STOCKHOLM, 16 September 2003 — Lithuania claimed their first European basketball championship in 64 years after beating Spain 93-84 in the final on Sunday. Underdogs Italy grabbed the last European qualifying spot at next year’s Olympics by finishing third with an upset 69-67 victory over France in the bronze match earlier in the day.
The top three teams at the event qualify for Athens. Serbia and Montenegro (world champions) and Greece (hosts), who both lost in the quarterfinals, automatically qualify. Lithuania, European champions in 1937 and 1939, took control of the contest in the second quarter when they clinched a 40-31 lead.
They extended their advantage to 62-48 in the third quarter before sealing the win. An impressive Pau Gasol turned in a superb performance with 36 points and 12 rebounds for Spain but could not make up for the overall strength difference between the two teams.
Sarunas Jasikevicius, the Barcelona guard who was voted the tournament’s most valuable player, added: “I’m ecstatic...in time we will realize what we have done but it hasn’t sunk in yet.
“Our fans really helped us. They suffered in 2001 (at the European championship) when we had to return home early. It feels good to give this gold to Lithuanian basketball. Few expected Italy to finish in the qualifying positions after they struggled in the preliminary round, winning one game, and then only beat Germany 86-84 to reach the quarterfinals.
The loss will come as a huge disappointment for France, who were not only one of the favorites for the European title, but also the Sydney Olympics silver medalists.
France had outclassed Italy 85-52 when they faced each other at the group stage, but it was a different story on Sunday.
Led by Dennis Marconato (16 points) and Giacomo Galanda (15), Italy held a 39-27 lead at halftime before being pegged back by France.
But San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker, France’s top scorer with 24 points, missed his two-point shot in the final seconds that would have sent the match into overtime.
FIBA Approves New
Qualification System
Basketball’s ruling body FIBA announced Sunday that it approved a new system for qualifying for the 2005 European Championships in Belgrade.
The new system includes two divisions of teams and three qualification campaigns, including one just days before the start of the competition in the Serbia & Montenegro capital.
The five European teams at next year’s Olympics world champions Serbia & Montenegro, hosts Greece, 2003 European champions Lithuania, Spain and Italy are in the highest classification, Division One, and qualify automatically for the Sept. 23-Oct. 2 tournament in Belgrade.
