Australia vs. Lithuania - Rio Olympics quarterfinals (Photo : Getty Images)
The battle between hoops powerhouses Australia and Lithuania will open the quarterfinal stages of the men's basketball tournament in Rio Olympics. With the tourney entering the knockout format, expect these teams to put everything on the line in what will surely be another classic encounter at the Carioca Arena in Brazil.
What's at stake?
Australia: The Aussies have made themselves serious threats to Team USA after pushing the highly-favored Americans to the limit in their group stages match to the point that analysts are already picking them the likely gold-medal foe for Team USA.
Unfortunately, the road to the championship game is as hard, if not harder, than beating Team USA. Their quarterfinal match-up proves just that as they are going to face a team that dominated their first three preliminary opponents (Argentina, Nigeria and Brazil) before collapsing to Spain and Croatia.
A spot in the semifinal is on the line in this particular match, but for the Aussies advancing to the final four means a lot more to them. They are seeking to end a 16-year absence in Olympic semifinal and at the same time, move one win away towards clinching their first ever medal in Olympic men's basketball.
Lithuania: As for the perennial European power, punching their way to the semis will keep them on target of ending their 16-year absence in men's basketball medal podium. The last time Lithuania earned a medal in an Olympic games was in Sydney almost two decades ago when they earned a bronze.
Projected Starting Lineup & Predictions:
Australia: Andrew Bogut / Aron Bynes / Joe Ingles / Patty Mills / Matthew Dellevedova
Key Players to Watch: Mills is bound to erupt in this game. The Aussie's leading scorer is averaging 16.4 points through the first five games. He will get key contributions from Dellevadova (8 assists per game) and Bogut (1.4 blocks per game) in a very highly-physical showdown on Wednesday.
Lithuania: Jonas Valanciunas / Paulius Jankūnas / Jonas Mačiulis / Renaldas Seibutis / Mantas Kalnietis
Key Players to watch: All eyes will be on Valanciunas to put up big numbers in this match, but playmaker Kalnietis could become the key factor in Lithuania in this match. Kalnietis has been the most impressive player on that Lithuania roster, averaging 19.2 points and 8.0 assists per game in the tourney.
Predictions: As mentioned earlier, Lithuania has been playing exception basketball until they got exposed by Spain and Croatia. In this particular ballgame, I see Australia capitalizing on the same weakness by attacking the basket and challenging their three-point defense - which is by far Lithuania's biggest loophole in the tourney. Australia grinding out a single-digit win to advance into the semis.
