Arizona's Motiejus Krivas of Lithuania was ejected in the third quarter of his team's 87-82 loss to Greece in the FIBA U20 EuroBasket quarterfinals Thursday, setting him up to face UA teammate Conrad Martinez of Spain in a consolation game Saturday at Gdynia, Poland.
One of the leading players in the U20 event so far, Krivas played just 15 minutes Thursday while collecting nine points and five rebounds before being ejected for technical and unsportsmanlike fouls.
At the end of the second half, Krivas was called for an excessive celebration technical foul after former UA teammate Paulius Murauskas put back a Lithuanian missed free throw at the end of the first half, giving Lithuania a 39-37 lead at halftime. FIBA's YouTube video largely cut away from Krivas, but Krivas appeared to at least lightly bump a Greek player as the teams headed off the floor.
With 4:08 left in the third quarter, Krivas tangled with Greece's Vangelis Zougris near the basket, and Zougris hit the floor as both ran up the court. Officials whistled Krivas for an unsportsmanlike conduct foul and confirmed it after a video review, sending Krivas out of the game.
The game was tied at 51 upon Krivas' departure and Greece went on to its five-point win.
Meanwhile, Martinez was scoreless with two assists over five minutes of France's 74-72 win over Spain, which ended on a dramatic note when France's Noah Penda hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The losses by Lithuania and Spain put them in the 5-8 consolation bracket, where they will face each other on Saturday at 4 a.m. Arizona time.Β
