I also haven't see many games, besides my national team. But we never lost to Finland in official game, maybe only in some friendly. But wewill see how it will be this time 
Since 4 teams advance from each group, I'm sure that Lithuania has the quality to progress to the next stage of the 16. The problem that we all know is which team from the other group suits them more. In simpler words, some teams might want to lose a specific game.
You have a point, but somehow I doubt that it will be good PR if they will lose games by 30-40 points. Maybe it would be better to invest this money into youth basketball.
Hosting such big tournaments as EuroBasket can produce more opportunities for people. Only the ticket sales and all the fans that want to see some of the superstars of the sport are enough to boost/ speed up things. Idk if Cyprus will be ruined with such differences, but it doesn't matter. You become better if you compete with the best.
