Click below the break to follow with BiE!

Pregame. BiE’s starting to think that the live blog concept is outdated, but this won’t stop BiE today, anyway. Yeah, sure, i’ll throw out some tweets from @BiE_basketball.

National anthem time … will it go off without a hitch?

Well, it seemed to go okay…

First quarter. 9.38: McKenzie hits the first points of the game. Georgia, 3-0.

6.50: Georgia is just chucking up the threes since … unforunately, they’re only 1-of-3. Finland, 6-5.

5.07: Kopponen winds down the 24-second clock, then slashes through the lane and dumps it to Saus Salin for the three. Finland, 9-5. Not exactly a barnburner here…

3.51: McKenzie won’t stop jacking ‘em up! For three! Finland, 9-8.

3.22: Marcus Haynes ties it up from the line … those anti-naturalization folks must hate Georgia. 9-9.

2.43: Finland retakes the lead and Georgia turns it over in a hurry. Commentators note that “If Georgia has one weakness, it’s turnovers.” If? They’ve been giving up 19 per game in this tournament.

2.06: Georgia’s moving the ball around nicely, especially outside on the perimeter, but just not hitting anything.

0.56: Another three missed by Georgia, and after a missed FT, they get the lay-in.

0.24: Finland kills much clock thanks to an offensive rebound, Gerald Lee with the layup and the and-one.

0.17: More Finland. Another damning stat for Georgia: They’re just 3-of-8 from the FT line. Koivisto hits two FTs.

0.00: At the end of one, it’s Finland 22-13.

Second quarter. Georgia is just 4-of-14 from the field, divided into equal 2-of-7s from two and three.

9.38: Salin and Gerald Lee commit two quick fouls on one Georgia possession … no matter.

8.56: McKenzie hits a long one for Georgia, followed by a Finland TO.

8.43: Shermandini blows past Lee for two. Finland, 22-17.

8.19: Gerald Lee fouls, Georgia blows right back with Markoishvilli. 22-19.

7.53: And Gerald Lee with his third foul of the quarter!

7.25: Koponen playing pitch-and-catch with every man on the floor … no result.

7.09: Nice fake and the dunk by Kotti! 24-21, Finland.

6.59: Koponen kicks it out to Koivisto for three. 27-23, Finland.

5.43: Shermanidi with the dunk and the and-one. No more three-point shooting, Georgia? Must be Lee on the bench…Shermanidi hits the FT. Georgia down by just one.

5.15: Korvisto for three again … Finland’s six longball of the game.

3.54: Missed threes by Korvisto and Koponen, but two offensive rebounds.

3.05: Shengelia drives the baseline for the 30-30 tie!

2.38: Haynes can’t hit, but Shengelia with the board … Haynes can’t hit a second try, either.

2.02: Shengelia draws a foul then gives one on the other end.

1.38: Makkailen for his first points gives Finland a four-point lead.

0.25: Georgia ball, down by two. Markoishvili draws the tripping foul. Georgia just 7-of-13 on FTs after missing one.

0.02: Georgia can’t do anything with its last possession, leaving 2.7 seconds (or maybe 3.3; they’re arguing it over with the replay technology) on the clock for Finland.

0.02?: Or maybe 3.7, they’re saying now…

0.00: Insane. Desperation three may have been goaltended by Shengalia; more debating among refs…nope, won’t count. Finland up, 36-33, going the entire quarter without a free throw.

Third quarter. 9.28: Nice drive by Koponen. Finland has four in a row, Georgia is 0-of-6 on the last six attempts.

9.06: Koponen again to the rim but BLOCKED.

8.06: Tskitishvili draws the foul after nicely rebounding the wild three at the 24-second buzzer. Hits both. 42-37, Finland.

6.38: Shermadini and Lee back for their respective sides. 46-37, Finland, after another three. Cold be pulling away, with Georgia hitting nothing.

5.40: Haynes wide open for the three, stops the Finland run.

5.20: Markoshvilli goes over two defenders to feed Tskitishvili underneath. Georgia had a good timeout…

3.49: Swapped baskets. 50-46 to Finland.

3.03: After not one shooting foul incurred in the second Q, Finland has had seemingly an unending series of walks to the FT line in the third. Finland, 56-48.

2.30: Kovisti for the three! Eleven point lead is Finland’s biggest. 59-48.

1.29: Markoshivilli for three, ugh. That didn’t work before, Georgia … Kotti with the defensive rebound.

0.22: Koponen blocked by Shengalia — that’s one thing Georgia can do, even without Pachulia…

0.00: Finland clearly won that quarter, eh? Finland up, 61-52, after 13 free throws taken that quarter.

Fourth quarter. Finland up in rebounds, 30-26? That shouldn’t really happen, should it?

9.44: Koponen to Muurinen for three. Eleven points for Muurinen now, nine in the second half. 64-52 to Finland … and it’s looking like this plucky side will stay alive, though they still need a Slovenia loss as well…

7.54: Huff beats three much larger Georgians for the offensive board and the follow. 69-56 to Finland.

7.33: “Plenty of time for Georgia,” says a FIBA announcer, which may mean the opposite.

7.11: Huff now with 10 after a nice jump shot made. 71-59, Finland.

6.51: Salin burns on the fast break as Finland extends the lead to 14.

6.05: Yeesh, Haynes travels instead of finishing the fast break. The proverbial nothing is going Georgia’s way…

5.49: Desperation timeout for Georgia here? Meanwhile, we’re reminded of just how much play the hosts want to get out of their official EuroBasket anthem song. No one will ever want to hear this again, come October.

5.11: Koponen for another three. Finland now a ridiculous 12-of-24 on threes here.

4.58: Shermadini fouls Koponen and thus fouls out. Finland, 77-61, after another foul to Kotti. Hark, the fat lady is warming up in the wings.

3.56: Haynes turns it over, Finland off to the races, but can’t finish.

3.30: On the other end, Georgia with the fast break get a four-footer from Tskitishvili, who draws the foul from Lee. Lee fouls out. 77-64, Finland.

2.25: Koponen reenters with his guys up 11. Five Finns are in double-figure scoring: Koponen, Huff, Muurinen, Koivisto and Kotti, each with between 10 and 12.

2.20: Now Tskitishvili fouls out, taking his 10-point, five-rebound, four-assist line with him…

1.39: Sanikidze misses one of two from the line — figures. 81-69 to Finland, who’s killing clock like never before … can they just crawl it up the court?

0.28: Ah, the Beckettsque existential angst of the basketball End Game: foul, foul, foul, with the trailing team never catching the leader … and then twin fastbreaks make it 84-73.

0.00: And your final score is 87-73 after another Koivisto three — also figures.

Right, so one more time: Finland now awaits the outcome of the FYR Macedonia-Slovenia game tonight; for this serious underdog to live another day, Slovenia must lose.

Having had problems all along with the corpulent tournament field of 24 for this EuroBasket tournament, BiE has mixed feelings about a Finland advancement. While it’s always nice to see the plucky upstart get far (that’s the secret of March Madness, innit?), something just doesn’t sit right in allowing a team that goes 3-4 to advance. On the other hand, they’ll merely be meeting a guillotine, either French- or Spanish-flavored on Wednesday. On the other other hand, Koponen and the boys are 3-0 in potential elimination games in this tournament … allow BiE’s stay in fantasy land for a few more seconds; after all, much of Helsinki probably still is at this very moment…

The key question is, “Who or what can stop Spain?” This team has looked unstoppable through four games, dominating Lithuania last night with 63 points in the first half. Turkey has looked a bit sluggish in its last two and with a loss would bring an 0-2 record to start Group E play. Who wins this battle of NBA- and Euroleague-stocked teams? Read below the break and follow the game with BallinEurope’s live blogging. Enjoy the game!

Pregame. For Spain, Serge Ibaka gets the start in place of Pau, along with Marc Gasol, Jose Calderon, Juan Carlos Navarro and Rudy Fernandez. Turkey sticks with its usual lineup of Omer Onan, Kerem Tunceri, Ersan Ilyasova, Hedo Turkoglu and Omer Asik.

First quarter. 9.25: Really fast play on the first possession by Spain. The strategy must be to tucker out Turkey. Bet it works.

8.44: Fernandez with the first points of the game. Spain, 2-0.

8.15: Asik misses the easy dunk … a bad sign early?

7.46: Asik takes it underneath, going against Marc and Ibaka, draws the shooting foul. And misses both FTs!

7.14: Hedo dribbles around past the double-team, steps back, hits. Spain, 5-2.

6.42: Ilyasova adds the jumper. 5-4.

5.53: Onan with the floater from the baseline … but Ibaka answers on the other end with a 10-footer. Spain now up, 9-6.

5.11: Enes Kanter in the game for Turkey.

5.00: Marc with the step back and fadeaway. How can that be stopped? Already with seven, with Spain up 11-6.

4.06: Kanter not looking too good early, witih one miss and one PF.

3.33: Marc beats Kanter for a second time on the rebound. It seems like last night Jonas Valanciunas played The Brothers better than Kanter thus far. 11-8 to Spain.

2.12: And Marc shows up Kanter again, pushing past him in the lane for an easy two. 13-10.

1.47: Wow, Fernandez with the steal, the breakaway, the dunk. 15-10 to Spain.

1.12: Calderon hits and, of the starters, only Navarro has yet to score. Fernando San Emeterio’s in for him. Spain up, 17-10.

0.08: Hedo controls the ball for 24 seconds, misses at the buzzer.

0.00: The fast pace of this one — stop BiE if you’ve heard it before — is favoring Spain. 19-10 lead at the end of one.

Second quarter. Tunceri finds Emir Preldzic in the corner for three … and on the breakaway, it’s Preldzic again. 19-15 to Spain.

8.52: Navarro wide open beyond the arc, swishes it. 22-15, Spain.

8.29: Ilyasova back in for Kanter. Still no Pau out there for Spain.

8.03: Spain on the break, leads to a Navarro layup. 24-15 to Spain. Pulling away? Now Ibaka back in, Marc out and a Gasol-less Spain hasn’t been seen since they were blowing out Great Britain.

7.24: Preldzic again! Drives for the two, gets the foul, makes the and-one. Spain up, 24-21.

6.29: Felipe Reyes and Ricky Rubio getting lots of quality time tonight … Reyes hits his first two in the lane. 26-21 to Spain.

6.01: Asik beats Ibaka at the rim. 26-23, Spain.

5.36: Rudy’s three gives him seven for the game.

5.03: Marc Gasol back in the game for Spain. Asik makes 1 of 2 FTs. Spain, 29-24.

3.17: Turkey drives and redrives the lane. Spain, 31-26.

2.53: Timeout called by Spain after the ultra-aggressive Preldzic draws another foul. Spain up, 31-26, and Pau’s still leaving the warmup jacket on.

2.29: Kanter back in, takes the feed for the dunk. Spain up, 31-28.

2.07: …but then racks up his third PF and is out. Navarro responds with a nice jumper. 33-28 to Spain.

1.40: Turkoglu again controls the ball for Turkey, but hits this time. He’s 3-of-5 for six points.

1.24: At the line, Navarro sinks both. Spain, 35-30. Navarro has nine, all in this quarter.

1.03: Turkoglu taking charge yet again, drives and draws the foul on Fernandez. His FT makes it 35-33 to Spain.

0.23: Asik with the dunk and Turkey is tied for the first time in the game (well, since 0-0)! 35-all.

0.02: Spain coolly moves the ball around, finds Calderon for the long three. 38-35 to Spain.

0.00: And that’s the way it stays after 20 minutes: 38-35, Spain up.

Third quarter. 6.37: Apologies for the delay. Ibaka’s been drawing a buncha fouls and Spain is up, 45-40. Ibaka now with nine.

5.05: Marc with a nice three at the buzzer. God knows what he was doing out there, but Spain’s thankful he was … and alone.

4.39: Asik at the line again, hits both to get Spain within six. 48-42. He immediately comes out for Kanter.

4.20: Preldzic hits on a 15-footer. 48-44 to Spain. Emir has a big 18.

4.02: Ibaka can’t connect above the rim, and Ender Arslan makes Spain pay with a three. 48-47, Spain.

3.39: Reyes makes two FTs to end the 7-0 Turkey run.

3.13: Turkey recovers after the Turkoglu miss for a fresh possession, but Arslan throws it away … maybe looking for Kanter…?

2.54: Turkey cannot close the gap as Preldzic misses on a rushed jumper … Turkey gets a break with the Ibaka offensive foul.

1.34: Gasol stops Kanter again on the baseline, Turkey turns it over, and it culminates in Onan’s foul on Fernandez on the break. Fernandez hits both, Spain up 54-47.

0.10: Ilyasova with the two off the rebound.

0.02.6: Taking their time, Spain gets it to Reyes in the lane, who gives up the body, knocked to the floor. Makes one of two.

0.0: Spain widened the gap again, and it’s 55-49 with 10 minutes left.

Fourth quarter. 9.08: Turkey has two wide-open shots on two possessions, but can’t convert either. Instead, Asik fouls Marc.

7.03: It feels like Spain keeps wanting to pull away, but Turkey just won’t quite let ‘em. It’s 57-49 now and Turkey’s a bit cold, down to 40% shooting.

6.44: Asik misses 1 of 2 FTs; he’s just 4-of-8 from the ‘stripe today. 57-50, Spain.

5.56: Then Asik with the big slam! Somebody look through the blog and see if he does that every time he misses a FT. It seems like it.

5.35: Back down the floor, Arslan banks one home and gets the and-one. Makes it. 57-55 to Spain.

5.14: Here’s Asik again … makes both that time to tie it at 57.

4.50: Turkoglu misses the opportunity to take the lead with the rushed shot.

4.27: O, Ibaka with the “unsportsmanlike foul” trying to prevent the Asik jam. He mauled him sure.

3.42: Wow, Onan for three gives Turkey the lead at 60-57!

2.57: Turkey on an 11-0 run and now force the 24-second violation.

2.10: And now Spain forces the TO as Turkoglu loses the handle.

1.11: Rubio misses the wide-open three. Ouch.

0.52: Fernandez misses both FTs! Game over?

0.31: Hedo with a three and the Turks flood the court. They sense it!

0.00: Wow, nice 16-0 run to close the game. BiE guesses we have to take Turkey seriously again. Although no Pau Gasol for Spain…

While Britain needs an outrageous 58-point margin of victory today (not to mention a Turkey loss later as well) to advance into the next round of the tourney, Poland merely needs a W. BiE thinks they’re good for it. But don’t take this word for it; follow along with BallinEurope live blogging from Panevezys below the break. Enjoy!

Pregame. Luol Deng is the high-scorer in this tourney, by the way, at 23.8 per game. Tony Parker’s at 23.0, Dirk Nowitzki at 22.8, Andrea Bargnani at 22.0, and Pau Gasol’s at 21.8.

First quarter. Two trips down the floor, no points for either side at first.

8.59: Thomas Kelati puts Poland on the board first. 2-0.

8.41: Joel Freeland answers.

8.05: Deng with the smooth 18-footer puts Britain up, 4-2. That 48-point win may not be forthcoming, but early on, Poland better start concentrating a bit … they could lose here, after all…

7.12: Bad TO by Koszarek, but it comes to nought for Britain, despite the offensive board and reset clock.

6.25: Freeland burns his man again on the easy layup. 8-2, Britain. Time for Poland to wake up, here.

6.02: It may be BiE, but Britain does seem revitalized by that first win.

5.38: Daniel Clark with the rebound and the follow. You know, Poland’s not the biggest team in the world, but they should be outrebounded Britain … Instead, GB’s up in the category, 9-3, including four offensive boards.

4.45: Deng sinks two FTs; Britain up, 12-4, and iti feels like more.

3.58: Finally, Poland sinks something. Kelati on a three. Poland’s just 3-of-9 shooting in the game; incredible from a side that hit 57% last night and has five guys averaging 10 or more in this tournament.

3.10: Kelati has two PFs early, but coach Ales Pipan decides to leave him in the game. Why not? At 2-of-2, he’s the “hot hand” for Poland.

2.55: Mike Lenzly, who fouled out in the Portugal win, gets his first, and now Kelati leaves the floor. Poland has snuck back into the game at 12-10, Britain.

2.15: And Pawel Leonczyk ties it up with a shot just inside the arc.

1.56: Britain answers, but last night’s hero Dardan Berisha draws the PF from Nate Reinking. Poland’s first lead at 15-14.

1.12: Deng at the line again for Britain … even if his guys don’t win, Deng will punish the Poles physically in this one … Britain lead, 16-15.

0.26: Poland almost loses control on the fast break, but Koszarek reins in the errant pass for the score.

0.00: Britain is now up, 18-17. Poland, who surely along with the rest us didn’t figure they’d be playing for anything other than the proverbial pride, will now experience pressure.

Second quarter. The stats say the teams are a combined 1-of-9 on threes, with Kelati’s the sole success. Yikes.

9.33: Nice pass from Archibald outside to Freeland inside for the jam. 20-17, Britain.

9.03: There’s Kelati. He’s the man for Poland, BiE telsl ya. 20-19, Britain.

8.16: Lenzly tries to drive the lane, but Szewcyk’s having none of it. RE-JECTED!

8.00: Nice reverse layup by Berisha. There’s the speed.

7.42: And Lenzly redeems himself with a three. Some good back-and-forth here; both teams shifted gears, it seems. A much faster paced game suddenly.

6.11: Ouch. Kelati tries to face down Lenzly and gets called for a carry. Not good. 27-25, Britain.

5.32: Daniel Clark gets the steal, tries to bring the ball upcourt, proves the old axiom “Big guys can’t ball-handle.” TO!

4.39: Wow, Ogo Adegboye really has a turbo boost. Skibniewski, outmatched and knowing he can’t keep up, fouls … Freeland finishes the possession with an easy two. Britain, 29-25.

3.27: The first really sweet ball movement from Poland produces nothing on the Piotr Pamula miss. Clark answers beating two Poles on the tip-in, gets the and-one. Hits. Britain up, 32-26, the biggest lead since two minutes into the game.

2.48: Ogo is allowed the lane, easily connects. Now 34-26, Britain. What is wrong with Poland? Aside from the fact that they’re getting crushed in the rebound battle at 21-11.

2.19: Wow, Poland, 24-second clock violation. Guess their advancement isn’t a done deal, either…

1.29: Kelati fakes past three Brits and finds Koszarek in the opposite corner for the two. Nice.

1.05: Deng answers with the score underneath and draws the foul. Misses, though. 36-29 to Britain.

0.38: Deng again, now with 12. 39-31 to Britain.

0.00: Poland cannot convert on the last possession and whoa, things don’t look great for the upstarts. 39-31 to Britain.

Third quarter. 8:47: Ah, now Poland is playing with energy. A fastbreak ends in a Koszarek three plus a foul. 42-37, Britain. This will be a key four minutes or so for Poland, BiE thinks.

8.33: Not if Freeland has anything to say about it. 44-37, Britain.

7.53: Deng turns it over on the three-seconds call. But Poland can’t answer as Kelati misses the three and they’re out of position for the rebound. Britain up in boards, 29-12!

7.14: The lesson for Poland, as always: Deng is unstoppable. Now 15 for him. Britain up, 46-37.

6.40: …unless he airballs, that is.

6.23: Nice feed to Szewcyzk, who’s wide open in the lane. 46-41, Poland … and then Kelati drives it in to cut it to three.

5.31: Kelati throws it away and Deng lays it in. 17 for the Bull now.

5.13: Archibald goes down in the lane but is nevertheless called for the foul. Again, Poland is outboarded. Szewczyk loses his cool at the other end and fouls Archibald, who hits 1 of 2. 49-43 to Britain.

4.26: Poland gets the T called their way; Archibald is punished, Szewczyk makes 1 of 2. Poland ball and let’s see if this turns this their way like yesterday … there it is! Hrycaniuk inside, hits, gets the and-one, hits. 49-47 to Britain.

3.29: Deng’s pull-up jumper takes it back to a four-point Britain lead.

3.07: Deng chases down the board. That’s the double-double for him already, with 19 and 10. Britain up, 51-47.

2.36: Guess what, Deng again in the paint. 53-48 to Britain.

2.19: First offensive rebound of the game (!) for Poland turns into a two. 53-50 to Britain.

1.38: Working the ball inside to Koszarek gets the foul call aaaaaand … another T, this one on Lenzly. Poland has gotten more flagrants and technicals called their way in this tournament than anyone. FOUR shots sunk by Koszarek AND Poland ball. This will turn things around. 54-53 to Poland.

0.30: Ooooh! Koszarek with the longball at the 24-second buzzer. Poland up, 56-53. BiE doesn’t want to say the refereeing helps, but…

0.05: Deng sinks two FTs. Now at 23 and 11.

0.00: Foul called at the end of the period on Szewczyk, but Poland remains up 56-55.

Fourth quarter. 9.23: Freeland again outrebounds several Poland players, sends it down. Then Freeland hits the two, gets the foul call.

8.44: Freeland again. Five points in the quarter for him.

8.32: Kelati responds with a three. Britain up, 62-61.

7.45: Deng follows his own miss. 64-61 to Britain.

7.04: Back-and-forth game is back … trading buckets here … but not that time; Hrycaniuk misses and again Poland is out of position for the rebound underneath. Britain now up in that stat, 40-18!

6.25: Now there’s a good board, Hrycaniuk! Snags it, hits the two, hacked by Clark, hits the FT. 69-66, Britain.

5.55: Kelati hits two FTs; Britain up by three.

3.31: Yeesh. On the three-on-one break, Poland throws it away. Poland up, 75-74, but Lenzly to the line on the other end. Hits one, tied up.

3.22: Poland throws it away again!

3.03: Yep, Freeland with the goaltend. 77-75 to Poland. Meanwhile, Israel is being outscored 18-0 in the fourth quarter by Italy…

2.09: Nice alley-oop from Deng to Freeland. These guys are doing it all, with a double-double apiece, plus five assists by Deng. First round MVP…?

1.51: Key possession by Poland and they turn it over. Deng for two more on the other end. Turkey is happy right now … 82-79 to Britain, British ball.

1.04: oh, oh, oh! Freeland with a three from the corner! 85-79 to Britain. Two in a row?

0.37: As my Lithuanian compadre says, “How did Turkey lose to this team?”

0.30: Deng gets one more FT for good measure. 28 for him.

0.00: Well, can we call this normalcy restored, sort of? Suddenly, Turkey has impetus to beat Spain … if anyone can. Of course, with a Turkish loss, Poland still goes through to the next round. Weird. Stay tuned.

Get ready for a wild one, and follow the BallinEurope live blogging below the break. Enjoy!

Pregame. O yes, Arvydas Sabonis is in the house, sitting alongside various politicos and Lithuanian bigwigs.

Much has been made of this crowd, but geez, if the opposition has Pau and Marc Gasol on the same floor in a European game, you could put 55,000 in here and it might not make a difference…

First quarter. 9.35: Marc touches the ball twice and defers against a smaller defender, seeking to get the outside game going early. Calderon for two.

8.46: Nice give-and-go in the lane. Javtokas to Jankunas. 2-2.

8.02: “LIETUVA! LIETUVA! LIETUVA!”

7.47: Jankunas again in the paint; apparently, Lithuania won’t be intimidated by the Gasol Towers. Tied at 5.

7.02: Both teams are mostly staying away from contact in the middle; logical, since both sides are definitely preferring a wide-open floor and FAST game in this tournament. (Of course, that’s how Spain always plays…)

6.30: Javtokas put in his first two, but Navarro hits the three from the corner. Lithuania’s let him take that shot twice already. Spain, 9-7.

5.29: Marc just shovel it in from the lane.

5.14: Bad turnover for Lithuania … and Pau makes them pay with the alley-oop from Rudy Fernandez.

4.47: The old leader Saras checks in with Spain up 13-7. Lithuania now has the four team fouls.

4.19: Spain is simply feeling no pressure thus far. Marc with the between the legs backward pass to Fernandez to Navarro, who draws the foul. Hits both FTs to make it 15-7. Unflappably.

4.03: Marc with his first board sends Spain off to the races and Navarro pulls up for another two. He’s got eight now, the game’s top scorer. Jankunas is stuck at five for Lithuania, who’re down, 18-7. Timeout called by Lietuva.

3.49: Songaila with the foul gives the ball back to Spain again. Sergio Llull checks in. (already? Weird.)

3.22: A steal by Calderon starts a half-court sprint, ending with the hack of Marc. He sinks both for a big 22-7 lead for Spain.

2.38: Nothing is falling for Lithuania; they’re just 3-of-9 from the floor early.

2.27: Saras with the nice feed to Valanciunas, who flips over Llull in the key; makes only 1 of 2 FTs.

2.11: SWEET rejection by Valanciunas on Marc. And here BiE was thinking the Gasols would eat him alive … as if to further disprove BiE’s doubts, he knocks down the 10-footer on the next trip down the floor.

1.37: 24-10 start by Spain … can they give up that many points? WHOA — technical given to Lithuania’s assistant coach, who is pushed back into his seat by head coach Kemzura. And the cry (in English) from the crowd is “F*** YOU, REFEREE!” 28-10 after Navarro hits both FTs.

1.01: Valanciunas again in the lane for two over Marc. He’s tied for the high Lithuanian scorer now with 5.

0.00: Navarro runs out the clock on the last possession, but can’t convert. Spain up, 31-12, and this is quite a challenge for Lithuania to come back to, home court or no. Spain is 9-of-18 plus 9-of-10 from the ‘stripe. Lithuania just 5-of-12 and 1-of-2, respectively. Navarro has 15 already.

Second quarter. 9.44: Lithuania changing it up a bit, with Pocius, Jasaitis, Valanciunas, Lavrinovic and Jasikevicius in …

9.15: Marc open on the wing? Hits!

8.59: And now Felipe Reyes on the breakaway following the Llull steal. 35-12 to Spain.

8.26: Another different look from Lithuania, with Kaukenas, Kalnietis, Pocius, Songaila and Valanciunas. No matter, it’s Pau with the layup after another breakaway plus the and-one. Spain up a big 37-12.

8.14: Pau’s FT makes it a 10-0 run, following a first-quarter run of 16-0. This is why they’re the champs.

7.53: Valanciunas fakes Marc, goes over Reyes, hits a two. 38-16 to Spain.

6.54: Nice ball movement — Rubio to Reyes to Llull for the three!

6.06: Valanciunas about to go strong to the hole, but Fernandez is no dummy, pinning his hands to disallow the easy two (and the crowd explosion, no doubt). Valanciunas hits ‘em both. Spain up, 43-21.

5.48: Rubio is looking like his old Nashian self, flying across the floor and wildly dishing to the open man; this time, it’s Calderon for three. 46-21 to Spain.

5.08: And Calderon for another three! He’s got 12. Who had him outscoring both Gasols in this game combined? (He’s winning, 12-11.)

2.52: Spain just has too many weapons … Lithuania can’t be everywhere. When Rudy’s routinely hitting 20-plus-foot jumpers on top of everything else, well … Spain up, 54-28.

2.08: Pau to Ibaka, exploiting the major height difference over their defenders. Spain’s doubled ‘em up, 56-28.

1.40: Pocius gives up the body to draw the hard foul off Ibaka after the driving two. Sinks it. 56-31.

1.14: Jankunas wakes up, gets the roll and the and-one. BiE is reminded that, last year, Litihuania was down by 18 to Spain with about seven minutes left and they came back. Of course, that Team Lithuania had Linas Kleiza…

0.42: Javtokas brinig it to within 23.

0.27: Now Pau for three? Sick.

0.00: Spain up, 62-36. Who’d'a thunk? Keys: Spain has just two turnovers against Lietuva’s nine (though the homers have gone six minutes without a TO at all) and is winning in points off turnovers, 17-3. Spain has 16 assists against Lithuania’s nine. Fast break points, 10-0! Zero steals for Lithuania … that can’t happen if Spain’s shooting 57%

Third quarter. Five quick points by Spain increase the lead even further at 67-36.

8.47: Just the third TO by Spain gives the ball back to the homers, but even the Lithuanian crowd sounds tired. Pocius’ jumper may help there, at least psychologically. 67-39, Spain.

7.17: Still no answers for Marc Gasol, who throws in a reverse layup.

7.08: Lithuania is coming out hot, with three of the last three, but Pau answers again. 72-44.

6.20: And Navarro open in the corner again? Folks, he’s got 18…

5.51: Both sides are 4-of-6 to start the quarter.

5.19: Pau heating up, with seven in the first five minutes of this Q already…Spain, 74-46, matching the biggest lead of the game for them.

4.35: Kaukenas with an enlivening three (maybe?) … 74-49.

4.06: Finally, some fast break points for Lietuva … it’s Kaukenas again, for his fourth point in the quarter.

4.02: Bad foul by Saras on Rubio as the speedier guy brings the ball up.

3.22: First break for Lithuania tonight? Ibaka misses the first FT. But Spain still way up, 75-53.

2.59: Jasaitis for two. “Just” 20 points away now…75-55 to Spain.

2.13: Llull stops the mini-run with a breakaway and gets fouled. Hits both FTs for a 22-point advantage.

1.38: Thus far, Lithuania has shaved six points off the lead, thanks to 9-of-13 shooting, but geez, they need a lot more. Navarro hits 1 of 2 FTs. 78-57 to Spain.

0.23: No way, Navarro in that same corner spot *again* for three. 81-59. Spain now at 22 assists and just four TOs. If there’s better basketball than this, BiE can’t readily think of it.

Fourth quarter. Ladies and gentlemen, Arvydas Sabonis has left the building. Really.

9.01: Jasaitis brings it back to 20 and this crowd just won’t give up on the miracle.

7.40: Another unfortunate turnover for Lithuania brings the ball back Spain’s way.

7.16: Kalnietis answers in the lane. 83-64 to Spain.

6.51: Ibaka gets the ball tipped to him and he jams it down. 85-64 to Spain. Sergio Scariolo is still taking the Lithuanian threat seriously, only now subbing out Pau for … Marc, of course.

6.06: Marc and Lavrinovic mix it up going for the rebound and the ref calls them together for an odd double warning. Spain, 87-64.

3.16: Valanciunas has been a rare bright spot for Lithuania tonight, now with 11 points (but four PFs) to his credit and generally great play against the Gasol Brothers. Could this be his breakout game? Spain up, 89-68. Lithuania’s still trying to make things respectable, but not even this is going to plan.

2.04: With the lead reduced to 19, Spain calls timeout. Ye gods, this better be about substitution.

1.49: Lavrinovic for two and he ominously hobbles a bit up the floor. Spain, 89-73.

1.25: Ibaka with another tip-in. 91-73.

0.00: Okay, Spain will unabashedly be considered favorites in this thing now…final score, 91-79.

Pregame. News from other areas of EuroBasket. By nipping Finland, 72-70, FYR Macedonia has clinched a spot in the next round. Stunningly, all they need is a win over Bosnia & Herzegovina tomorrow to take first place in Group C along with bringing forward a 2-0 record. Georgia is also in Group F, thanks to their 69-53 win over Ukraine. In fact, all six teams are just about locked into the next group, with these two teams joining Russia and Slovenia; Croatia and Greece each need one more win, but face each other in game five.

First quarter. 9.50: Wow, Poland wins the tip and scores the first bucket; this marks perhaps the last time they won’t regret Marcin Gortat’s absence today.

7.07: Could Turkey be nervous? Omer Asik just racked up his second foul, they’re 0-of-2 shooting and tied 2-2. On the plus side, Enes Kanter just entered the game.

6.45: Now 4-2 to Poland! An upset in the making? (Yes, that was a joke.)

5.35: Wow, Koszarek made Ilyasova look bad under the hoop there; the Turk left his feet and got snuck past easily.

5.07: Turkey tries a new look, with Cenk Akyol and Ender Arslan now in.

4.49: Koszarek is just gonna keep trying to drive the lane; he threw that one away, though.

4.11: Apologies, BiE’s earlier note about advancing teams gets one addendum: Germany needs one more win or Italy one loss for Dirk’s guys to advance, or else Italy gets in with two more wins. Germany gets Serbia tonight, by no means an easy game at all.

3.05: Kanter hits two FTs to narrow the gap to 11-9 … hold the phone, it’s Szewczyk with a baseline jumper to make it 13-9.

2.27: Whoa, another one. 15-9 to Poland and how nervous are Turkey’s fans right now? Their fans are notably quiet up there…

2.17: Turkoglu may have gotten away with the travel in the lane there … instead he knocks down the two and draws the foul. But misses the and-one. 15-11, Poland.

1.41: Hrycaniuk with the nice move from four feet out and gets the foul from the just-in Oguz Savas. Misses the FT, though. 17-11, Poland.

0.50: Foul on Kanter looks like a bit of a makeup call for an equally dubious offensive foul by Hrycaniuk.

0.16: Slowing things down — the way Turkey wants it — gets Emir Preldzic to the line. Makes one of two. Poland up 17-14.

0.00: Poland wins the first quarter by that score.

Second quarter. The key stat is points in the paint: Poland 12, Turkey 4. That simply shouldn’t be happening. Coach Orhun Ene blamed the loss to Lithuania on poor defense and damn, the Turkey D is porous today…

8.58: Ouch, backcourt violation as Dardan Berisha loses the handle.

8.36: Kanter gives Turkey its first lead from underneath, 18-17.

8.14: But the three-pointer from Hrycaniuk takes it back at 20-18…

7.58: Wow, Arslan gets a T … again, is this a sign of panic? Then outboarded and Poland follows with a two. Didn’t Turkey have the lead? They don’t now, down 23-18.

7.29: “POL-SKA! POL-SKA! POL-SKA!”

7.14: Asik and Preldzic return for Turkey.

6.58: Ilyasova knocks down the far-off jumper. 23-20, Poland.

5.59: Everything is so hard for Turkey right now; the opposite is true for Poland, as Berisha hits a nice three. 26-22 to Poland.

5.21: The Turkey fans are suddenly enlivened. Not sure why…

5.03: …but that helps. Turkoglu with the 20-footer and it’s 26-25 to Poland. Maybe they should go back to that weird jumpshot-first strategy they’ve had going in the first quarter of the previous games after all…

4.36: Poland comes out of the TO with Skibniewski hitting the three. Ilyasova answers. 29-28, Poland.

3.37: And Skibniewski again for three! Those are the first two of the game for Poland, which is now just 2-of-8 from long range; yet they still lead by four.

2.50: Turkoglu works Thomas Kelati and finally gets the blocking call after three bumps. Makes 1 of 2 FTs.

2.37: The steal and coast-to-coast by Kerem Tunceri again brings Turkey back to within one, 32-31. As Bill Walton might say, “Turkey doesn’t seem to be playing with any URGENCY.”

1.43: A combined 19 turnovers thus far.

1.33: And another: Asik with the travel! Ouch.

1.15: It’s not like Poland’s hitting a lot of threes, but every one seems like a killer. That’s one by Kelati.

0.42: After a bucket, Turkey does not get back on defense. Leoncyk makes them pay. 37-34 to Poland.

0.03: Inexplicable foul by Tunceri, who stops the driving Koszarek, though Kanter was coming into good position for the block. Wow, Turkey does not seem to be up for this game at all … to use a cliche, perhaps they’re thinking ahead to the next game (against Spain).

0.00: Nice! Hrycaniuk makes the late substitute Izzet Turkyilmaz look bad, basically walking past for a layup at the buzzer. Poland closes the half up, 39-35, and Turkey will surely be scratching heads at halftime.

Halftime. Let’s see, what do the stats say…? Poland is shooting a nice 57% (16-of-28), including 6-of-12 on threes, against Turkey’s 42% (11-of-26). Poland has just three FT attempts versus Turkey’s 14, while Turkey’s outrebounding, 16-11. Somehow, Polska will have to keep the hot hand … do they wish they could’ve just passed on a halftime break altogether?

Third quarter. Wow, Turkey still looking sloppy. Hrycaniuk was left wide open for the three — in and out.

7.52: But then the steal and Asik throws down the alley-oop. Poland up, 43-40.

7.14: Ah, Onan with the three. That might be the momentum shifter. And Poland calls a very necessary TO. Tied up at 43.

6.55: And Hrycaniuk gets his third personal foul, but Turkey makes nothing of the opportunity…

6.05: Asik with another slam. 45-43 to Turkey for their first lead since the brief while in the second quarter.

5.47: No matter, Berisha with the two and the and-one drawn against Turkoglu. Sinks the FT for a 46-45 Poland lead.

5.17: NICE steal and fast break closed by Onan. 47-46 to Turkey.

4.45: Kanter dances past Adam Lapeta in the lane, gets the and-one, makes the FT. 50-46 to Poland now.

4.16: Now Turkey’s playing a surprisingly fast game again. Turkoglu to the line and makes both. 52-48, but Kelati answers. 52-50.

3.57: Just running the floor back and forth is working for Turkey. Kanter at the line, makes both. Turkey is 16-of-19 from the FT line, against just 2-of-4 for Poland. That’ll be the difference, BiE thinks.

3.13: Kanter with the nice full-court pass to Onan for the lay-in. 56-50 to Turkey.

1.40: Kanter adds another two plus one for a 59-53 Turkey lead; the tide has definitely turned.

0.50: Poland is having serious troubles against Turkey’s big men on defense. A desperate hacking foul by Szewczyk sends Savas to the line and he hits both. 60-53 to Turkey.

0.10: Savas again underneath, 62-55.

0.03: O, and Savas gets T’ed up. This will change things; is a three- or four-point swing imminent?

0.00: At the buzzer, coach Ene is T’ed up, plus Arslan’s foul on the three-point attempt by Szewczyk. Incredible. Guess they get the swing after all. Turkey barely holds the lead, 62-61.

0.00: Not exactly sure what happens now … should Poland get two more FTs, plus the ball? Refs are debating it now…

Fourth quarter. 10.00: Poland does get two more FTs and the ball, but they give up the turnover and Arslan lays it in on the fast break. 64-63 to Turkey but without the weird mini-self-destruction, it wouldn’t be this close…

9.11: Turkoglu coolly hits the 15-footer. This should be where experience wins out…

8.53: Asik’s fourth foul in 14 minutes of court tiime siends Hrycaniuk to the line; he hits both.

8.18: Turkoglu is finally demonstrating some alpha-dog skills, hitting another for a 68-64 Turkey lead.

7.04: Kanter called on the three-second violation … but it comes to naught, with Berisha rushing a bad three attempt.

5.13: Poland just has no answer in the paint, relying on the personal foul. Kanter nails one of two FTs for his 17th point; he’s the leading scorer for Turkey with Berisha having a like 17 for Poland.

4.24: Szewczyk hits a two, celebrates a bit too much with Poland down, 75-71.

3.51: Another technical on Turkey?!?!??! (Or “unsportsmanlike foul.”) Kelati hits one of two.

3.30: And Koszarek ties it with the three…

3.16: …however, the hacks underneath continue for Poland. Ilyasova at the line. His first points of the second half make it 77-75. Meanwhile, France may have bounced Italy, up by five with 20 seconds remaining.

2.20: Ilyasova follows the Asik miss … and Hryanciuk answers again. 79-77, Turkey.

1.42: Turkoglu at the 24-second buzzer makes it 81-77.

1.05: Turkey is killing clock, but then throw it away! Piotr Pamula (really) hits a three on the breakaway for an unbelievable 82-81 lead.

0.31: Tunceri finds Kanter underneath, but guess what. Foul. The young guy demonstrates sangfroid in hitting both, the second after a lane violation.

0.12: Berisha shakes and bakes Tunceri at the top of the key and hits the shot, giving Poland an 84-83 lead. Crazy. He’s also the game-high scorer with 21.

0.00: Wow. The upset! Tunceri misses!

0.00: Final score, 84-83, and again BiE is happy to be proven wrong, in this case vis-a-vis the predicted lack of upsets in this tournament. Poland isn’t quite assured of advancing to the next round, but all they need is a win against Great Britain while Turkey needs a Polish loss plus a win over Spain … awesome stuff. We’ll be back for what BiE thought was the marquee game of the day in Panevezys. Ah, heck, it probably still is, really. But what an upset! EuroBasket rules!

Pregame. Despite the 0-3 marks compiled by both teams, no pessimism or lack of enthusiasm is apparent in either side as they warmup to a remix of De La Soul’s “Ring Ring Ring.” This could actually be some fun…

There’s no way FIBA can report 1,000 in attendance for this game. Once again, Lithuania supporters appear to have both teams’ fans outnumbered, though it’s nice to see the British contingent already vocally behind their lads already.

First quarter. What do you suppose the over/under on Luol Deng’s point total is today…? BiE’s going with 27.

9.28: Nate Reinking fouls. This much is certain: With so few viable scorers, Britain cannot afford for this guy to be leaving the game early.

7.36: Deng with the first points of the game … finally. Maybe not so much fun.

7.23: Wow, Ogo Adegboye already with two PFs.

7.17: The perpetual cry from the British fans: “Hus-TLE! Hus-TLE! Dee-FENSE! Dee-FENSE!”

6.06: First crazy stat: Portugal just got off their first shot yet. And it’s a brick.

5.40: Portugal finally hits. 6-2 to Britain.

4.26: Deng 6, everybody else 6. Britain up, 8-4.

3.42: Clever remark by Lithuanian journalist: “Britain’s basically playing one-on-zero, because the only player that matters is Deng.” (Well, that’s not very kind.) Meanwhile, Miguel Minhaya hits two FTs to get Portugal within one: 10-9, Britain.

3.04: Deng drives the lane, hits, gets the and-one foul off Joao Santos. And makes the FT. 13-9 to Britain. And now the chant is “HUS-tle! DEE-fense! DEE-fense! HUS-tle!”

2.29: Shooting stats: Deng, 4-for-6; all others combined, 4-for-20.

1.39: From a British fan: “C’mon guys, energy!” Hey, they’re trying…

1.11: Nice charge drawn in the lane by Mike Lenzly. British ball, and they’re up by 3, 14-11.

0.39: After hitting two FTs, Miguel Minhava is leading scorer for Portugal with four points — all from the line. 14-13 to Britain.

0.05: Yeesh. Lefty Robert Archibald tries the full-court football pass and throws it out of bounds.

0.01.4: It’s Minhava at the line again for three this time, makes the trio to tie it at 16. That makes sense, really. 13 of the game’s 32 points have been from the charity stripe.

0.00: Ah, we’ve been waiting for this … no, not the first-quarter buzzer, but rather those excellent Lithuanian dancers.

Second quarter. Deng brings the ball up from the halfcourt, works it all the way into the key, feeds Freeland, who makes the two but misses the semi-obligatory (in this game) FT.

9.31: Good news/bad news. Devon van Oostrum’s in for GB; unfortunately, he gets on the stat sheet first with a PF. Minhava sinks ‘em both again. He’s got 10 — all from the line. (Really.)

9.03: Deng hits the little two-footer and the FT. Britain up, 21-19.

8.38: Britain forces the 24-second clock violation. Guess they husTLED on deFENSE that time.

8.23: And another Portugal foul. A combined 18 in the game thus far. Slow, slow, slow.

8.16: Now 19.

7.42: Deng with the tip-in. Sudden thought: How much would Chicago Bulls fans hate FIBA tournaments if Deng goes down in this one? (Assuming there’s an NBA at all in 2011-12, that is…)

6.49: Smooth three-pointer from sharpshooter Reinking. There’s actually some flow happening now … 29-22 to Britain.

5.56: Wow, Deng is unstoppable. Drives the lane, goes (waaaay) over Carlos Andrade, misses, tips in his own shot. 19 for him already.

5.33: Eric Boateng commits the foul; he’s the eighth Brit with a PF.

5.19: With Britain on a 7-2 run (hey, that’s big in this one), Portugal calls timeout. Britain up, 33-24.

4.22: O, the alley-oop from Ogo to Deng! 21 for the big guy as Britain goes up 35-27.

3.46: The 11th Portuguese PF is recorded by Elvis Evora. What’s amazing is that Deng has only gone to the line twice, especially since he’s been either constantly in the paint or driving into it. Britain, 37-28.

2.39: Deng with the brilliant assist from the top of the arc to Lenzly in the corner. Lenzly knocks down the three and draws the foul, knocked to the floor. Hits to make it 44-30 and Britain’s biggest lead of the game.

2.04: Andrade hits two FTs; he’s now high for Portugal with 12 and has become admirable in overcoming Dengophobia. Britain, 44-32.

0.03: Naturally, on the last Portugal possession, Filipe da Silva … draws a foul. And hits both FTs. 44-34 to Britain … and they call timeout? Perhaps the pace is too quick…

0.00: At half, it’s Britain 44-34. The good news is that we might be seeing history in the making with Britain poised to take first-ever win no. 1. Deng’s line: 9-of-15 overall shooting for 21 points plus six boards and three assists. The 27-point over is toast.

Third quarter. Deng has 21 points right now. The current high for the tournament is Andrea Bargnani with 36 against Latvia. Latvia had also given up 31 to Tony Parker in game one.

3.26: Whoa, only the second PF this quarter. It’s on Evora. Archibald hits both FTs to make it 54-41 to Britain … ever closer to that W…

2.30: Now 56-41 to Britain. Anyone feeling mean enough to jinx ‘em?

0.05: Deng, incredibly is still scoreless in this quarter. He’s 0-for-2.

0.00: Minhava hits the layup from the baseline at the buzzer to limit the British lead to 59-45.

Fourth quarter. 9.40: Here it comes … can Britain seal the deal? They’ve had trouble closing out games, but geez, it’s 14 now. 59-45.

8.33: Miranda, typically Portugal’s go-to guy, has been cold. He just hits his second; he’s 2-of-10 today.

6.37: Britain up, 68-53, and o boy, they can taste it like a pint…

5.13: Portugal won’t give up yet. Andrade with the two and the and-one. Hits the FT to make it 68-59. Will Britain really have trouble closing *this one* out? And why has Deng only taken one shot this quarter? He needs a steady diet of passes going his way.

4.16: Uh oh, now 68-61…

3.44: Wow, coach Mario Palma gets T’ed up. If that’s not a break for Britain, BiE don’t know what is…

3.24: There’s Deng! To the hole! 74-61. And now the players are mixing it up a bit. Lenzly gets a T for his fifth foul. Archibald also gets the technical. If that’s not a bad break for Britain, BiE don’t know what is…

2.43: Kyle Johnson is the go-to guy for Britain? He’s got seven points, all in the fourth.

2.14: Deng adds two more; he’s got 27 and Britain’s up 79-67. History, man…

1.13: Deng is gonna seal this one … two more for him as he goes for the 30. 81-69 to Britain; so close…

0.07: “Good foul,” says my Lithuanian compadre, “now i can watch [Latvia-Israel] on FIBA TV.”

0.00: Deng hits his 30th and 31st! Britain wins! God save the queen!

Since win-loss records against advancing teams are held into the next round of pool play, the result of this game will determine seeding into the Eighth-Finals elimination tournament, the winner of this one will surely gain a psychological edge vis-a-vis its upcoming faceoff against Spain. Confidence is at stake for the winner tonight, whereas the loser may be forced to play desperation ball against the defending champs so as to avoid bringing an 0-2 mark into Group E.

But hey, enough with the talking. Within an hour, we’ll be tipping off a marquee matchup here in Panevezys — and here at the BallinEurope live blog starting at 8pm CET (2pm EST). Click below the break to follow; it should be a dandy.

Pregame. Starting lineups are as follows. Turkey: Omer Onan, Kerem Tunceri, Ersan Ilyasova, Hedo Turkoglu, Omer Asik. Lithuania: Rimantas Kaukenas, Mantas Kalnietis, Paulius Jankunas, Simas Jasaitis, Robertas Javtokas.

To say the Lithuanian crowd is up for this game is the understatement of the century. The 5,500 in attendance here sound like 30,000 … on three or four Red Bulls apiece.

First quarter. 9.45: Turkey wins the tip … first points are Ilyasova’s.

7.57: Turkey makes it clear early that they want possession of the paint when on defense, but are happy on offense to take the jumper from the wing … Turkey, 4-2.

7.20: No problem, says Kaukenas with the three to make it 5-4.

6.16: Fearlessly Jankunas gets to the paint, draws the foul off the bucket. 8-4, Lithuania.

5.41: In general, Turkey is playing too timid on the offense and Asik is dropping defensive boards … do they need the indomitable Kanter in there…? Could he be the guy?

4.44: Kalnietis for three, as Turkey refuses to send anyone outside, it seems. Lithuania, 11-6. Turkey once again starting at a slow pace …

3.48: Jankunas vs. Ilyasova is a serious big man battle; they bumping bodies ferociously until Ilyasova draws the offensive foul. Lithuania, 11-8.

3.17: Ilyasova from way outside. Why? Who cares? 11-11.

2.35: Nice inbound to the just-in Songalia. And Ilyasova again answers from outside. 13-13.

1.33: Asik shows his strength in both meanings of the word. Two-handed power jam for a 16-15 Turkey lead. And BiE’s boy Enes Kanter is in the game.

0.50: Kanter beaten on his first board attempt and Pocius finishes the fast break for Lithuania. 17-16 Lietuva up and already five lead changes.

0.32: Enes makes one of two FTs to tie it up at 17.

0.00: Jankunas gets the roll on the last possession of the quarter for a 19-17 Lithuania lead. This one’s a real cliffhanger that thus far looks to go down to the last shot. Lithuania continues its good shooting, though not as blistering as last night — they’re 8-of-14. Ilyasova is 4-of-6 for 10 points for Turkey already…

Second quarter. 9.40: Kanter on Songaila and boy is it obvious the former NBAer wants to show up the youngster, calling for the ball constantly. Instead, Pocius is fed on the wing for the two. Lithuania, 21-17.

Third quarter. Let’s see what the coaches have conjured up. Turkey cannot rely on the jumpshot and Turkoglu must facilitate. Lithuania must keep the floor open…

8.32: Kanter muffs two picks and Ilyasova misses the shot at the 24-second buzzer.

7.41: ooooooh, gorgeous alley oop from Saras to Javtokas! Turkey, 37-35.

6.58: Nice D by Lithuania, not letting the guards find anyone underneath. 24 second clock expires.

6.16: After five lead changes in the first, Lithuania has not been able to close the gap since early in the second…

5.31: Ilyasova still having his way on the baseline. Another easy two gives him 14 for the game thus far, the only player on either side in double figures. Turkoglu is back in the game; BiE’ll see if he can be effective after an unimpressive first half.

4.41: Asik commits his third foul … Turkey seems content to foul should any Lithuanian enter the paint, taking the Green and Gold out of their rhythm.

4.28: A 6-1 Turkey run has Kemzura calling timeout. Lithuania has yet to open the floor at all this quarter. Zero fast-break points and zero fast-break opportunities for them.

4.17: Now it’s Pocius fouled in the lane … he converts one of two FTs and Songaila puts back the second. 45-42 to Turkey.

3.53: Preldzic answers. 47-42.

3.12: Now seven PFs for Turkey in seven minutes of this quarter…

2.46: Hedo with the ugly jumper — airball. Lithuania ball.

2.13: Jasaitis, the sudden secret weapon, with the 18-footer. Tied up at 47.

1.50: Hedo’s first two points from the floor on a lay-in gives the lead back to Turkey at 49-47.

1.15: Javtokas ties it…

0.54: Ill-advised shot from Tunceri gives the ball back to Lietuva, but they squander an opportunity with the bad pass out of bounds.

0.23: No matter, Pocius on the break after the steal for the first Lithuania lead in 17 minutes…

0.00: …and they take it into the fourth: 51-49.

Fourth quarter. Lithuania starts things with Petravicius underneath … up by four.

9.12: Ilyasova draws the over-the-back foul … Turkey must go to him. They must.

8.16: Now it’s Jasaitis with the two and one. Lithuania up.

7.06: Turkey takes the lead back, again forcing the Lithuanians to play in the half-court. 58-56 … And Saras takes it back again with a three. 59-58. Four lead changes in the fourth quarter…

5.58: Player down … Tunceri goes out of the game. Was it a ploy to stop the Lithuania rhythm? The crowd’s hoots seem to imply 5,400-plus here think so.

5.17: Good aggression by Turkoglu there, driving to the hole and getting the foul on the attempted layup. Two FTs successful and another lead change. Turkey up, 60-59.

4.39: Arslan’s speedy drive to the hoop is no good, but Asik again draws a foul. Asik is around 45% career FT shooting in FIBA tournaments and hits one of two. Turkey, 61-59.

3.45: Kalnietis’ jumper makes it the sixth lead change in the fourth quarter. Lithuania, 63-61.

3.25: Preldzic forces the drive! Tie at 63.

3.03: And Preldzic draws the foul; two FTs made and a seventh lead change. 65-63, Turkey.

2.49: Putback by Songaila. Tied.

2.16: Onan parts the Green sea straight up the middle … Kalnietis responds. Insanity. Tied at 67.

1.18: Finds the shot coolly … it’s Kaukenas for the eighth lead change of the fourth. Lithuania, 69-67.

1.03: At Preldzic misses the second of two FTs on the flagrant foul … Turkey down by 1.

0.40: Songaila drives, draws the foul. Key FTs here … makes the first … makes the second! 71-68 to the home team!

0.23: Ouch. COSTLY backcourt violation as Preldzic boots the ball! Lithuania ball, up by two.

0.15: Desperation foul by Onan on Jasikevicius … makes the first … makes the second. Turkey timeout, but damn they’ll need a miracle in the middle of this rock concert-level noise.

0.07: What? Going for the three with Arslan? The Turk misses badly and that was probably the last gasp. Jasaitis adds two more FTs … Lithuania up, 75-68, and the dancers are mirrored by the jumping crowd. Awesome stuff.

0.00: Now *that* was basketball.

Follow along with BallinEurope’s live blogging (if you dare) below the break. BiE would say “enjoy the game,” but if you’re watching this one, you must be a basketball fanatic or supporter and thus you’ll be assured to.

Pregame. Well, Portugal wins the togetherness battle, with arms around one another while Poland merely stood single file during the national anthem. Plus, these teams must be 1-2 in Group A in tattoos.

The sole other game going on right now: Latvia vs. Italy in Siauliai.

A few Polska fans are here, but BiE can comfortably report that the Lithuanian fans outnumber the Portugal backers … is anyone cheering this team on?

First quarter. 9.23: Inauspicious start: first play result is a travel.

9.06: First points scored by Lukasz Koszarek with a three for Poland. 3-0.

6.17: There’s a reason the entries are so sparse so early here: The teams are a combined 3-of-12 already. Portugal up (for the first time in this EuroBasket?), 5-3.

4.20: Santos hits one. The teams are now a combined 4-of-17. (And it ain’t the defense.) Anybody still think we need 24 teams in this tournament? Portugal up, 7-3.

3.33: Portugal’s Filipe da Silva misses both FTs. Sheesh.

3.00: And Leonczyk ties it up for Poland … at 7.

2.41: Let the bizarre stats begin: Total PFs in the game, 7. Total field goals made, 6. Poland up, 8-7.

2.05: Poor Poland. One of their bona fide studs, Adam Hrycaniuk already — already! — has three fouls. Ugly. Portugal up, 9-8.

0.00: File this under “BiE blogs this so you don’t have to.” After one, it’s 13-10 to Portugal. 8-of-27 combined shooting. Koszarek leads all scorers with a big 5.

Second quarter. 6.49: No, BiE’s not really falling asleep … it’s 17-17 and the best thing that can be said is that the referees are letting everyone play through much contact…

6.07: Wow, Dardan Berisha launches himself over the back of a defender and hits the floor. Good one. Portugal, 18-17.

5.47: Poland finally takes the lead on a Koszarek three. 20-18.

4.26: But a 5-0 run gives the lead back to the “underdogs.” Portugal up, 23-20.

4.17: Miguel Miranda hits for Portugal for a five-point lead, the game’s biggest…25-20.

2.44: Portugal is starting to open things up now! It’s 29-21 and they’re red hot, up to 44% overall shooting.

1.05: Berisha with a nice-looking jumper there … Poland now “up” to 9-of-27 shooting. Portugal up, 34-29.

0.00: And, at the half, it’s Portugal 36, Poland 29. Hello? Anyone? Hellllooooooooo?

Third quarter. This game perhaps illustrates better than any other the havoc wreaked by the NBA lockout/player insurance mess. It’s not that Poland is a bad team per se, but with Marcin Gortat, the side would certainly be a lot more competitive than they’ve shown thus far — even without injured Euroleaguer Maciej Lampe. To think that a viable program is struggling against a Portugal, the last team to qualify for the tournament and reaching these heights by dint of beating mighty Hungary (not even ranked among FIBA’s top 75 men’s programs) twice, is disturbing at best. Talk about torpedoed by business…

Meanwhile, Poland is cruising on a 13-0 run and should put things away before too long. Polska up, 42-36.

0.00: Geez, Portugal suddenly ties things up at the buzzer with a circus three-pointer from Jose Costa. 49-49.

Fourth quarter. 7.50: Now, finally, things get interesting. Teams trading buckets and Poland’s holding a 54-51 lead.

6.37: Costa’s two FTs tie it up again at 56-56.

5.35: Hrycaniuk’s back in the game and establishes himself as Poland’s go-to guy. Miranda is likewise for Portugal and they trade scores. 62-61, Poland.

2.36: Hrycaniuk hits two FTs to make it 73-65. Can we say it’s over yet…?

1.15: Costa again for three … 73-71 and o god, is overtime inevitable?

0.43: Maybe not. Elvis Evora fouls Thomas Kelati … and then Kelati misses 1 of 2. Conspiracy?

0.31: Costa rushes the shot and misses. Can one apply a dagger to his own team? Unfortunate for the almost-hero of this match.

0.17: Kelati may have sealed this with two more FTs. Poland, 76-71.

0.13: Hrycaniuk picks off a badly telegraphed pass from Costa and the free-throw shooting contest has begun.

0.00: Final score, 81-73, after a what-the-hell three from Koszarek at the buzzer. Yaaaay! Polska! Polska! Polska!

Join the live blogging here, just below the break. Enjoy the game!

First quarter. 9.32: Pau starts the scoring and on the first possession, Great Britain really resembles the Dallas Mavericks — wooden statues of the Dallas Mavericks — as Rudy Fernandez runs rings ’round ‘em.

6.34: Question from Lithuanian journalist next to me: Which will be the bigger blowout, Spain-Britain or Serbia-Israel? Right now, it’s Spain up 4-2 and … what?!?!? Israel *up* 7-1? Wow, moral victory there.

6.30: The only ones who can beat Spain are Spain? Maybe so — they’re 2-of-8 on shooting early.

5.38: Rudy Fernandez with the reverse layup after a sweet block of Luol Deng by Marc Gasol. Heating up? It’s Spain, 9-2. (And Israel now up 11-10. So much for *that* upset.)

4.38: Fernandez slams it home on the fast break … would you believe Rudy leads all scorers with 7? That’s with the score 11-2…

4.14: Luol Deng hits the three, again having to do so much for Team Britain. No one misses Ben Gordon more…

2.54: They’ve even got Deng taking the ball out. Spain up, 13-7.

2.13: Few enough people are in attendance that all can easily hear the three dozen British fans counting down the shot clock, “Five … four … three,” and let BiE tell ya, they’re counting it down on nearly every Britain possession. 15-7 to Spain.

1.31: Deng with a FT. He’s got four points and four boards with the score 15-8.

0.05: Rubio does a nice job killing some clock, drives the lane, draws a triple team, dishes to Pau for the easy two. 19-14 to Spain.

0.02: Deng with another two on FTs. Now six and four for him on just 1-of-3 shooting as Spain focuses on this one-man team.

Second quarter. Pau and Fernandez accounted for 15 of Spain’s 19 first-quarter points. Deng and Daniel Clark accounted for 11 of Britain’s 16.

Elsewhere, Israel is still up on Serbia in the second quarter, 27-25. Now that would be a massive upset, but BiE’s not believing again … meanwhile, Britain is down just 19-18. Whoa.

8.35: Rubio with the nice steal, but can’t convert. Clark just put Britain up, 21-19. Crazy.

6.52: Marc hits the side of the backboard on a shot from the baseline. Spain is c-c-c-cold, just 9-of-24 now. Tie game at 21. Sorry, now 9-of-25 after another Marc miss — at least he draws the foul off Deng.

6.13: Now that’s Spanish basketball. The breakaway and Navarro tees off for a three. Spain up, 26-21.

5.16: One thing Spain does well in this tournament: draw fouls. Kyle Johnson hits Marc, Marc makes both FTs, Joel Freeland in the game for Britaiin. 28-23, Spain. O, and Serbia’s brief lead has been given up again. 36-31 over there.

4.26: Random thought — one of the best adverts for Lithuania (even beyond the awesome basketball fanaticism) has got to be the “dancers,” i.e. cheerleaders for this tourney. Red-blooded males, hear BiE: Lithuanian women are *fine*. And residing in Hungary, BiE can say that with some expertise.

2.54: Deng bricks a three, and Britain’s serious lack of depth is once again on display. Only four players have scored, and high scorers Deng (11) and Clark (10) are a combined 6-of-15 from the floor; with Britain managing just offensive boards, well, what can they do?

1.03: It really shouldn’t even be this close, with Spain shooting just 37% (13-of-35) … 34-30 to Spain.

0.27: Freeland and Clark with consecutive blocks, but Britain blows the opportunity with a sloppy turnover. Fernandez dunks. 38-32, Spain.

0.00: Britain’s playing decent ball, all things considered, though Spain’s 14-of-39 shooting certainly helps. Spain up, 38-32.

BiE almost wishes he were in Siauliai: Israel’s up at half over Serbia, 41-35, though to be fair, coach Dusko is rotating nearly every player on the roster into the game, perhaps assuming Israel won’t advance and figuring a loss there would be irrelevant…

Third quarter. 9.32: Spain still looking a bit haggard, Fernandez boots the ball, then fouls. Britain hits a two to make it 40-34.

9.01: Of course, Spain can always go to one of the Gasols … Marc for a two in the lane. 42-34.

8.37: Wow, Clark with a nice 15-footer at the 24-second buzzer. 42-36 to Spain.

7.40: Again, Marc, then Pau for the reverse layup. 46-36.

6.42: Marc to Pau … damn, that’s unstoppable in the paint. Especially for the likes of Britain. It’ll be interesting to see what Turkey’s huge dudes have to say about that. 50-36 and Spain may be opening it up.

4.47: NICE REJECTION of Pau at the rim by Deng — suddenly, the 40 British fans sound like 400.

4.28: And Pau RETURNS THE FAVOR, sending Freeland to the floor with the force of his stuff in the paint.

3.33: You’re just not gonna stop Pau’s seven-footer on the baseline. Spain up, 54-38, and the cries of “MVP! MVP! MVP!” go up.

3.30: Deng puts in points 13 and 14. 54-40 to Spain.

1.25: Navarro is having one of his freezing games, missing two on one possession to bring him to 1-of-11 shooting in this game. Good thing for Spain it hardly matters; they’re up 58-42.

0.05: Rubio finally produces something YouTube-worthy with the jumping pass to Ibaka who places it in from two feet. 60-42 for Spain’s biggest lead of the game.

0.00: Kyle Johnson with the far-off three at the buzzer for his first points of the tournament. At the end of three, it’s 60-45. Even one of those patented British comebacks won’t be enough here, one fears. The Brits seem destined to remain oh-for-tournament play…

Fourth quarter. 9.16: Can they make it respectable? Clark with the tip-in in the lane. 62-48 to Spain.

8.11: More of the same, with Gasol getting the two-footer and one. 67-48, Spain.

6.28: Nice follow for Ibaka after the Rubio miss. Now 71-50 to Spain, and all appears to be over except for the proverbial crying…

5.24: Even the British fans are disconsolate; Marc completes his double-double with a 10th and 11th rebound.

4.08: You know it’s over when Sergio Llull is hitting wide-open threes from the corner. Spain up, 75-53.

3.03: Victor Sada, a.k.a. Spain’s human victory cigar, is in. ‘Nuff said (blogged?).

2.05: Every player except Sada has scored for Spain now, in fact.

0.51: Final question: What the hell is Marc Gasol still doing in this game?

0.00: And there’s your result: Spain, 86-69, and predictably now 3-0 in the group. We’ll be back in a bit for Poland vs. Portugal…

Note for the game: Marijonas Petravicius will not be playing tonight due to an unspecified minor injury. Could this mean some time for prospective Toronto Raptor Jonas Valanciunas, who only saw four minutes of action last night…? Find out soon and follow the BallinEurope live blogging below the break. Enjoy!

Pregame. Announced lineups for tonight are as follows. Poland brings Dardan Berisha, Lukasz Koszarek, Adam Hrycaniuk, Thomas Kelati, and Szymon Szewczyk; Lithuania lists Rimantas Kaukenas, Mantas Kalnietis, Paulius Jankunas, Simas Jasaitis, and Robertas Javtokas in the middle.

Other games tonight: Italy vs. Germany in perhaps the marquee matchup; Macedonia vs. Croatia; and Ukraine vs. Slovenia.

First quarter. 9.36: Thomas Kelati starts the scoring in the game and it’s “Lietuva! Lietuva!” early from the full-capacity crowd.

9.23: Kaukenas bags the first points for Lietuva, putting in two FTs.

8.45: Calls going against Lithuania early … Kalnietis gets called for an invisible foul; Lithuania turns it over out of bounds when there appeared to be contact…

8.13: And now a dodgy traveling call…don’t the refs know this crowd could riot?

6.57: With no Polish Hammer, Kelati is the man for Poland. And he’s living up to it again, with four points early. Poland, 8-6.

5.56: Kalnietis with a three for Lithuania’s first lead at 9-8. He’s got five early.

5.24: Poland scores its first rebound *of the game*, only to have to give up the ball on a foul. 11-10, Poland.

5.03: Kalnietis now at eight; it’s always someone different for Lithuania. Lithuania up, 13-11.

4.00: Guess who on the tip in. Poland, 16-15. And then the defensive rebound. And then Songaila on the feed from KALNIETIS!

2.45: Saras pulls up for a three after Kalnietis sits; Poland looks to prevent disaster with a good timeout.

1.55: Valanciunas comes into the game, scores his first points of the tourney on a tip in. Teams trade buckets and it’s 24-18 for Lithuania.

1.10: Interesting early stat: Lithuania has 24 points despite six TOs. The secret? 8-of-11 overall shooting.

0.00: Lietuva can’t convert on the last possession of the quarter and the first ends at 25-20.

Second quarter. 8.37: Some nice ball movement and pick-and-roll action sets Songaila up for the bucket and a 27-22 Lithuania lead.

7.54: Is this quarter Songaila’s? Two for him and it’s 29-22, followed by some nice D by the former 76er to force a Poland turnover.

7.06 Songaila and Songaila again. Really. 33-22, Lithuania.

6.21: No way. Songaila’s 10th point of the quarter. 35-24.

5.33: Lithuania calls timeout for some reason; perhaps to decide who’s going to confuse Poland and dominate next…

4.42: Kalnietis picks Kelati’s pocket, goes coast-to-coast for the layup … o yeah, he’s back in the game, because Songaila’s out. Lithuania, 41-30.

3.05: Sick shooting by Lithuania: 18-of-24 overall; sick in the other meaning is Poland’s, at 12-of-31, including just 3-of-10 on threes. Time out, Poland. 45-30, Lithuania.

1.37: Leoncyk sinks two FTs after a dubious call on Jankunas, but Poland is looking mighty disoriented and disorganized out there. Jankunas returns the favor with two FTs of his own to make it 49-35.

0.41: Another good stat: Lithuania — zero TOs in the second quarter.

0.00: Lithuania is playing to their strengths in this game, simply bringing too much depth and keeping the opposition guessing. The spreading of wealth is Lithuanian basketball at its best and thus they’ve earned the 53-38 halftime lead.

Third quarter. If you’re a Lithuania fan, you are loving this. 71% shooting, zero turnovers in the second quarter, 11-of-14 from the line, 14 assists against Poland’s four…everything is working.

9.23: Nerves? Lithuania fouls three times in the first 37 seconds…

8.33: Another foul, and Saras is brought in to calm things down. Or maybe argue with the ref, which is his first action on the floor. Kelati hits two FTs and it’s a 5-0 Poland run. 53-45, Lithuania.

7.39: Jasikevicius leaves Kelati on the floor for a pull-up jumper. 57-45. And Jasaitis’ subsequent two has Poland heading for the bench on a TO. 60-45, Lithuania.

6.00: Now it’s Martynas’ turn? Two FTs after a hard foul gives him six this quarter already.

5.38: Yep, that’s Pocius drawing another foul. And Jasikevicius throwing down the subsequent two.

3.15: Kelati stops the 8-0 Lithuania run with a Dirk-like jumper. 68-49, Lithuania.

0.00: Sheesh, 76-52 to the homers.

Fourth quarter. This is exactly what Lithuania wants. Poland simply can’t react quickly enough as Lithuania shows off its amazing depth. These guys can go outside or inside, fast break or half court and everyone’s scoring. 44 bench points against 18 for Poland … this team has BiE believing in a deep run.

6.56: Kalnietis’ three brings the overall Lithuanian shooting to a ridiculous 75%. The Dallas Mavericks couldn’t stop these guys.

5.21: C’mon, fans. You’re jeering a bad call at 88-61? The only thing crazier than this team’s red-hot play is the audience … can’t say as BiE ultimately blames ‘em, though, really.

3.59: Serbia’s standing tournament high score of 92 set today is toast. The only question is whether Turkey’s +31 over Portugal is in danger. 89-68, Lithuania.

2.29: More compelling stats: Just two players — Pocius and Kalnietis — have played over 20 minutes.