Germany and Serbia reach Final in Tampere

SEMIS

Germany - Slovenia 88-68
Germany are the first finalists in Tampere as they defeated Slovenia in the semifinal clash today. Slovenia led by a single point at the interval 42-41. But Germany responded with a strong 47-26 second half rally to secure a comfortable win at the end. Christian Anderson (185-PG-2006) scored 25 points, while Jack Kayil (191-PG-2006) added 18 points for Germany. Mark Padjen (196-G-2006) answered with 18 points for Slovenia.

Serbia - Israel 115-114 2OT
Serbia survived a double-overtime drama versus Israel to enter the championship game in Tampere. Israel eked out a 44-40 halftime lead. Serbia spurred ahead in the third term. But Israel sank 26 points in the fourth frame to force the first extra period. Aleksa Dimitrijevic (213-C/F-2006) sank two free throws in the dying seconds to send the game into the second overtime. Israel grabbed a 112-107 lead in the second extra quarter but Savo Drezgic (193-G-2006) and Andrej Kostic (198-G-2006) came up with back-to-back three-pointers to steal the win for Serbia. Savo Drezgic finished with 35 points, 12 assists and 8 rebounds for the winners. Ben Saraf (197-PG-2006) answered with game-high 40 points for Israel.