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Markota: We will leave everything we have on the court

Both teams are playing well, Lithuania has four wins in a row, while Croatia has eight. Lithuania has a wider roster in the paint, but their centers are not efficient in offense like they were expected to be before the championship started

Lithuania managed to find some strength to finish off Italy, with a 15:0 run at the beginning of the last quarter they overturned the result, but it was more due to Italy's fall and lack of ideas than to any Lithuanina brilliant playing. Although Valenciunas, Kleiza and the Lavrinovic brothers were expected to dominate nad take Lithuania to the semifinal, the opposite has happened.

Kalnietis was hot from the very beginning, and Pocius had a great entrance from the bench. Italians don't have very good defense players on those positions and Lithuania made good use of that. First step by Pocius and Seibutis was undefendable for Italy, while Maciulis playing with his back to the basket gave their play the depth that centers were not giving.

- We are very satisfied, because it was a difficult match on several aspects. First psychologically because every elimination game is difficult, the quarterfinals especially since you have not yet achieved anything. I think we went in too nervous, too emotional, we had to calm down. The key was the fourth quarter when our energy and pressure took away the Italian shooting - the selector Kazlauskas was beaming after the match.

It's interesting to look at the scorers - four in double figures, all of them backs, Kalnietis and Seibutis 17 each, Pocius 11 and Maciulis 13. The centers concentrated on the rebounds, and the backs hit no three pointers but just layups and easy mid-range shots.

- This competition system is critical. We played 8 games in 11 days and than rested for 4 days to play quarterfinals and semifinals inside 20 hours. Actually, 3 most important matches, I include the finals, are played within 4 days, that's ridiculous - Kazlauskas was extremely critical towards FIBA.

Against Croatia they might be favorites, but that's just on paper. Besides, they lost smoothly to Balkan teams (Serbia, Bosnia), although it was in the first round. Lithuania has four wins in a row, although they did not impress anybody.

- We have a situation that we are not so mighty on the high positions, they have high and strong players. So, it's a completely different match from the one with Italy, with completely different preparations - says Kazlauskas.

Lithuania was taking over from the very start yesterday, Italy did not have a player who would punish that under the rim. Mostly it was Belinelli or Aradori versus the centers and they tried to solve that with shooting. Just in the third quarter the Italians managed to use the fact that they are guarded by taller players, and by going inside they took the lead.

- There are no reasons to celebrate, the most important match of the tournament awaits us - emphasises Kleiza.

Lithuania lost the quarterfinals at home to Macedonia two years ago and many in the Lithuanian camp are still mentioning that. Obviously the Balkan teams are uncomfortble to them.

Seibutis and Maciulis will be on Ukic and Bogdanovic, but Croatian chance is Kalnietis who is not much of a defense player.

18 years. That's how much has passed since Croatia was among the last four on the Eurobasket. Enough time for a whole generation to grow to maturity, so it' understandable that yesterday's joy was even more pronounced.

- I am happy because I've never seen the whole country getting behind the basketball national team. Both us and them have a reason to be proud - said Repesa after the match, but added immediately:

- I've told the players that this beautiful story is not yet over. Let's prolong it for another three days and take a medal. The story is so good that it would be a pity to conclude it with this win.

The atmosphere in the team is best seen from the statement by Luka Zoric:

- I have enjoyed every secon of the game. I didn't score a single basket today, and yet I'm laughing, I'm happy like a child. It is a joy to play on this team.

The communal spirit and the euphoria are at a peak and after eight wins in a row the players believe they can defeat anybody which was not the case in previous years. But nobody's flying out on a limb with statements, not even Markota who is prone to verbal "excursions", but just said the following:

- An hour of celebration, and no more than that. A semifinal awaits us, and we want to fight and continue the winning series. Anybody who knows something about basketball must respect this team. Now we got rid of that, as you like to call it, peasant mentality, and have shpwn the winning one. be sure that today we will fight and leave our all on the court.

A lot of fighting awaits Markota for under the rim the Lithuanians are terrifyingly strong. The Lavrinovic brothers, Monteijunas and even Kleiza in some moments are players who will attack Markota with their backs to the basket and that could be a problem since it's well known that defending that is a particular weak spot of the "Swede" Markota. But collective defense by Croatia has so far succesfully masked that and it is to be believed that today will eb the same, and yesterday we've seen a new weapon in Croatian play, a fine zone pressing:

- We surprised Ukraine with that pressing and played it really well. Draper played a great defense and I expect more like that from him.

 Most Lithuanian attacks are powered by Kalnietis and it is expected that Draper will put the pressure on him, but also Ukic who did a great job on both Dragic and Spanoulis or Belinelli and there's no reason to expect that he won't do the same to Kalnietis.

Bogdanovic should be fighting Kleiza who is a similar player, but the current form favors the Croatian who could with his back to the basket make a lot of problems for Kleiza who is psychically strong, but does not have the necessary defensive quality.

When Repesa was yesterday asked whom would he want in the semifinal, the answer was completely clear:

- We don't care, we're ready, we play a great game and we can play anybody.

The Croataian basketball euphoria goes on and it seems that against Lithuanina Croatia has a chance to reach the ninth win in a row on this tournament. Croatia has shown versatility in defense, wideness in offense provided by Rudez and Simon and Draper too, and here it was undeservedly underrated.

Croatia is better that this odds suggest. Their confidence is at the top, finally all players are showing what is expected of them regarding their Euroleague reputation. Lithuania showed nothing special so far, yesterday they defeat Italy mostly because Italians were exhausted and because of their great perimeter play. Seibutis and Pocius so far in their careers have not been the players to make a difference with their shooting at this level of competitions and I doubt they can repeat the same game twice in 20 hours. Croatia will again have a lot of fan support and they are practically playing at home in Slovenia. Croatia has several good defensive options and to me they are the favorites in this match. Since Kleiza and Valenciunas played bad this tournament I really do not see a position at which Lithuania is dominant and it is worth to try this odds with a medium bet.