Forward Mihkel Kirves, an Estonian team member who plays in Lithuania for X, noted before the second leg that the hosts were eager for payback after losing last year. “They want revenge for last February, so it will definitely be a tough game,” Kirves said pre-match.

Point guard Kristian Kullamäe stressed that despite this, the Estonian team was still fully focused. “As our head coach has said — we want to win this group,” Kullamäe told ERR. “And honestly, looking at this Lithuanian roster — why not go for the win? It would be amazing if we in Estonia could say we topped the group.”

Estonia had already secured a spot in the EuroBasket finals, and so the game against Lithuania was crucial for determining the Group H winner, but overall qualification was not at stake. Both teams had a record of four wins and one loss going into the final group encounter. Estonia’s sole loss came against Poland, while Lithuania, as noted, was beaten only by Estonia, by a margin of six points.

Estonia couldn’t rely on its U.S.-based players this time, but still had a versatile roster. Coach Heiko Rannula made some changes, replacing Janari Jõesaar, Siim-Markus Post, and Kregor Hermet with Hugo Toom and Joonas Riismaa.

On the day, Estonia struggled early, falling behind by 12 points. Though they reduced the gap by the end of the first quarter, Lithuania’s shooting continued to dominate. At halftime, Estonia was down 60-43 despite shooting 60 percent.

The team responded in the third quarter with a 7-0 run to close the difference to three points. However, in the final quarter, Estonia lost momentum and allowed Lithuania to take revenge for their earlier loss in Tallinn, winning 82-75 this time. Estonia hit 11 of 26 three-pointers. Maik-Kalev Kotsar led Estonia with 16 points and six rebounds.

Thus, Lithuania topped Group H with 11 points, while Estonia finished second with 10. North Macedonia secured third place after defeating Poland 88-74. The EuroBasket finals begin on August 27, with the Estonian basketball association (Eesti korvpalliliit) partnering with its Latvian counterpart to play its tournament games in Riga.

—

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!