Lithuania led by seven points entering the fourth period, and centre Jonas Valanciunas scored five points to put Lithuania ahead by three points with three minutes to play.

But Boris Diaw drove twice to score contested lay-ups as reigning European champions France went ahead and held on.

The final minute became a parade of both teams exchanging free throw attempts, but France's shooters did not waver in a match that was a repeat of last year's European Championships final.

Nicolas Batum led France with a game-high 27 points, while Diaw added 15.

Valanciunas paced Lithuania with 25 points to go with nine rebounds.

Nicolas Batum was France's top scorer with 27 points as they beat Lithuania to clinch third place in the FIBA Basketball World Cup ©Getty Images

In all, the final 16 seconds of the match saw 11 fouls committed, resulting in 22 free-throws attempted.

Nicolas Batum was at the fore-front of France's offence throughout the game and finished with a game-high 27 points.

It was the first time that France had made it onto the podium in their fifth appearance in FIBA's flagship event. 

The performance was all the more commendable as the French were missing several top players, including four-times NBA champion Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs.

Holders United States meet the tournament's surprise packages Serbia in the final in the Spanish capital tomorrow.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
September 2014: Serbia fend off late French fight back to book spot in FIBA World Cup final
September 2014: Reigning champions US book place in FIBA Basketball World Cup final
September 2014: Serbia and France book FIBA Basketball World Cup semi-final spots as hosts suffer heartbreak
September 2014: United States and Lithuania to meet in FIBA Basketball World Cup semi-final
September 2014: Brazil oust rivals Argentina to make FIBA Basketball World Cup quarter-finals