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The 19th FIBA World Cup is entering its business stage and the first of the quarterfinals sees two old European foes face each other. The unbeaten so far Lithuanians take on the spirited Serbians in what promises to be a hotly contested match for the right to play in the semis. Below we give you some predictions for the game, as well as all the latest team news and live-streaming information.
- Date & Time: Tuesday, September 05, 2023, 01:00 p.m. GMT
- Venue: Mall of Asia Arena – Manila, Philippines
Lithuania vs Serbia basketball predictions
Contents
With both teams playing very fast basketball the excitement is guaranteed. Here are our Lithuania vs Serbia basketball predictions.
Prediction 1: Jonas Valanciunas under 14.5 points @ 17/20 (1.85)
The Lithuanian star centre Jonas Valanciunas is the team’s top scorer so far this World Cup. However, this means he’s averaging only 13.6 points per game as the Lithuanians like to distribute the scoring evenly. Valanciunas has yet to score more than 15 points in a match during this tournament.
Now he will be up against one of the best centres in Europe, Serbia’s Nikola Milutinov, and Valanciunas will find scoring even harder. Considering all that we don’t think that he will score more than 14 points in this match.
Prediction 2: Serbia over 82.5 total points @3/5 (1.60)
Our second Lithuania vs Serbia prediction looks at Serbia’s chances to score at least 83 total points in this match. The Serbians did that in 4 of their 5 games so far this World Cup. They failed to do it only against Italy in what is their only defeat too.
The Serbs can score in multiple ways and we back them to go above this points spread. Will that be enough is another matter.
Lithuania vs Serbia preview – which centre will dominate?
Now let’s look at the latest Lithuania vs Serbia team news.
Lithuania news, injuries, and starting lineups
Lithuania have been very impressive in every game so far this World Cup. They won all of their 3 matches from the first group stage by 20 points or more and hardly looked in trouble. With contributions coming from everywhere, having at least 4 players in double digits in every match played, the Lithuanians have looked smooth.
Lithuania beat Egypt 93-67, then humiliated Mexico 96-66 and in their final match of the group in a direct battle for the top spot they left no doubts when easily cruising past Montenegro 91-71.
Lithuania then booked their place in the quarterfinals with an easy 92-67 win over Greece. Once more their defence was suffocating.
The Lithuanians then went on to beat the big favourites Team USA 110-104 and are one of only two teams to reach the quarterfinals undefeated. The players are now dreaming of a repeat of the 2010 bronze medal run, or even better.
Lithuania injury report:
- N/A
Lithuania starting lineup:
J. Valanciunas, M. Kuzminskas, R. Jokubaitis, T. Sedekerskis, M. Normantas
Serbia news, injuries, and starting lineups
Serbia arrived at the World Cup without their biggest star, the most recent NBA champion and finals MVP Nikola Jokic. In addition to Jokic, Vasilije Micic, Vladimir Lucic, and Nikola Kalinic also mark significant absentees for this Serbian team, but despite all this, Serbia is still a team that can go far in this tournament.
After all, the ever-present Bogdan Bogdanovic is once again leading the team, this time as a captain. Serbia also has a few more quality players, especially Nikola Milutinov and young Heat forward Nikola Jovic. Serbia romped through an easy group with 3 consecutive wins. However, in their first serious test, the Serbs failed and lost 76-78 vs Italy.
They avoided disaster though and with a decisive 112-79 win vs the Dominican Republic reached the quarterfinals of a World Cup for the fourth consecutive time. Back in 2014, they played in the final. The Serbs had six players in double digits in this last match and they showed that when they play like a unit they can beat almost anyone.
Serbia injury report:
- Borisa Simanic (out of the tournament)
Serbia starting lineup:
S. Jovic, B. Bogdanovic, O. Dobric, N. Jovic, N. Milutinov
Lithuania vs Serbia where to watch on TV/live stream
If you live in the UK, all FIBA World Cup matches are available on FIBA’s streaming service Courtside 1891. Meanwhile, in the United States, the World Cup is shown on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
Serbian fans can watch the game on Sport Klub and RTS, while Italians can see their team on DAZN and Rai2.
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