Lithuania vs Serbia FIBA World Cup Game Preview, Predictions & Live Stream
- Tip-off at 08:45 GMT on Tuesday September 5th
- It’s the first Quarter-Finals matchup from the FIBA World Cup 2023 played in Manila, Philippines
- Lithuania emerged as the winners of Group J, coming out ahead of Team USA after a historic win
- Serbia were the runners-up from Group I yet had the group’s best +/- which makes them a tough opponent for the Group J winners, Lithuania
The FIBA World Cup Quarter-Finals are underway
The first Quarter-Finals of the FIBA World Cup features Lithuania vs Serbia. The Lithuanians come into this one as the (perhaps) surprise winners of Group J. They clinched their spot defeating the USA, 110-104 in the last game of Group J. It was close in the final minutes of the 4th Quarter but the Lithuanians held their nerve and deserved the historic victory. It was a balanced attack with 7 players scoring double-digits, but it was Jonas Valanciunas who took home the game’s MVP. While the big man, who plays for the New Orleans Pelicans, contributed 12 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks, it was his role of emotional leader that made him standout. He was vocal, did the tough work down low and was certainly not afraid of his opponents. This fed the psyche of the rest of the team, as it was a complete team performance from Lithuania. Up next is a Quarter-Final matchup with Serbia. The Serbians had most of the top stats from Group I but lost their game to Italy earlier in the group stage, which meant they lost the head-to-head tiebreaker when both teams ended on 9 points. This sets-up a very tough opponent for Lithuania but for neutral fans, this will be a must-watch game between two European powerhouses.
Serbia come into this matchup as the runners-up from Group I, despite having a +/- difference of +88 over Group I winners, Italy. It came down to their head-to-head matchup vs Italy, where the Italians pulled out a 2-point victory and took the tiebreaker as a result. In their last Group I matchup, it was a winner-goes-on-loser-goes-home game versus the Dominican Republic. It was billed as a close contest before tip-off, but it ended as a 112-79 blowout win in favour of the Serbians. Led by Bogdan Bogdanovic, he put up 20 points and went perfect from the field. He also contributed 1 rebound, 5 assists and 3 steals, making him the game’s MVP. They will need to replicate their level of shooting efficiency when they go up against Lithuania if they want to secure their place in the Semi Finals; but judging on how they’ve played at the FIBA World Cup so far, you wouldn’t want to go against this squad.
Lithuania vs Serbia – FIBA World Cup Live Stream
This FIBA World Cup Quarter-Finals matchup from Manila will be available to stream live* worldwide on Courtside 1891 on Tuesday September 5th from 08:45 GMT.
Don’t worry if you can’t catch the live action, Courtside 1891 will have extensive on-demand coverage and highlights after the game finishes. For the latest highlights alerts as well as live streaming and premium on-demand content, download the official Courtside 1891 app today.
*Blackout restrictions may apply where you live. Please check our blackouts page for more information.
