Lithuania, Montenegro first teams to qualify for the Second Round

MANILA (Philippines) - Mexico had their plans of challenging Lithuania, but those evaporated after just 10 minutes of action in the Mall of Asia Arena. Lithuania put up 32 points in the first quarter, speeding towards a smooth 96-66 win.

Not only have they qualified for the Second Round with their second win in as many games, they have also pulled Montenegro through with them with a game to play.

However, since all the results carry over to the next phase, both Lithuania and Montenegro will have to stay motivated for their Tuesday's duel in Manila, searching for that 3-0 record.

Turning point: When Orlando Mendez scored his only triple of the first half, Mexico were shooting an incredible 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. However, even that kind of shooting was enough just to be down by 15.

That's because Lithuania punished every single mistake Mexico made, pushing the tempo and cleaning up after Mexico missed a total of ten field goal attempts from the paint in the first half. In other words, missed layups by Mexico led to fast break points by Lithuania, the game was over before halftime.

TCL Player of the Game: Rokas Jokubaitis had a slow game against Egypt two days ago, finishing with just 2 points and 3 assists in 24 minutes. The youngster bounced back perfectly, using his sweet shooting left hand to get to 12 points at the half, with 5 assists also in the mix. He ended the contest with 15 points and 7 assists.

Jonas Valanciunas also made history by moving into the Top 10 among in the World Cup rebounding charts and becoming only the second player to register multiple double-doubles in three different editions of the event with a 15-rebound and 12-rebound display.

Stats don't lie: Pick your poison. Lithuania dominated the boxscore however you slice it, but it was their 47-29 rebounding edged that set the tone for the game and left Mexico out of the contest right from the start.

Bottom line: Lithuania are once again through to the next round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, continuing the tradition of finishing among the top 16 in each of their six World Cup appearances. For their Group D rivals Montenegro, it was the first time getting past the First Round. The pair will face off in a head-to-head contest on Tuesday that could have far-reaching consequences further in the tournament.

Mexico will be disappointed with their output, but still have something to play for, trying to finish third in the group before the Classification Games begin. Gabriel Giron led them with 11 points.

They said: "Tough game. We tried to match their energy, but they have a good team, they have good players and today they shot 43 percent from the three-point line. It's hard to beat a team like that." - Gabriel Giron, Mexico

"A team like Lithuania, you can't give them an 8-0 run to start the game. After that they got confidence, they outrebounded us by 20 rebounds, and they shot really well from the field, while shot really bad from the field." - Omar Quintero, Mexico head coach

"We played against each other many times this season. We lost to Malaga in Copa del Rey, we played in the Semi-Finals in the Liga Endesa then, and we know each other very well. It will be interesting to see it happen in the national team's jersey, not in the club basketball. On Tuesday, it will be a good matchup, not just with two of us, but five on five. Montenegro fans and Lithuania fans are waiting for it, and I hope it will be a good game for everybody to watch." - Rokas Jokubaitis, Lithuania, talking about the matchup with Kendrick Perry in the battle for first spot in the group

"Good game from our side. We controlled all of the game, this one was much better than the first game, and I hope this good mood will carry on to the next games and the next round." - Kazys Maksvytis, Lithuania head coach

The game report will be updated shortly. Check back soon for Game Highlights.

FIBA