Photo: FIBA
With the EuroBasket 2025 Quarterfinal between Lithuania and Greece approaching, the atmosphere inside Xiaomi Arena is already set to be dominated by green.

Around 6,000 Lithuanian fans are expected to fill the stands, far outnumbering the Greek supporters in what is essentially shaping up to be a home game for Rimas Kurtinaitis’ squad.

For loyal “Lietuva” fans, Riga is close to home, and with Latvia already eliminated by Lithuania in the Round of 16, the Baltic support is naturally flowing toward Kurtinaitis’ men.

During morning shootaround, just hours before tipoff, Kurtinaitis offered his thoughts on the challenge of facing Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece.

Asked directly about the game plan, the 65-year-old coach simply teased: “You want to know the secret? How will we face Giannis? You will see tonight.”

Kurtinaitis then elaborated on what makes Greece dangerous beyond their NBA superstar.

“Giannis goes inside, looking for the open shots. The team has a lot of good spot-up shooters. If some of them are left alone, they play very well like that, for sure,” he said.

He also praised the style Greece plays under Vassilis Spanoulis, emphasizing their collective strength.

“The passing game, assists, it’s not just what Giannis does. It’s strong. They usually have 23 or 24 assists per game,” Kurtinaitis noted, recognizing that Greece’s offensive chemistry stretches beyond just one player.

But the Lithuanian coach admitted that one of the biggest challenges in a game like this is maintaining control.

“One of our purposes is to control the game, but it’s not always possible. It’s a habit. It’s difficult to control our team, and it’s difficult to control the opposite team,” he concluded, highlighting the unpredictable nature of knockout basketball.

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