The attitude of Great Britain in their opening game of EuroBasket 2025 was an enormous improvement from three years ago. The result however was all too familiar. With Jonas Valanciunas never leaving first gear, Lithuania cruised to victory. Marc Steutel’s side received a tough reminder of what’s required at this level in Tampere.
Pretty much nobody expected Great Britain to win. Indeed, a FIBA poll before the game had 99 per cent picking Lithuania and the 1 per cent was probably a rounding error. Still, despite an expected result, the attitude shown by Marc Steutel’s side was at least encouraging for the rest of their EuroBasket 2025 campaign.
Plenty of fight
Inside of the first minute, we understood the identity of the Great Britain team. Jonas Valanciunas towered over everyone to grab his own offensive rebound. The putback was never an option. Marc Steutel’s side had come to EuroBasket 2025 to fight and Valanciunas found out the hard way. They swarmed on him, first two then a third defender, to eventually force a turnover.
Heart over height is fine. Heart over every aspect where you aren’t a match is a tougher ask. Great Britain opened with a 5-0 run but that was quickly turned around. Lithuania utterly dominated in every aspect on the floor in the first quarter.
Yet it was not for lack of effort from the Great Britain side. If anything, the workrate difference almost worked against the underdogs. As Steutel’s players harried and pressed, Lithuania were able to get a man open in space for the fast break. The relentless nature of Great Britain’s approach was admirable but neither sustainable nor adequately impactful.
Ironing out the kinks
Anything short of a win for Lithuania in this game would have been a national catastrophe. The expectation was not just that Lithuania would win but that they would do so comfortably and emphatically. The gulf in quality between the sides on paper was enormous.
It was however still understandable that Lithuania looked a little rough around the edges per the eyeball test. This was their opening game of EuroBasket 2025 after all. The outside game was not so much poor as completely absent for large phases of the game.
Yet the overall efficiency was quite encouraging. While the bulk of the work came in the paint, they weren’t spamming Valanciunas. This was a team bringing a diverse approach to its interior attack.
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More than dignity
EuroBasket 2022 was like going through a traumatic event and waiting for it to end for Great Britain. The mood throughout was one of frustration, with no prep games bar the FIBA World Cup qualifiers. Indeed, the squad only had 10 days together prior to that event.
Marc Steutel’s side had a real prep run for EuroBasket 2025. That was visibly obvious in the attitude on the floor. This side was out for more than just a dignified performance. It was one hungry to test itself against the best in Europe.
That the game was still in the balance on paper through the second quarter would have been cause for celebration three years ago. Now, you could tell the British players wanted a lot more than that. From a pure attitude perspective, that was great. They expected to lead against a side objectively better than them because that’s the reason you play the games.
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Jonas Valanciunas wasn’t really tested in the opening game of EuroBasket 2025 as Lithuania cruised past Great Britain in Tampere.
The gulf is too much
Having made a fine fight of the first half, it didn’t take long for Great Britain to fall victim to the gulf in quality. Having pushed hard for the opening 20 minutes to keep it competitive, Marc Steutel’s side simply didn’t have the capacity to match that effort.
Lithuania took full control. The gap was 20 points before the mid-point of the third quarter. The result was never in doubt. Lithuania hadn’t even played well yet were comfortably on top. Each of the other five sides they will face in EuroBasket 2025 have the same attitude towards their game with Great Britain; just take care of business.
This is the one each of Marc Steutel’s side’s opponents will have marked down as a lighter game. That his team was at least able to force a bit of discomfort for part of the game is a sign of progress. The cold reality is that there’s a lot farther for Great Britain to go. Sport is about relevance first, success second. The attitude improvement compared to three years ago was admirable. Now, it’s about British basketball simply getting better so it can be relevant, both at home and abroad.
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