Thursday, August 21, 2008

Lithuania advanced to the Olympic semifinals for the fifth time yesterday with a 94-68 win over China, despite the absence of Washington Wizards forward Darius Songaila.

Songaila pulled out of the Olympics because of a sore back. He began experiencing discomfort while training with the Lithuanian team last month, only a few days before it embarked for China.

Songaila had a precautionary MRI exam and decided not to risk further damage.

His participation in the 2006 world championships aggravated a back injury, which forced him to later undergo surgery to repair a herniated disk in his lower back. He missed training camp and the first 45 games of the following season with the Wizards.

According to Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld, Songaila is expected to be healthy when the Wizards open training camp late next month. "It was precautionary," said Grunfeld, who signed Songaila to a five-year, $23 million contract before the 2006-07 season. "He had some back pain and didn't want to take any chances."

Songaila, who has played for Lithuania since 1998 and helped it capture the bronze medal in the 2000 Olympics, planned to make this his final summer with the national team.

"Being the competitor that he was, it is not easy," said Lithuania forward Linas Kleiza, who plays for the Denver Nuggets. "It was very tough for all of us. But we think about him. We talked to him almost every day."

Lithuania guard Rimantas Kaukenas said: "He still is part of our team. Too bad he got injured. We try to fill the gaps and play for him."

-- Michael Lee and Ivan Carter