Posted 2 July, 2024 by Marcel Guzmán
Mexico did not start the Basketball Pre-Olympic in the best way, after losing 84-96 to Lithuania, who had a Marius Grigonis on fire by registering 21 points, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, despite the good start to the match that he had in Jose Miguel Agrelot ‘El Choli’ Coliseum, so he will try to recover in the next commitment, when they face the African team of the Ivory Coast and keep their dream of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games alive.
The Mexican team had a good start to the match, taking a nine-point lead, with seven minutes left in the first quarter. Although The pleasure did not last long, as the Lithuanian team equalized the score after losing the ball and due to repeated fouls by Omar Quintero’s team.
Mexico stood up to Lithuania in two periods
The Eastern Europeans turned the score around with four minutes left to play of the first period, thanks to a triple by Marius Grigonis, so that from that moment on they separated themselves from Mexico by four points. In the end, The Lithuanians went into the second quarter with a score of 26-29, although Mexico came back onto the court with some points from Israel Gutiérrez and Fabián Jaimes.
For the second period, The 12 Warriors came out the same way they finished the first 10 minutes, managing to get ahead on the scoreboard by a difference of one point, thanks to the throw of Moises Andriassi (30-29). Unfortunately for the Mexicans, Lithuania woke up and took the lead again, moving five points clear on the scoreboard, which is why Omar Quintero needed his second and final timeout of the first half.
As time went on, The duel between Mexicans and Lithuanians began to close spaces for both sides, repeatedly stopping the game for some fouls. Added to the fact that The defenses did not give up rebounds after each attack.
With Grigonis on fire, he became a headache for Mexico by recording three three-pointers and put your team with a 12-point lead, which was gradually reduced by the 12 Warriors, although they fell behind by a difference of only five points to go into the break with a slight disadvantage (44-49).
Mexico could not beat Lithuania, favorite to win the Basketball Pre-Olympic | FIBA
Lithuania overwhelms Mexico at the start of the Basketball Pre-Olympic
At the start of the second half, Lithuania added six more points with two three-pointers, one by Marius Grigonis and one by Arnas Butkevicius. With which they got a 11-point lead, with just one minute played in the third period (44-55).
Unfortunately, The Mexican team was unable to wake up on the court as it had been doing in the first half. Since they were down on the scoreboard by 24 points, so Omar Quintero had to call his third timeout of the match, with 04:24 left in the game.
Despite the coach’s instructions and the changes on the field, Mexico could not find an answer, with Paul Stoll being the man who brought the most enthusiasm by scoring five points, including a three-pointer. It was of little or no use to him, since he maintained a significant distance of more than 20.
For the last period, with the score under control, Lithuania continued to hurt the Warriors 12 with three-point shots. On the part of Mexico, which physically He could no longer hold back the Europeans and tried to close the gap with Andriassi and Stoll. Both teams looked better in the second half, but were unable to prevent the Lithuanians’ overwhelming advance.
In the end, Fatigue and a lack of rebounds in favor of the defense cost the Mexican team the game. Now Omar Quintero and his pupils will seek to concentrate on the duel against the Ivory Coast, in the Group A activity of the Basketball Pre-Olympic in Puerto Rico.
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2024-07-03 02:16:34
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