Follow the match live from 6:30 p.m. on the Lrytas portal.

With 15 minutes left until the start of the match, the organizers played Marijonas Mikutavičius'"Tris Milijonus". Soon, the lyrics of the song were chanted by Lithuanian fans scattered throughout the arena, and later the Lithuanian anthem sounded beautifully.

It seems that this lifted our basketball players as well. Arnas Velička treated the opponents to three three-pointers in the first half, and the Latvians held their heads and watched as Rimas Kurtinaitis' team led by a double-digit margin after the first quarter, 28:18.

In the second quarter, the Latvians managed to reduce the Lithuanian lead to 2 points (36:34), but after another amazing stretch, our team, who dominated behind the baskets, regained a double-digit advantage before the long break, 47:37.

In the quarterfinals, the winners will meet either Greece or Israel.

Before the championship, the teams met in a friendly match, which took place at the same Xiaomi Arena in Riga. Then, after overtime, R. Kurtinaitis's team won 109:105.

In the group stage, the Latvians defeated the Portuguese, Czechs, and Estonians, but lost to the Serbian and Turkish teams.

Lithuanian basketball players defeated Great Britain, Montenegro, Finland and Sweden, and suffered their only defeat to the world champions, Germany.

"They shoot 36 three-pointers per game. How we will defend them is a question of strategy. I won't tell you this, but we'll see how it goes tomorrow. You'll see everything," Rimas Kurtinaitis said before the game.

"Lithuania has good defenders who will try to make things difficult for me. Of course, they will play on the edge of fouls, so I have to be ready. And as a team we have to be ready. It will be a tough game. Just stopping Jonas will be a challenge for us. You also have other guys who are always tough. Tough defenders," Latvian leader K. Porzingis told Lithuanian media.