During the quarterfinals of EuroBasket this week, Greece punched their ticket to a semifinal matchup against Turkey after defeating Denver Nuggets big man Jonas Valanciunas and Lithuania.
Jonas Valanciunas led the way for Lithuania in the loss with 24 points and 15 rebounds, and after the game he spoke about the EuroBasket matchup and how tough Greece was overall, as per FIBA.
“Tonight was a battle. Both teams battled until the end. They were stronger. They were better than us. I was just happy we fought until the end, no matter what. It was a good fight,” Valanciunas said.
Valanciunas was the only NBA player on Lithuania’s EuroBasket roster, although they did have Azuolas Tubelis who was in 2023-24 training camp with the Philadelphia 76ers. On the other hand, it was Greece’s NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo who powered his team into the semifinals for the first time since 2009.
Antetokounmpo poured in a game-high 29 points, six rebounds, two assists, four steals and one blocked shot in 32 minutes. He was accompanied by his brothers Kostas, and Thanasis who recently re-signed with the Milwaukee Bucks after injury recovery.
Now that Lithuania has been eliminated from EuroBasket, Valanciunas can prepare for the upcoming NBA season with the Nuggets. The Nuggets acquired the veteran big man in an offseason trade, and he will play for the team this upcoming year after speculation that he wanted to return overseas.
This past season, Valanciunas split time between the Washington Wizards and Sacramento Kings. He appeared in a total of 81 games, including 21 starts, at a little over 18 minutes per game. He averaged 10.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists with splits of 55 percent shooting from the field, 21.6 percent shooting from the three-point line and 87.9 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
The Nuggets’ acquisition of Valanciunas was one of the better moves of the offseason as the team looks to strengthen their roster and get back to being a title contender.
