The Stratford venue is more regularly home to Super League Basketball side the London Lions, who welcomed Lithuanian champions Žalgiris Kaunas to a packed house for a pre-season friendly in September. This evening, basketball fans’ attention turned to the international game.
Great Britain are in Group D in the first round of European qualifiers for the 2027 World Cup alongside Iceland, Italy and Lithuania. With three teams going through to the second round of European qualification, coach Marc Steutel will realistically be looking to finish ahead of Iceland to avoid elimination as the bottom-placed team. A result against the giants of Lithuania would have set his team well on their way but it wasn’t to be.
The two sides most recently faced off at EuroBasket in August. Lithuania began their campaign in Finland with a 94-70 win over Great Britain, before going out in a quarter-final defeat to Greece. Britain went out in the group stage with a 1-4 record, winning their final game against Montenegro.
That’s the last time Britain were in action, and there were doubts whether this qualification campaign would happen at all due to the suspension placed by FIBA on the British Basketball Federation. That reached a resolution of sorts last month to allow the men’s national team to be reinstated while talks over the future of the game in this country continue.
Great Britain led for most of the night but after losing possession from an inbound with 3.5 seconds remaining, Ignas Sargiunas hit a stunning 3 on the buzzer to win it for Lithuania, 88-89.
See how the action unfolded with Standard Sport provides live updates from the Copper Box Arena.
Key Points
[{"type":"listbulleted","data":{"markup":""}}]Heartbreak for GB
21:43 , Andy BeillYou can see it all around that GB knew they could have pulled off a famous win tonight, having led for most of the game, only to be denied by Ignas Sargiunas with the last play of the game.
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GB 88-89 Lithuania
21:38 , Andy BeillIt’s all over and Lithuania steal it with a buzzer beating 3!
GB 87-83 Lithuania
21:34 , Andy Beill9.8 seconds remain and it’s a two-shot game if Lithuania are going to come back. GB call a time out.
GB 83-79 Lithuania
21:29 , Andy BeillArnas Velicka pulled Lithuania back into it with a 3 before Carl Wheatle responded in kind. “This is my house” he said as the teams returned to the benches for a timeout. 30.9 seconds remain.
GB 80-76 Lithuania
21:24 , Andy BeillMyles Hesson comes up with a big 3 for Great Britain with 1:49 left to play. Lithuania call a time out as they look to save the game.
GB 74-70 Lithuania
21:17 , Andy BeillGB’s lead is restored as Lithuania call a time out with 5:13 to go in the ball game.
The giant Arturas Gudaitis sits with four fouls after Amin Adumu of the London Lions felt the full force of his hefty frame.
GB 67-68 Lithuania
21:01 , Andy BeillGreat Britain went almost 7 minutes without a field goal during the third period as Lithuania brought it all the way back to take their first lead of the game.
Going into the final quarter, the visitors are up by one point.
GB 61-53 Lithuania
20:49 , Andy BeillGB had been holding Lithuania at bay, but with a 10-2 run the visitors get the deficit down to a single-figure margin.
Coach Steutel calls the time out with 3:47 to go in the third quarter.
A lucky venue for Great Britain?
20:29 , Andy BeillLast time GB played at the Copper Box Arena they pulled off a stunning win against Greece. Could another famous night be on the cards here?
GB 51-38 Lithuania
20:20 , Andy BeillIt’s half time here at the Copper Box Arena and it’s been a brilliant opening two quarters for Great Britain.
Jelani Watson-Gayle leads GB in scoring with 10, followed by Gabriel Olaseni, Myles Hesson, who also has 5 assists and 3 personal fouls, Carl Wheatle and Dan Akin, off the bench, all on 8 points.
Gytis Radzevicius leads Lithuania with 10 points.
GB 21-16 Lithuania
19:55 , Andy BeillGreat Britain take a 5-point lead into the second quarter, with scoring shared between seven players.
Ignas Sargiunas leads Lithuania with 7 points on the board.
GB 13-6 Lithuania
19:41 , Andy BeillDream start for GB, up 13-6 with 5:35 remaining in the first quarter. Lithuania call a time out.
Only blot was a technical called on coach Steutel in the opening minutes, and he’s let the referees know his frustration about that call.
Starting 5s
19:33 , Andy BeillGB: Luke Nelson, Akwasi Yeboah, Myles Hesson, Carl Wheatle, Gabriel Olaseni
Lithuania: Kristupas Zemaitis, Gytis Radzevičius, Gytis Masiulis, Martynas Paliukenas, Marek Blaževič
Team introductions
19:25 , Andy BeillLoud cheers for the visitors in green ahead of the national anthems. It’s a strong turnout from the away fans in the stands here at the Copper Box Arena.
GB will play in all white. We tip off in 5 minutes.
Queues form outside the Copper Box
19:12 , Andy BeillThere’s just under 20 minutes to go until tip-off
World Cup qualification explained
16:51 , Andy BeillThe 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be held in Qatar.
Along with the hosts, 12 teams from Europe, seven from Asia and Oceania, seven from the Americas and five from Africa will compete.
The first round of European qualifiers begins tonight. The other game in Group D sees Italy play Iceland in Tortona. The top three teams from the group will progress to the second round, which commences in August 2026.
Last time GB faced Lithuania
16:18 , Andy BeillLithuania got the better of GB at EuroBasket in Finland, winning 94-70
Steutel rallies the fans
15:00 , Andy BeillCoach Marc Steutel has been calling for British fans to turn out in support of his side. The Copper Box Arena is sure to be busy with Lithuanian fans in London.
GB return to the Copper Box
14:35 , Andy BeillGreat Britain’s last home game was played in Newcastle. February’s EuroBasket qualifier was a 96-75 win over the Czech Republic.
It’s 12 months since the last men’s international played here at the Copper Box Arena in east London, in a game that will live long in the memory. The thrilling encounter saw GB beat the mighty Greece by a single point.
Roster confirmed
12:41 , Andy BeillLithuanian fans set to take over Stratford
Monday 24 November 2025 12:34 , Andy BeillFans from Lithuania are no strangers to the Copper Box Arena after a huge crowd turned out to see Žalgiris Kaunas narrowly beat the London Lions in a pre-season friendly in September.
