Lithuania upset Angola 77-73 in their last round-robin game of the Stankovic Continental Champions Cup tournament on Sunday to win the title with a 4-1 record on aggregate.
Angola controlled the first three quarters and still led 70-69 with 3:30 left in the game. But the Lithuanians successfully turned the tables towards the end of the game by making a 6-3 run in the last 3 minutes.
In the first half, the Lithuanian shifted from man-to-man to zone defense, but still failed to destroy Angola's stunning give-and-go system and their aggressive fast breaks. Angola led 18-13 after the first quarter and 37-32 after the second. The Lithuanians were 0-of-6 from the arc.
The Angolans increased their superiority in the second half and for the first time led by double figures 3:30 into the third quarter. Lithuania sunk their first 3-pointer with 2:00 left and trailed 52-62 after the third period.
The fourth quarter witnessed two Lithuanian centers on the court. #13 Martynas Andriukaitits came good and scored 6 points to lead Lithuania edge out Angola 77-73.
Martynas Andriukaitis had game-high 22 points and 7 rebounds for Lithuania. Povilas Cukinas scored 16 points. Ginevicius Vidas added 15 and Mindaugas Lukauskis 11.
Aedel Boukar, Carlos Almeida and Eduardo Mingas each had 11 points for Angola.
(China.org.cn by staff reporter Li Xiao, July 31, 2005)
