The Green Machine: Lithuania edge Bosnia and Herzegovina in unbeaten duel

TUZLA (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - Osvaldas Olisevicius delivered for Lithuania in the final stages with a vital four points late on to help secure a thrilling 78-77 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The one-point triumph keeps Lithuania unbeaten in Group F as they held their nerve on the road in what was the only unbeaten encounter across the European Qualifiers on Gameday 3.

Turning point: Bosnia and Herzegovina had made a fast start to lead 19-10 in the opening quarter, but Lithuania settled and eventually took control of the contest in the third quarter. They led by as many as eight points themselves with victory in sight until the hosts rallied - behind some incredible hustle - to make it a one-score game, but up stepped Olisevicius.

Game hero: Olisevicius top scored with 18 points in the win for Lithuania with 4-of-8 shooting from three-point range including the late triple that effectively sealed the result. Meanwhile, Martynas Echodas was the only other player in double figures for the visitors with 13 points in just 18 minutes of action before fouling out.

Stats don't lie: Lithuania had the highest scoring bench of all European teams in the first window and their depth was on show once again when they needed it; outscoring their counterparts 35-18 in bench points

Bottom line: Well and truly advantage Lithuania in the group as they now return home in Vilnius with the chance to move to 4-0 if they can repeat their victory. As for Bosnia and Herzegovina, plenty of encouragement to take into Sunday and belief that they can secure a win on the road of their own, though would not have wanted to see Miralem Halilovic hobble off in the fourth.

They said: "We expected it to be close. It's a pleasure to fight and compete with a good team. It was tough and both teams wanted to win. We said in the locker room that it's not going to be easy at home. The next game is the next game. The Bosnian team will fight until the end and nobody will give the win," - Lithuania head coach Kazys Maksvytis

"At the beginning we were maybe a little shocked with the fans. We expected this, but it was really, really crazy with a lot of people. It was a really physical game. When you have great players, it's tough and we prepared for that, but it wasn’t easy," - Regimantas Miniotas, Lithuania

"In the second half, they started much better than us. We did not have enough focus in certain parts of the game. We have to be more experienced, but we did a good job. Very small margin in this game and it could have finished in a different way," - Bosnia and Herzegovina head coach Vedran Bosnic.

"We started really well, but the mistakes made the difference in the game. They punished us on every occasion. They are a good team with good players. I think we need to learn from our mistakes, be better and prepare for the next game," - Emir Sulejmanovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina

FIBA