s level guard state of affairs following the harm to Rokas Jokubaitis, Valanciunas harassed the significance of workforce effort.
“What else can we do? Now we have 11 guys, and we miss him massive time. We’d like the identical efficiency or much more from everybody tomorrow. Our energy is the workforce, the workforce play. Everyone knows our roles, and we simply should go on the market, assist one another, and play exhausting basketball for 40 minutes. That’s our id.”
On the subject of prolonged rosters in worldwide competitions, Valanciunas provided his perspective as a participant.
“It’s not my energy to determine; I’m nonetheless a participant. I’m trying ahead to the video games and doing what I can to assist. You’re feeling a loss when a man goes down, not simply emotionally but additionally by way of the roster, and that may make a distinction,” he mentioned, underscoring the problem of adapting to unexpected circumstances in event play.
With their Quarterfinal showdown in opposition to Greece looming, Lithuania is targeted on executing its recreation plan, taking part in as a cohesive unit, and leveraging their strengths to compete in opposition to one of many event favorites.
Jonas Valančiūnas doesn’t wish to reveal the plan for stopping Giannis Antetokounmpo earlier than the #EuroBasket quarterfinals conflict with Greece
“Our energy is the workforce. That’s our id.”https://t.co/GzKwxkLNVj
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) September 8, 2025
