Lithuania will go back home with the 5th spot in EuroBasket 2005 after beating Slovenia 79-70 in the 5-6 classification game on Sunday. Both teams will play next year in the World Championship in Japan 2006.

Lithuania connected on 7 of their 14 shots from behind the arc, while Slovenia struggled tonight from the same range with 3 out of 20.

Lithuania are not celebrating a medal at the EuroBasket, but rest assured, they are celebrating.

The Baltic giants, less than 24 hours after being run over by France in the quarter-finals, beat Russia to qualify for FIBA World Championship 2006.

What a difference a day makes.

One night after shooting just 33% from the field in a loss to France, Lithuania looked like a new team by shooting 62% for the game en route to an 89-78 win over Russia. The victory automatically qualifies Lithuania for FIBA World Championship 2006 in Japan - their first appearance in the competition since 1998.

With three Olympic bronze medals (1992, 1996, 2000) and a European crown over the last thirteen years, the EuroBasket trophy holders can be considered the best team on the continent. But the absence of numerous key players, including superstar Sarunas Jasikevicius, hinders Lithuania's chance of a "repeat". It would, however, be a very bad idea to write off the reigning champions.