A different kind of heavyweight ‘Thrilla’ set in Manila     

It seems everyone’s minds were not on the two games of the Fiba (International Basketball Federation) World Cup that took place Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena, but on the individual matchup that will highlight the battle of two European sides in 48 hours.

“Definitely one of the toughest matchups that I’ve had,” Montenegro’s Nikola Vučević said after his country’s 89-74 win over Egypt served as a momentum-builder for Tuesday’s Group D meeting with fellow NBA center Jonas Valančiūnas and Lithuania.

Lithuania was facing Mexico at presstime in the night’s other game at the Pasay City showplace.

The Vučević-Valančiūnas encounter is seen as something to spice up group play.

Montenegro beat Mexico, 91-71, on Friday before dominating Egypt despite opting to play Vučević and other starters for more or less 20 minutes each.

Vučević, the Chicago Bulls’ big man, still managed to produce 16 points, seven rebounds, two steals and three blocks.

Lithuania walloped Egypt, 93-67, behind Valančiūnas’ 15 points and 10 rebounds, numbers that are a norm for the current center of the New Orleans Pelicans.

The two players have met 27 times in the NBA, with Valančiūnas winning 21 of those in a career that included stops with the Toronto Raptors and the Memphis Grizzlies.

One game saw Valanciunas, then with the Grizzlies, posting 23 points, 24 rebounds and four blocks against Vučević and his former team, Orlando, in 2019.

“He’s a very physical guy, also has a very good skillset, very smart, tough to play against,” said Vučević. “Obviously, I’m looking forward to it and we got to know each other off the court as well over the years, so it will definitely be a fun battle and I’m looking forward to it.”

Montenegro has already exceeded the win output it produced in 2019 when it triumphed once during the country’s maiden World Cup stint.

A win over Lithuania could turn out to be the biggest one yet for Montenegro. INQ

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