Macedonia stamps year 2011 European Basketball Championship – Lithuania

Macedonia stamps year 2011 European Basketball Championship – Lithuania

• EuroBasket 2011 was hosted by Lithuania, marking the second time the country hosted the European basketball championship (the first being in 1939).
• Lithuania was placed in Group D for the preliminary round, along with Ukraine, Latvia, Belgium, Estonia, and the Czech Republic.
• The Lithuanian team struggled in the preliminary round, losing to Belgium and barely scraping by against Ukraine, Latvia, and Estonia.
• Despite the early difficulties, Lithuania finished first in their preliminary round group and advanced to the second round.
• In the second round, Lithuania was placed in Group F along with Slovenia, Serbia, and Macedonia.
• Lithuania defeated Slovenia 80-77 in the second round, but lost to Serbia and Macedonia, failing to advance to the quarterfinals.
• The Lithuanian national team finished the tournament in 7th place overall.

Notable Players

• Jonas Valančiūnas was a standout performer for Lithuania, averaging 25 points and 12 rebounds per game in the preliminary round.
• Other key players included Mantas Kalnietis, who set a EuroBasket record with 13 assists in a single game.

In summary, while Lithuania had the advantage of hosting EuroBasket 2011, the home team struggled in the early rounds and ultimately fell short of expectations, finishing a disappointing 7th place. The tournament highlighted the challenges the Lithuanian national team faced at the time, despite having talented individual players.