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Lithuanian defense or Italian attack?

25 days ago, in Acropolis Cup, the Lithuanians won by 16 points margin, but this time it's going to be a totaly different game. Back then the Italians played without Dantome. The Italians rely on their very strong back-court

Lithuania raised their game in comparison to opening group matches when they lost to Bosnia and Serbia. They played noticeably better in the second round thus achieving three victories. The last against Ukraine was carved out the hard way, but that match shouldn’t get much attention.

Today's Lithuanian team is formed in a way that perhaps even back-court of the Italians has more talent and quality. If someone told you that couple years ago, you wouldn't probably believe it. This team relies on hard work and their best shooter is Kalneitis who averages 9,9 points per match, so therefore Lithuanians don't have a double-digit player!

- Our opponent is very difficult, they've beaten here Russia, Turkey, Greece and Spain. They have an unusual style of play, and they make very little mistakes. It's obvious that their shot is their strongest weapon - Kazlauskas says about the Italians.

The roles are changed; Italy is very strong offensively on guard positions, and the Lithuanians have in those positions their best defensive options like Delininkaitas, Seibutis and Maciulis. The Lithuanians possess big advantage over their opponents in the paint. They can choose between six great players, comparing to only three on the Italian side (Cusin, Melli and Datome).

- We'll play our game, try to play fast, but not at any price. We must pay attention to turnovers, because the Italians usually take advantage of that with fast counters - Kazlauskas warns.

The Lithuanian game and style of play must be based on play under the basket, they must burden Cusin with personal fouls and force Pianigiani to search for alternative solutions in the paint.

Ksistov spent a couple of years in Siena and was coached there by Pianigiani, so he is very well familiar with his playing style.

- The Italians have similar style of play like Siena, they are always on the move and avoid static basketball. They have these four very deadly players and can always shoot you down, so we must pay attention to that - says Lavrinovic.

He referred to these four: Gentile, Datome, Aradori and Belinelli, all four averaging double-digit points, Gentile is the most efficient one with 14,6 points on average.

- Centers must help their back-court players defensively. They spin a lot of central pick, and at any moment they can jump and shoot. So team defense is the key against Italy.

The Lithuanians announce to press from the start, especially on the player with the ball. To disturb passing lines is crucial against Italy, but that’s easier said than done.

- It will be a difficult game. The thing that we managed to avoid Spain doesn't have to mean anything. Italy has dangerous shooters, they can beat anybody on their day - says Linas Kleza who is playing much better lately.

Lithuania will need a leader, and that can be Kleza. He brought them advancement to the second round against Bosnia and Herzegovina, also against the Ukraine and if Kazlauskas will have patience with him, he could be that winning advantage. The problem for the Lithuanians could be lack of rhythm, they played eight matches in 11 days, and now they have four days to rest before the clash against Italy.

The Italians have chosen to be in (unlike Serbs) good mood and atmosphere in their quarterfinals. The estimate was that this is a team that is much more dependent on the good atmosphere, rather than who is their opponent.

5-0 from Koper, defeats by Croatia and Slovenia, then win over Spain, considered by many under suspicious circumstances. Quarterfinals is here, and Italy is the the underdog again, eventhough they play great carried by four brilliant shooters.

- We believe in us and our capabilities, we're not afraid of Lithuanians even though they possess respectful squad. We played with inspiration and passion till now, and we won't be missing that in today's match - the Italian selector was optimistic.

The rebound is the key, that's always the case when Italians play. The team that wasn't dominant in that department against them, regularly faced problems because Italians were averaging around 40-45% success rate of three points, and that kind of opponent is a difficult one to beat.

- We're proud on our victory against the Spain, we were looking for victory over Sweden in the first phase. We have a great respect for Eurobasket, and the last thing on our mind was to relent. Besides that we played against Spain the first time on senior level, and so we had to see how we stand - said Gigi Datome who has 49% of field points and that is great percentage considering that he shoots mostly from difficult positions.

Everything we accomplished so far, fits in this very game. The Italians are aware of that.

- To limit their offensive rebounds is crucial, and then watch out on turnovers because every possession lost and easy point for them could cost us dearly.

This Pianigiani plan is the key, Lithuania is very potent in rebound department, especially compared to Italy. Even though Marco Cusin is having a very good tournament, especially defensively and does a good job guarding the paint, today the Italians will need that nora than ever.

- We won six games, but this is a different ball game, now we need to be down to earth. They have a plenty of experiance and also have considerlable height advantage - said Marco Belineli, switching the burden of favorites on their opponent's side.

The key lies in Lithuania's defense and in Italy's guard positions. If Kalnietis and Seibutis manage to do well, the Lithuanians will certainly be closer to victory. It's very difficult to hamper the Italians in developing their game, but that's the only way to victory.

Aradori is playing well at this tournament and that is without question, he was always offensively very talented player. But, today Italy is playing against defensively solid Lithuania, especially on forward positions where they have Seibutis, Maciulis, Pocius and Kuzminskas. Aratori is starter, I expect Maciulis on him from the start, a player who left Batum on 8 points in 33 minutes. He will not have a chance to score much, especially since he is playing with Datome and Belinelli who will take the responsibility on themselves and Gentile takes over the role of a scorer after he enters the game from the bench. Aradori was left under this margin against Croatia and Slovenia. teams similar to Lithuania since they play good defense. I do not think Italy will score many points in this match, this will be a tactical game with Aradori in a supporting role.