Spain beat Lithuania 102:94 in overtime to advance to the EuroBasket quarterfinals. The match turned into a real derby, in which both teams were not going to give up.

Most of the match, the Spaniards kept their backs to the wall, but in the last minute they took the lead. As a rule, the guests made mistakes in critical moments and brought the match to overtime, while Brazdeikis continued the game in dead time.

The match, as expected, from the very beginning turned into a big derby. The Spaniards led 9-6 with Brown’s three-pointer, but the Lithuanians responded with a basket and a foul by Valanciunas and then took the lead (9-11) with Sabonis. In the first period, the leader changed hands several times. Scariolo’s team went 19-15 with a three-pointer from Diaz, but the regular visitors made it 19-20 in the first quarter with Lekavicius’ five in a row.

Rojas stepped on the gas in the second quarter and led 27-20 with points from Brizuela and Diaz. The Lithuanians responded again and reduced the score to three (29-26) with two accurate shots from Grigonis.

Hernangomet did it 32-29, and at that moment Kazys Maksvytis’ men made the series 32-36 with Kuzminskas’ three-pointer. Brown reduced for the Spaniards, but the guests’ standard reached a seven-point difference (36-43) with Butkevicius. Ernangomet with two accurate shots made the score 40-45, which ended the second period.

Usually, guests scored +8 (42-50) with Brazdeikis and +9 (44-53) with Jokubaitis for the first time. With Kuzminskas’ three-pointer, the home team’s typical double-digit difference (47-58) reached about five minutes before the end of the third period.

Scariolo’s team was reduced to 52-58, but Kuzminska cut off the wind from the Spaniards with an accurate three-pointer from 8 meters. Typically, the hosts found a way to close the gap and cut it to 63-66 thanks to a 3-pointer from Rudy Fernandez, while the Lithuanians made it 63-68 in the third period thanks to two sharp shots from Sabonis.

Typical visitors reached 63-70 with Valanciunas at the start of the fourth period. The Spaniards reduced the score to 66-70 with Rudy Fernandez’s 3-pointer, but Maxvitis’ men again found a solution for Sabonis’s 66-74 two-pointer. The typical home team dropped to the point with Hernangomet and Brown.

At 76-77, Sabonis missed to give Brown a chance to tie at 78-78 and the Spaniards made it 80-78 with Lopez with about a minute left in the match. Brazdeikis converted an 80-81 three-pointer before Garuba put the Spanish ahead again (82-81). The Lithuanians had the ball in the last 16 seconds of the game, but Sabonis fouled Diat.

Scariolo’s team made it 83–81 on 1/2 shots from Hernangomet, the Lithuanians equalized in dead time, and then Brazdeikis took the game into overtime. The Spaniards, with five straight points from Brown, were 88-83 at the start of the extra five minutes.

A three-pointer from Kuzminskas put the Lithuanians ahead 88-86. Thanks to a Garuba dunk, Scariolo’s team made it 92–86, with Sabonis cutting the lead with about two minutes left in overtime. Thanks to accurate three-pointers from Brown and Lekavicius, the score was 95-91 in the real derby. Brazdeikis put Lithuania into shooting range (95-94) with another 3-pointer with about a minute left. With 29 seconds left in the game, Brown stole the ball from Brazdeikis, who called it an unsportsmanlike foul later in the same period.

The 32-year-old Wickins Kazan hit both shots 97-94, and in the next leg, Ernangomet made it 100-94 from the basket and a foul, effectively closing the qualifier for Scariolo’s team.

Quarters: 19-20, 40-45, 63-68, 83-83 (q), 102-94

Spain (Scariolo): Brizuela 5 (1), Brown 28 (7/13 2-pointers, 2/7 3-pointers, 8/8 shots, 3 rebounds, 8 assists), Diaz 8 (1), Fernandez 13 (3), Jaime Fernandez, Garuba 8 (8 rebounds, 3 assists), Willy Hernangomet 21 (7/11 2-pointers, 7/9 shots, 8 rebounds, 2 assists), Juancho Hernangomet 13, Lopez-Arostegui 4, Parra, Pradiha 2, Sait

Lithuania (Maksvytis): Brazdeikis 17 (3/6 3s, 7 rebounds, 2 assists), Butkevicius 3, Ehontas, Giedraitis, Grigonis 8 (1/1 2s, 0/2 3s, 6/6 shots), Jokubaitis 13 (1 3s, 6 rebounds, 5 assists), Kuzminskas 18 (4), Lekavicius 15 (3), Sabonis 15 (6/7 2-pointers, 3/4 shots, 9 rebounds), Valanciunas 5