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The game on Friday is much more important for Lithuania

Lithuania will remain the worst team in Group E, which means that in two days, they have an important match that will decide who keeps the Division A status. France are doing well, and have the chance to secure the top spot in the group, which will probably keep they away from Spain until the possible meeting in the final

France might have had a slow start to the European Championship, but as the rounds go by, they are getting better, and today have the opportunity to secure the top spot in Group E, which will result in meeting the weakest team from the other group in quarter final, but also in avoiding Spain all the way till the final. France, Russia, and Serbia are on a 3-1 record currently, but if France beat Lithuania they will secure the top spot, since they beat both Russia and Serbia in their head to head games.

France were particularly impressive in the game with Serbia yesterday, having opened the match much better, and keeping it up till the end. They got in an early lead (+8) early second quarter, Serbia soon caught up (20-22), but France then opened another period of better defense performance and by half time, they already had a significant lead. The second period was no different - Serbia were soon 15 points down, and by the end only managed to get a bit closer.

France managed to limit the offense-oriented Serbian team to only 50 or so points, while at the same time probably having their best offense performance in the tournament. Forwards Cirgue and Combes did particularly well, having scored 26 points combined. Team's shooting percentage was 45,5 percent, with a three-pointer efficiency of 44,4 percent (8/18). We should note that none of the French players spent more than 29 minutes in the game, while all of them got the chance to play. Only one didn't score any points.

The best defense of this EC is meeting the weak Lithuanians, who have been conceding an average of almost 72 points in this tournament. They also have the worst defense, which makes it very unlikely that they can do something against France.

They are in the bottom of the Group E table, with a 0-4 record. It's quite clear their position won't change, and they will have to participate in the relegation battle. That means that the match today doesn't really mean much to team. The one on Friday between teams that were knocked out in the first round (they meet the best team from Group G) is far more important. Lithuania could, given the circumstances, make some changes in the team to make sure they're ready for the game on Friday.

Their key players are obviously Sarauskaite, Juskaite, and Cerneckyte. Sarauskaite recorded 11 points and 12 rebounds against Slovenia yesterday, while Juskaite recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Lithuania opened the game well, even got in the lead (13-2), but Slovenia's defense started putting more pressure on their offense, managed to catch up, and later on even took control of the game. 

It was a game typical for Lithuania - fast pace, with 30 three-point attempts (seven successful). They recorded 63 field attempts, and 23 free throws. Bad defense performance was once again the key factor in their defeat. They conceded almost 40 points in the second half!

France beat Serbia yesterday by 16 points and have a great chance of securing the top spot in Group E, which means they would face the weakest team from the other quarterfinal group and would avoid Spain until the potential final. At the moment, France, Russia and Serbia have a 3-1 score, but it's clear that France will take the first spot if they beat Lithuania as they have beaten Russia and Serbia. France have the best defense on this tournament while the Lithuanians have the worst. They lost against Russia by 43 points and France and Russia are on a par. Lithuania are the last-placed team in the group with a 0-4 score and it's clear they will go into the relegation battle. Today's game is not really important to them and the one on Friday against the best team from Group G, which includes the teams eliminated in the first round. They might even make a few compromises today and rest their crucial players, which is a well-known practice on these tournaments. The game against Russia showed how much they struggle against tough defenses, and there's no defense here better than the French defense.