THE 2023 instalment of the FIBA World Cup has produced some surprises over the first week and a half of action, but none shocked the basketball world more than Sunday night’s result.

Remarkably, Lithuania produced the biggest boilover of the tournament to date, defeating powerhouse side Team USA by six points in an incredible performance.

The United States have the biggest names of the entire tournament, with their whole list consisting of current NBA players, while most other sides have one or two at most. They have been the dominant side of the tournament during the first two rounds, but still had one more game to play before advancing to the quarter finals.

Lithuania was the final hurdle before that stage, and although the United States had already booked a spot in the next round, they would still prove a tough opponent regardless of how much motivation was there.

The closest a team had come to knocking off the USA was Montenegro, who still fell 12 points short, and although Lithuania came in unbeaten, it had just two NBA players and held the underdog tag.

Instead, the Lithuanians came out firing, jumping out to a double-digit lead in seemingly no time at all, as the team shot the lights out and stunned the United States. Lithuania shared the ball remarkably well, in a gorgeous display of basketball, taking a 19-point lead into the first break, which few people saw coming.

After being restricted to just 12 points in the first quarter, the United States found their groove on the offensive end in the second term. Anthony Edwards led the charge as Team USA got their score back on track. Despite all this hard work, they could not slow down Lithuania’s score and get the defensive stops needed to get back in the game, with the deficit still sitting at 17 points at half time.

The third quarter was where the favourites really hit their straps, as Lithuania’s lead was slowly trimmed away. The shooting was starting to cool off a bit, as the United States got the margin down to just six points heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

It was a high-scoring final term, it looked at stages that the United States were going to run over the top and spoil the party. However, Lithuania managed to find the bottom of the net on a number of jump shots when it mattered most, and held on for a thrilling upset win, stunning fans across the globe.

Star big man Jonas Valanciunas was prominent for the winning side with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Vaidas Kariniauskas (15 points) and Mindaugas Kuzminskas (14 points) hit some big shots down the stretch to seal the game. The duo’s damaging three-point shooting was a thorn in Team USA’s side all game, and proved to be a match-winning factor.

Edwards finished with a game-high 35 points in a valiant performance in defeat, but did not receive enough consistent help.