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Volkov: Against Serbia we played the best game in the history of Ukraine

Lithuania ensured quarter-finals, but they still can be first or fourth team in their group. Ukraine is playing for quarter-finals and needs a win and if Latvia loses to Belgium, then Ukraine goes trough regardless of the result of their match

Linas Kleiza and his teammates were at the verge of elimination against Bosnia in the first round, in the middle of the last quarter they were 14 points behind and Bosnia had a 3 pointer. If Djedovic scored they would have probably been eliminated, but somehow they managed to reduce the spread under 10, if they lost by 10 or more they would have also been eliminated, and they went trough. They obviously had a meeting, they talked and decided to play at the level expected of them.

They won against France and Belgium in the second round, they ensured quarter-finals spot and today they can clinch top position in their group with a win, which would probably allowed them to avoid Spain in quarter-finals. They need a little help of France to do so since the only way they can clinch the top position is by winning today and by Serbia losing against France. If they lose to Ukraine they can even be fourth.

- We have to stop their play Jeter who is individually very potent player, everything starts with him, he creates and scores - said center Jonas Valanciunas for Krepsins.net.

Lithuania so far managed to contain American point guards of other teams, from McCalebba to Parker who ended the game with just 11 points.

- We can not relax, we want the best possible position inside our group - said Toronto Raptors center.

That is of relative importance now since the other group is also crowded, Spain could be fourth, Italy third, Croatia first etc.

Against Belgium they continued where they stopped against France. They played superb defense for three periods which gave them 69-35 lead and then they lost the last period 32-17.

- Those last five minutes have to be a lesson to us, we had a big lead and them we stopped. Against Ukraine we have to play for the whole game - stated Valanciunas who in 13 minutes scored remarkable 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

- Ukraine has tall and physically strong players, it will be an interesting match.

Mantas Kalnietis is regularly player with most minutes played and he finally got some rest against Belgium. He played only 18 minutes, had three attempts and 6 assists and rebounds.

- Ukraine is led by American coach, they have American play and they play relaxed. They play a lot of "2-on-2" and individually, if they succeed in that they can be really dangerous - claims Kalnietis who plays for Lokomotiv Kuban where he will play Euro League with Kruno Simon.

- Against Serbia we had a good strategy. Jeter made some difficult shots and the whole team played well. Now it is easier to play with a day of rest between games and we are physically ready, it was more difficult to play three games in three days.

Lithuania has enough muscles and centimeters to dominate the paint so the key will be their defense on Jeter while Maciulis should be fighting Gladyr. The Lithuanian is currently one of the best defensive players in Europe and Gladyr will not have an easy task today.

Pooh Jeter was their hero of the day against Serbia, his 3 pointers over defenders, when Serbia was chasing their lead and came to only 5 points behind, turned the game in their favor. He scored 20 points and had four 3 pointers, 3 of which were very important. The biggest surprise of the game was power forward Maxym Korniyenko with 21 points and 8 rebounds. With those 21 points his average is now at 6.7 points per game, so you can see how surprising his performance against Serbia was.

- Playing against Serbia is something special because we know how important basketball is to them and we knew we will have a chance if we play our best game at both ends of the court - said coach Mike Fratello after 82-75 win.

They came to Eurobasket without some important players, from Valencia center Lischuk to Fesenko and Pecherov, but they are playing impressive basketball and in the last match they have a chance to qualify into quarter-finals. Their chance is slim, but still there. They need Latvia to lose against Belgium, in all other combinations they would have to defeat Lithuania and wait for Serbia to lose against France. The least favorable to them would be a tie with Latvia since they have -34 against them.

- I am proud of my players. They came back after a crushing defeat against Latvia and played well. I believe that was the best game in the history of Ukraine - said legendary Aleksandar Volkov, today's president of Ukrainian Basketball Federation. 

Gladyr scored more than 12.5 in only two games of this competition - 17 against Israel and 25 against weak Germany. In the second round he scored 12 against Latvia (shooting 3/7 from open play) and 7 against Serbia (2/8 from open play). He will be facing probably the best defence of the Eurobasket alongside the Spanish team, so he surely won't have a lot of freedom. Maciulus is a great defensive player, and the Lithuanians will be fully aware that Gladys is a man to guard. This is an important match for Lithuania, so they won't be playing in second gear - therefore, this margin should be taken.