Lithuania’s EuroBasket 2025 journey came to an end in the quarterfinals after a hard-fought battle with Greece, who advanced behind the unstoppable Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Despite missing one of their most important players, Rokas Jokubaitis, who was sidelined early in the tournament due to injury, Lithuania managed to reach the last eight but couldn’t push past a stronger Greek side.
After the 87-76 loss in Riga, head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis was open in his assessment.
“First, I want to congratulate Greece on a good game, and personally Vassilis Spanoulis for his perfect coaching. Greece was stronger than us tonight. We fought, I don’t question our players, because our power tonight was like that. It was not good enough. We were not strong enough to win,” Kurtinaitis said at the postgame press conference.
The veteran coach pointed to the absence of a true point guard as the team’s biggest challenge since Jokubaitis’ injury.
“Our biggest problem was that we had no real playmaker, what we were talking about all EuroBasket after Rokas’ injury. That was our biggest problem tonight. In these games, you need players who can make others better. Let’s see what happens in the Final Four,” Kurtinaitis explained.
When asked if Lithuania’s performance against Greece reminded him of Latvia’s loss to Lithuania in the previous round, Kurtinaitis disagreed with the comparison.
“We just fight. We have six new players, some of them playing at this level for the first time. For sure, it’s difficult. It’s easy for someone like Spanoulis, who played for 20 years, he knows everything. We put young guys against him, they are just looking for experience.
“We had different players on the court tonight. I don’t think it was the same situation as Lithuania against Latvia. I don’t think we were stronger than Latvia – we just won. But I don’t think Latvia was weaker than us either. Okay, that victory was great for us, but tonight – not so good.”
Team captain Jonas Valančiūnas, who had another strong performance, echoed his coach’s words but also highlighted the pride he felt in the team’s fight.
“Tonight was a battle, both teams battled until the end, but they were stronger. Congrats to the Greek team, they were better than us. I was happy we fought until the end. That was good, a good fight,” Valančiūnas said.
For the Denver Nuggets center, representing Lithuania continues to hold deep meaning, regardless of the result.
“There is no need to explain to our guys what it means to represent a country. They all know and feel pride in doing that. Everybody is happy to put the Lithuanian jersey on and represent the country. We are strong together. We have the best team to support each other, to be one as a team. We play for each other, and I’m happy to be part of it. It’s a great feeling,” he concluded.
For Lithuania, the journey ends earlier than they hoped, but the fight and spirit shown by a young, evolving roster gave reasons for optimism about the future.
Rimas Kurtinaitis praises Vassilis Spanoulis’ “perfect coaching”, Jonas Valančiūnas happy with Lithuania fighting until the end #EuroBasket https://t.co/TrhgBKhe6j
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) September 9, 2025
