Estonia pull off surprise for first-ever win over Lithuania
TALLINN (Estonia) - Estonia made history in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers as they defeated Lithuania 65-59 to remain undefeated in Group H with their first victory ever against the Baltic rivals.
TALLINN (Estonia) - Estonia made history in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers as they defeated Lithuania 65-59 to remain undefeated in Group H with their first victory ever against the Baltic rivals.
Estonia had lost all eight previous matchups against Lithuania, but Jukka Toijala's men were spurred on by the Tallinn crowd and grabbed a second win to take sole possession of first place in the group.
Janari Joesaar led the way with 18 points for Estonia, who finally have some bragging rights over Lithuania after losing to them in 1937, 1939, 1992, twice in both 1995 and 1999 as well as at FIBA EuroBasket 2015.
🇪🇪 Estonia make HISTORY as they pull off a first-ever victory against the Baltic rivals 🥶#EuroBasket x #MakeYourMark
— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) February 26, 2024
Turning Point: Estonia went on a 16-0 run to take a 28-18 lead and led by as many as 12 points in the first half. Estonia only scored 2 points in the first 8 minutes of the third quarter but still went into the fourth quarter tied 52-52.
Estonia kept Lithuania's offense quiet for nearly the entire final period and managed to pull ahead 61-56 in the closing moments. Kristian Kullamae scored the dagger layup with 28 seconds for a 63-59 lead for the hosts. And Maik Kotsar drew a charge on Osvaldas Olisevicius with 19 seconds remaining to ice the win.
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Game Hero: Even though Janari Joesaar was leading scorer, Maik Kotsar poured in 11 points while also grabbing 13 rebounds - 6 of those coming from the offensive glass. He also picked up 1 assist and 1 steal - in addition to the big offensive foul drawn in the final minute.
Stats Don't Lie: Estonia were a force on the boards with a 48-29 advantage and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds to just 2 for Lithuania. That led to a 10-3 gap in second chance points.
Also, despite making only 25 field goals, Estonia managed to collect 21 assists - to just 10 for Lithuania, who shot just 39.2 percent for the game.
Bottom Line: Estonia will go into the second window with some nice momentum at 2-0 as they face two games against Poland in November 2024. Lithuania have a 1-1 mark after the first window and have two contests against North Macedonia.
They Said:
FIBA