Rumors

The Lithuanian national team joined Turkey and Germany in the 2025 EuroBasket quarterfinals after defeating hosts Latvia in Riga. Led by Arnas Velicka’s heroics, Rimas Kurtinaitis’ side prevailed 88-79 at the Xiaomi Arena, eliminating the home team despite Kristaps Porzingis’ standout night. Velicka delivered an outstanding performance in the absence of the injured Rokas Jokubaitis, orchestrating Lithuania’s offense and closing the Baltic derby with 21 points, 12 assists, and five rebounds. Azoulas Tubelis added another double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Deividas Sirvydis had his best EuroBasket showing, contributing 18 points. Interestingly, Jonas Valanciunas logged fewer than 10 minutes but still managed to score nine points. On the other side, Porzingis had a monster game with 34 points and 19 rebounds for a PIR of 39, before fouling out in the final minutes. Only Arvydas Sabonis (23 v Greece in 1995) and his fellow countryman Andris Biedrins (20 v France in 2009) have grabbed more in a single EuroBasket game over the last 30 years.

EuroHoops.net

Like it happened against Lithuania, Lauri Markkanen couldn’t save the day, and Germany got the easy 91-61 win over Finland in the last game of Group A, in Tampere. Franz Wagner was phenomenal with 23 points, seven rebounds, and three assists; still, once more, the Germans prevailed as a well-oiled machine, starting from their defense.

EuroHoops.net

Like it happened against Lithuania, Lauri Markkanen couldn’t save the day, and Germany got the easy 91-61 win over Finland in the last game of Group A, in Tampere. Franz Wagner was phenomenal with 23 points, seven rebounds, and three assists; still, once more, the Germans prevailed as a well-oiled machine, starting from their defense. As assistant coach Alan Ibrahimagic, with head coach Alex Mumbru still recovering, said: “We are happy, we are getting better. Defense was exceptional, I would say, and this is one part of the game which will be crucial in the next phase”. The group hosts couldn’t keep up. Markkanen finished the game with 11 points on 4/15 FG plus 10 rebounds, and Olivier Nkamhoua, also with a double-double (16 p. 10 r.), had his best game so far in the tournament.

EuroHoops.net

Lithuania's national team playmaker Rokas Jokubaitis will no longer compete in EuroBasket 2025. Following an MRI on Tuesday in Tampere, the initial diagnosis has become clear. According to BasketNews information, the 24-year-old engine of the national team has suffered an ACL and meniscus injury in his left knee.

BasketNews

The Lithuanian national team managed to slow down Lauri Markkanen, holding him under 20 points for the first time at EuroBasket 2025. That proved to be the key for Lithuania, as despite Mikael Jantunen’s strong performance, they pulled off an 81-78 victory in Tampere.

EuroHoops.net

Former long-time NBA forward and current Lithuanian national team manager Linas Kleiza was the key figure in calming the tensions that arose during halftime on Saturday. The former longtime national team player described how everything looked from his perspective. “By the time I got to the locker room, Schroder had already said a lot to (Jonas) Valanciunas about our fan and that he was responsible for it,” Kleiza recounted talking to Lithuanian media on Sunday. “Obviously, all the German players were emotional, and we had to calm things down. I went, found out what happened. One fan simply had a conflict with Schroder, and it turned into a racism scandal."

BasketNews

FIBA has banned a spectator from EuroBasket for engaging in racist verbal abuse directed at German captain and Sacramento Kings guard Dennis Schröder during Germany’s win over Lithuania in Tampere, Finland, on Saturday. FIBA, the international governing body for basketball, said that on-site security, using CCTV footage, identified and banned the person and has given the footage to local law enforcement, who are continuing to investigate.

New York Times

FIBA said in a statement Saturday that it will “engage with the Lithuanian team delegation to inform them of the situation and to support efforts aimed at preventing similar incidents in future games.” “FIBA unequivocally condemns hate speech, discriminatory conduct, and racist language in any form,” its statement said. “Creating an inclusive, respectful, and safe environment for players, teams, and fans remains a fundamental priority of our sport.”

New York Times

Germany beat Lithuania; however, the spotlight after the game turned away from sports, with Dennis Schroder complaining about what happened at halftime. “The Lithuanians, the fans, they always travel with the team, but unfortunately, at halftime, they made monkey noises,” Schroder said in an interview with German Eurobasket broadcaster MagentaSport. “And that’s something I really cannot accept. Racism in this world doesn’t belong here. Nevertheless, it was a good game. I think there were some fans who actually had to leave the stands because of security. I believe it was also reported. That just doesn’t belong in this sport, not in football either. With Vinicius Junior, I’ve seen it happen all the time. But for me, today was the first time experiencing it with the Lithuanians, and it’s sad.”

EuroHoops.net

In the aftermath, there was one fan in particular that Schroder identified making the noise, and he was kicked out of the arena, while the Lithuanian delegation had apologised to the German guard.

EuroHoops.net

The Lithuanian fans always support their national team and delivered again in Tampere, Finland, but Germany was simply on another level. The defending world champions trailed only twice in the game (15-13, 18-15) and against Lithuania, delivered a masterclass, getting an easy 107-88 win for a 3-0 start in the tournament, scoring for the third straight time more than 100 points. Dennis Schroder with 26 points, Franz Wagner with 24, and Daniel Theis with 23 on 9/9 FG led a balanced effort as the winners shot with 58% in field goals until the end of the third period.

EuroHoops.net

After a record-breaking 57 rebounds and a convincing 94–70 win over Great Britain, Lithuania cruised to another victory at EuroBasket 2025, with the Denver Nuggets center needing just 13 minutes to dominate. Jonas Valančiūnas scored 19 points and grabbed five rebounds, and didn’t even return to the court after halftime.

Heavy.com

Before the matchup against Lithuania, Matas Buzelis' Bulls teammate, Montenegrin center Nikola Vucevic, talked to BasketNews, where he revealed he was trying to convince Buzelis to play in EuroBasket, saying it would have been a great experience for him. "I was trying to convince him to play," Vucevic revealed. "I thought it would have been really good for him to get some FIBA basketball experience, to play in EuroBasket, and to practice against all the other players from Lithuania every day. It would have been great for him."

BasketNews

"I think it would have helped him a lot, and it would also have been valuable just to play in big games. Obviously, Lithuania is going to try to compete for a medal—that is their goal—so for him, it would have been huge. But he decided not to play this summer. Hopefully, he will play in the future," Vucevic added.

BasketNews