Getty Slovenia forward Luka Doncic.
The Lithuania and Slovenia men’s basketball teams will play for a spot in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics on Sunday in the final of a qualifying tournament at Zalgiris Arena in Kaunas, Lithuania.
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In the United States, the game (12:30 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on TV anywhere, but anyone in the US can watch Slovenia vs Lithuania live on ESPN+ right here:
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You can also watch on your computer via ESPN.com.
Slovenia vs Lithuania Preview
Slovenia dominated Angola and Poland in group play, winning by a combined 85 points, before besting Venezuela 98-70 in the tournament semifinals on Saturday.
Slovenian forward Luka Doncic, who in June became the youngest player to make two All-NBA first teams, dished 13 assists to lead all participants, adding 23 points and 9 rebounds.
“It would be amazing. It would be a dream to be in the Olympics,” he said, according to The Associated Press. “Not just me, I think the whole federation of Slovenia and the whole country. They really cheer for us and I hope we get to that.”
Center Mike Tobey, a New York native who recently secured a Slovenian passport, scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, both game highs. He shot 11-of-17 from the field.
“He can do a lot and he’s a great defensive guy,” Doncic said of Tobey, per AP. “He’s really helping us down there.”
On the other side of the bracket, Lithuania pounded Poland 88-69 on Saturday. They led by 1 at the midway break, then outscored their foes 16-6 in the third quarter.
“I feel like the first half we came out and we didn’t play our game,” Lithuania big man Domantas Sabonis told reporters after the victory, per a video from FIBA. “We weren’t aggressive on defense, and in the second half I feel like we really got into them and then kind of wore them down and they started missing more shots.”
He added: “Tomorrow’s gonna be a big game. They’re a really good team. I feel like today was a good test for us to come out and play in this kind of environment in the first half just being up by 1. We just gotta carry on what we did on defense in the second half tomorrow.”
Sabonis, a two-time NBA All-Star, paced the victors with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go with 8 rebounds and a pair of assists. Lithuania center Jonas Valanciunas, a nine-year NBA veteran, went 7-of-8 from the floor for 15 points and matched Sabonis for the game high in rebounds.
“As a team we take one game at a time, and tomorrow we’re finally here. Like Coach said, we’re gonna do our best to try and contain him, not let him help the team as much,” Sabonis said of going up against Doncic in the final, per the video from FIBA. “It’s gonna be team defense that’s gonna help us.”