US falls to Lithuania at Basketball World Cup but still qualifies for Paris Olympics

MANILA, Philippines — The U.S. goes to the Paris Olympics subsequent summer time. Lithuania made certain that used to be the one just right building for the Americans on Sunday evening, when it pulled off a Basketball World Cup stunner.

Vaidas Kariniauskas scored 15 issues, Mindaugas Kuzminskas added 14 and Lithuania beat the U.S. 110-104 in a second-round recreation at the World Cup.

The loss — the primary for the U.S. in 10 video games this summer time, counting 5 exhibitions at the means to the World Cup — got here on an evening when the Americans formally clinched a berth within the Paris Games.

And the loss may not essentially harm them within the World Cup medal chase, both. The U.S. will play a quarterfinal recreation on Tuesday, when the knockout degree for the overall 8 groups starts. Win Tuesday, win Thursday and win subsequent Sunday, and the Americans are gold medalists.

But it used to be a still a shocker, particularly for a U.S. staff that used to be the overpowering favourite to win the gold. Anthony Edwards led the U.S. with 35 issues, his prime of the summer time, whilst Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges each and every added 14.

For Lithuania (5-0), it was some other evening to bear in mind in opposition to USA Basketball. And the country as soon as well-known for the tie-dyed T-shirts — a few of them have been worn through fanatics within the development Sunday evening — despatched a transparent message to the Americans and someone else still within the World Cup.

Lithuania has driven the U.S. to the prohibit, and past, various occasions. Lithuania misplaced to the Americans through 9 in a initial recreation at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, then escaped with a two-point win within the semifinals — and remained unbeaten within the Dream Team Olympic technology — when Sarunas Jasikevicius’ 3-point check out as time expired fell brief.

Those weren’t the one shut calls or worse. Lithuania beat the U.S. at the 1998 international championships (what the World Cup used to be referred to as then) and within the early rounds of the 2004 Athens Olympics. It additionally gave the Americans all they sought after within the 2012 London Olympics, falling 99-94 in a initial around matchup the place the U.S. in brief trailed within the fourth quarter.

In a recreation that didn’t topic a lot so far as medal hopes, bearing in mind each groups got here into Sunday with spots secured for Tuesday’s quarterfinals, there used to be so much to unpack.

Lithuania made its first 9 3-point makes an attempt and constructed an early 21-point lead, and the U.S. was Paris-bound within the 3rd quarter when Serbia’s win over the Dominican Republic went ultimate in an end result that clinched an Olympic berth for the Americans.

And proper across the time Serbia closed out its win, the U.S. kicked into prime tools.

It took the Americans not up to part of the 3rd quarter — 4 mins and 16 seconds — to minimize what used to be a 17-point halftime deficit down to 4, and the comeback strive used to be on. Lithuania’s lead used to be 71-65 going into the overall 10 mins and it might no longer path the remainder of the best way.

The Americans secured an automated berth into the Paris Games as one of the vital two easiest finishers from the Americas Region at the Basketball World Cup.

Win or lose Sunday, they already have been confident of a place within the World Cup quarterfinals. Brazil, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic have been making an attempt to sign up for the U.S. within the quarters — but all misplaced on Sunday to finish their keep at the World Cup.

And with simplest Canada — which additionally used to be taking part in Sunday evening — still within the event from the Americas, that intended there used to be no situation by which the U.S. may well be handed through two groups from its area within the ultimate World Cup standings.

There will likely be 12 international locations within the Olympic males’s basketball event. France certified because the host and 7 groups — to this point, it’s Australia, South Sudan, Japan and the U.S. — earn computerized bids in keeping with their World Cup hanging. The most sensible two groups from the Americas get Olympic spots, as do the highest two from Europe and the highest staff from Africa (South Sudan), Asia (Japan) and Oceania (Australia).

The U.S. crowned France to win Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games two summers in the past.

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