Germany's COLOGNE (AP) — Lithuania unsuccessfully challenged its double-overtime loss to Germany in the EuroBasket tournament Sunday, arguing that officials did not award it a free throw following a technical foul in regulation.
FIBA denied the protest.
Therefore, it is a German victory, a significant one for the hosts. Germany won 109-107 in a close game, with neither team ever leading by more than nine points. Franz Wagner scored 32 points, Dennis Schroder contributed 25, and the score was close throughout. Kazys Maksvytis, the coach of Lithuania, said, "We are not satisfied.
The Germans were happy, considering they were now certain to get out of the group stage and reach the tournament's knockout round.
With 1:26 remaining in the third quarter and his team is called for a personal foul, Germany's coach Gordie Herbert received a technical foul, according to FIBA. Lithuania's Jonas Valanciunas made two free shots for the personal foul, but there was no free throw for the technical.
With 7 seconds remaining in regulation, Herbert said he was informed by one of the referees that there was "a issue" involving the technical and what ought to have happened.
The objection was "inadmissible," according to FIBA, because it was sent after the designated 60-minute period had passed. However, FIBA went on to say that the protest would have been rejected even if it had been submitted on time because "the explanation given is not one of the conditions under which a protest can be made."
As time expired in the second overtime period, Lithuania's Arnas Butkevicius attempted a 3-pointer from the left wing, but it bounced off the rim.
For Lithuania (0-3), Valanciunas led all scorers with 34 points and 14 rebounds, followed by Marius Grigonis (17 points), Domantas Sabonis (13 points), Ignas Brazdekis (12 points), and Mindaugas Kuzminskas (11 points).
The game was difficult, according to Valanciunas. They performed well. I believed that we reacted the majority of the time. … Best wishes to them.
In the final 42 seconds, Lithuania returned from being down 89-85 by scoring the final four points of regulation. At the end of the fourth, Schroder missed a stepback jumper, and Wagner missed one after the first overtime.
The Germans scored the opening five points in the second overtime and never trailed. With 2:29 remaining, Germany maintained its lead as Lo scored a 3-pointer for a 106-102 advantage, and Valanciunas was replaced.
After all that, Lo remarked, "I think it's definitely a show of our character and togetherness as a team to come out on top."
On the strength of 23 points from John Roberson and 22 points from Dzanan Musa, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-1) shocked Slovenia (2-1), the defending champion of the EuroBasket, and Luka Doncic at Cologne.
Jusuf Nurkic and Edin Atic each had 12 for the winners, while Miralem Halilovic scored 13 for the losing team.
Doncic led Slovenia with 18 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists but struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 0 for 8. Slovenia was headed by Vlatko Cancer, who finished with 22 points, followed by Goran Dragic (20), Klemen Prepelic (12), and Mike Tobey (11).
Guerschon Yabusele scored 17 points, helping France (2-1) hold off Hungary late in the game despite blowing most of a 15-point lead (1-2).
With 1:04 remaining, Adam Hanga's 3-pointer brought Hungary within 74-72. Hungary stopped the next France possession, and with 23 seconds left, David Vojvoda's 3-point attempt bounced off the rim, denying Hungary its first lead.
Rudy Gobert had 15 points for France, Evan Fournier had 12, and Vincent Poirier had 10.
Hungary's Hanga and Mikael Hopkins combined for 18 points.
At Tbilisi, Georgia, Manu Lecomte scored 20 points, and Belgium ended the game on a 12-0 run to surprise Spain.
Belgium (2-1) received 11 points from Retin Obasohan and 10 points from Ismael Bako, in addition to Pierre-Antoine Gillet's 14 points.
For Spain (2-1), Juancho Hernangomez and Lorenzo Brown each scored 11, while Willy Hernangomez scored 18.
With Vladimir Mihailovic scoring 23 points, Montenegro (2-1) outscored Bulgaria 18-6 in the last minute to win (0-3).
For Montenegro, Igor Drobnjak and Bojan Dubljevic each scored 17 points, Nemanja Radovic added 16 points, and Kendrick Perry added 12 points.
With 26 points, Aleksandar Vezenkov led all scorers for Bulgaria, which held a 75-73 lead in the fourth quarter but missed eight of its final ten shots. For Bulgaria, which attempted 64 shots in the contest, 40 of them from beyond the arc, Andrey Ivanov finished with 17 points, and Chavdar Kostov contributed 10.
Although Turkey (2-1) suffered its first setback, the host nation in Group A overcame an early 10-point deficit. However, there was even more controversy after the game.
Following the game, Turkey claimed that one of its players—Furkan Korkmaz, according to local media—got into a fight in the locker room. Who else was involved in the incident is unknown?
According to assistant coach Hakan Demir, the national federation of Turkey wants to examine security footage. The fact that 22 seconds passed during a fourth-quarter on-court fight between Georgia's Duda Sanadze and Turkey's Korkmaz angered Turkey.
We'll keep an eye on the cameras, Demir said. "This kind of thing, unfortunately, is a big disappointment. To play basketball, we're here. Georgia won the match on the field. Congratulations to them! There is no issue. After two overtimes, we lost. Nothing matters.
Georgia (1-2) was led by Alexander Mamukelashvili, who finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, Thaddus McFadden (17 points), Rati Andronikashvili (15 points), Giorgi Shermadini (15 points), and Sanadze (13 points).
Turkey was led by Alperen Sengun, who scored 21 points on a 10-of-14 shooting. Melik Mahmutoglu scored 11, Sertac Sanli added 15, and Cedi Osman contributed 14. Shane Larkin had nine points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and five steals in the game's final frame.
After Turkey's defeat, Montenegro, Spain, and Belgium tied for first place in Group A. Each group's top four teams advance to the quarterfinal round.
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