Great Britain and Lithuania are in Group D with Italy and Iceland in the first round of World Cup qualifiers [Getty Images]BBCThu, November 27, 2025 at 10:18 PM UTC·1 min readLithuania snatched a thrilling 89-88 victory against Great Britain in their opening match of the 2027 Fiba World Cup qualifiers in London.
Ignas Sargiunas, who topped the scoring chart for the visitors with 27 points, bagged the decisive three-pointer in the final second to seal a remarkable comeback after GB had dominated the first half.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMarc Steutel's side led 51-38 at the break, but Lithuania stormed back after the restart, taking the third quarter 30-16 to lead 68-67 heading into the final period.
They levelled the game at 75-75 before GB's men regained control briefly, only for guard Sargiunas to emerge as Lithuania's hero and inflict a painful defeat on the hosts at the Copper Box Arena.
Carl Wheatle and Myles Hesson scored 18 points each for GB in the losing cause, while Akwasi Yeboah had 15.
Britain were at risk of missing out on the qualification campaign altogether after the British Basketball Federation (BBF) was suspended by basketball's world governing body Fiba in October over governance failures.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHowever, they were eventually cleared earlier this month to play the tie against Lithuania after Super League Basketball reached a recognition agreement with Fiba.
With the uncertainty now behind them, GB will hope to bounce back when they head to Reykjavik on Sunday in their next Group D fixture against Iceland, who beat Italy 81-76 in their opener.
All four teams in the group will face each other twice in the first round of the qualifiers before the top three sides qualify for the next stage.
GB emerging from 'exceptionally difficult period'
