No. 2 in 2 vs. 3×3 Belgium Lions at the World Cup: Vice World Champion Lithuania is too big | 3×3 Basketball World Cup

The Belgians boosted confidence this morning with a win over Israel, but Lithuania is a different story. Despite the absence of some great players, the Lithuanians came to Vienna with a strong team. They are defending their status as vice world champions in the Austrian capital.

So it was a solid start for Lithuania, with smooth scoring and a strong defence. The Belgian Lions tried to fight defensively in the match, but the referees did not give them room to do so.

Due to some light calls against them, the Belgians missed early in the match. Lithuania took advantage of the free throw line and actually had the upper hand throughout.

However, the fighting lions finally made it exciting. After two pointers from Donkor and a dunk from Augustijnen, it was suddenly 19-18.

After another questionable decision from the Serbian referee, Vaitkos was still merciful from the free-throw line, but Lithuania still pulled the card thanks to two pointers from Tarvidas: 22-18.

So one in two Belgians after the first day and that doesn’t have to be a drama. The group winners from the four groups can go directly to the quarter-finals, for numbers 2 and 3 there is a ticket to the 1/8 finals.

The Belgian Lions’ World Cup matches continue on Thursday. Then they finished the group stage with matches against Poland and Puerto Rico.

“I think we can be positive in general, although it can always be better,” Brian de Valk took stock after the first two matches of the Belgian group.

“Twice we started poorly. It took some adjusting with Thibaut Vervoort back. We still have to work on the automation. You can also see we’re growing in competitions.”

“It was very difficult against Israel, but we played it wisely. We fought well against Lithuania. On Thursday it will be important to be present from the start.”

Then Belgium will compete with Poland and Puerto Rico. “Two different teams,” says de Valk. “Puerto Rico is playing hard on energy, with fresh guys having been doing really well these past few weeks.”

“Poland, on the other hand, is a mixture of young talent and experience. They are maybe a bit slower than Puerto Rico. But we just have to play our own game and then we have to be able to get a couple of wins. Now we’re going to enjoy the sun and rest a bit, until we get fit again for the day.” Thursday “.