Strange curse as Lithuania beat Team USA

Knock down the mightiest man, especially when it has a historical mystique, it deserves more respect, like this USA, with dangerous side effects.Just linger on a little longer than necessary and the overflowing euphoria will give way to over confidence This does not allow us to deeply analyze reality. Or maybe the pressure dictates the logic: if you beat the best, you should and must do it with anyone.

its paradigm Lithuania. Baltics can’t quite digest the intoxicating effect of victory American team Streaks in the final game of the second period (104-110), the first quarter (12-31) and the remainder (37-54) added color to the victory.

just a few days later, Serbia of Svetislav Pesic Forget the team’s landslide victory Rocas Jokubatis He remained undefeated with a strong correction (68-87) against Team USA in the quarterfinals.Victory over America is still just a reason national pride Against the painful backdrop of leaving the World Cup empty-handed, Lithuania’s impeccable performance somewhat masked an overreliance on the World Cup. triploid, Qualified for the playoffs with a shooting percentage of 60%.

“As you can see now, the game against the United States didn’t make much sense,” he lamented. Tadas Sedekskis

in the collected statement USA TODAY. “It’s just history, we didn’t have a chance to compete for a medal. I can’t guarantee 100% that we will forget it (the victory against the US team)”, the Baskonia player admitted in his self-criticism.

However, this wasn’t the first time a victory over Team USA meant nothing for Lithuania. In fact, the defeat against Serbia cemented a strange curse that the Baltic squad has always had. no medals When it successfully defeated the world’s number one power. Three times he surprised people in the race, and three times he failed to reach the podium.

The first precedent dates back to the 1998 World Cup, when Lithuania beat the United States for the first time Aturas Karnisovas with a young man Sarunas Jasquevicius In his team (22 years old). Karnisovas, fresh out of Barcelona and that season at Olympiakos, scored 28 points in a narrow 84-82 win over the United States in the group stage. However, due to the lockout, the US team missed the appearance of NBA players.

The third time is the charm of the Lithuanian team, they did not choose to play against Michael Jordan in the olympic semifinals Barcelona 1992 (127-76) even if Sarunas Machuronis He scored 20 points against “Air” and 21 against GOAT. But Europe lost to Russia (82-67) in the quarterfinals and left the World Cup with no regrets.

Lithuania’s next feat against the US will be at Athens 2004 Olympic GamesJasikvicius became a Barcelona player. This time he replaced Kanisovas and led the team’s rhythm.Salas has put on a real show 2000 Sydney Olympic Games

Although he failed in his last three-peat, he scored 27 points that would have given his country a semi-final win (85-83).

Still, as a purebred contender, the point guard got the job done this time around and told the story 28 points It helped Lithuania surprise the United States (94-90) in the group stage. Jasikvicius, then a member of Maccabi Tel Aviv, led Barca to their long-awaited inaugural Europa League title. Year 2003.

This accident eventually led to Spain After leading Group A and finishing fourth in Group B, they must play the United States in the quarterfinals. However, Lithuania was defeated by Italy (91-100) in the semi-finals, and fortunes were capricious. , had to face the US team in the duel bronze led the team to victory larry brown (104-96).

While Lithuania was eager to recapture the bronze medal at Sydney 2000, Team USA sniffed at the medal, and today they don’t even want to remember it in the US – always forced to win – even to some Said it was a trauma, Tim Duncan pulled out of the U.S. team After that, the disgraceful team did not abide by the national team rules: Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Shawn Marion… Lithuania also boasts other legends such as Arvidas Macioskas and Ramunas Siskoskas.

And, nearly 20 years later, the current Lithuanian generation couldn’t avenge their predecessors as they beat the U.S. team for the third time in Lithuanian history to a lesser-known team than back then with only one NBA player — Joe nas. Valanciunas-, and no Domantas Sabonis

.another azulgrana like Rocas Jokubatis He impressed his NBA future with nine points, six assists, three rebounds and a steal, even earning praise from stars like Jalen Brunson. Another lazy victory in the league.win america Bad omen for Lithuania.