Without any doubts, Lithuania did not live up to everyone’s expectations at the FIBA Eurobasket 2009 thus far. Not only did the team of head coach Ramunas Butautas lose to Turkey, but they also dropped a game versus the underdogs from Poland. Thus, carrying no win over to the qualifying round, Lithuania will be under a lot of pressure in their game versus Serbia on Wednesday at 2:45 p.m. GMT.

Despite missing Darius Songeila from the New Orleans Hornets and sarunas Jasikevicius from Panathinaikos Athens, most experts expected the Lithuanian team to perform well at the Eurobasket and possibly contend for the title. However, the team around NBA veteran Linas Kleiza could barely get a win versus the mediocre Bulgarian to make it to the second group stage. Therefore, Lithuania will have to leave it all on the floor to secure at least two wins in the qualifying round in order to advance to the quarterfinals.

In contrast, Serbia had its up and downs in the tournament but showed a lot more than the audience expected. In fact, they managed to clinch a double-digit win versus the favorites from Spain in their first group game which hardly anyone saw coming. Feeding of their excellent defense, Serbia managed to create a lot of problems for the Spanish stars which ultimately led to a convincing victory. Featuring Oklahoma City Thunder center Nenad Krstic as well as various Euroleague players, the team showed that they are finally able to play team basketball instead of selfish 1-on1 actions that characterized Serbia in the past.

Considering the standings, both teams will be desperate to avoid a loss in the final game of Group F. Who ever loses the match will most likely face elimination and will not qualify for the FIBA World Championship. Given the fact that both teams are fairly even in terms of individual talent and ball movement, this crucial match-up may very well come down to executing under pressure and knocking down clutch shots late in the game.

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