Spain - Serbia
85-63
Spain went into the 2009 EuroBasket Final trying to bury the nightmare of their
last gasp loss to the hand of JR Holden on home soil in Madrid two years earlier
and after a slow start to this tournament in Poland, none of that mattered as
Serbia and 40 minutes stood between them and their supposed destiny. Could
Serbia, the youngest team in the tournament, average age less than 23 years old
spring another big surprise? Spain went onto court with P Gasol, Fernandez,
Rubio, Navarro and Garbajosa while Serbia has Tepic, Teodosic, Tripkovic,
Velickovic and Krstic. It was
Pau Gasol (214-F/C-80), the leading scorer in the championships that fittingly
got the first score of the final after Fernandez dumped it off to him in the
paint. However that lead lasted barely a minute as Uros Tripkovic scored a
triple from the top, a feat repeated by Navarro from the corner. Krstic then
finished inside and the game was tied 5-5. Three minutes in and Rubio spotted up
from the same location as Navarro and the outcome was the same as he sunk the
three-pointer. Gasol then extended the Spanish lead with a turnaround jumper,
again from a Fernandez assist and when Rudy then made his third assist to
Garbajosa in the corner, he made Spain's third triple of the game and at 13-7
after five minutes, things already looked ominous for Serbia. Navarro then made
a jump shot and Serbia were on the ropes and the early feeling was that a
blowout was a possibility. Spain were moving the ball very well and when
Fernandez stepped back and drilled home a trey, the double figure lead was
established. By the time Raul Lopez finished in transition, Ivkovic called
time-out his team 20-7 behind and caught in a Spanish whirlwind. Little wonder
that the Spanish fans were celebrating early. Serbia found some respite when
Markovic got to the line and made two free-throws. Spain were not only moving
the ball but also very aggressive on the glass on the offensive end and that
handed Marc Gasol the chance of his first points of the game as he sunk both
free throws to take the game out to 22-9 with a little over 90 seconds
remaining. Navarro then showed some nice dribble penetration before stopping and
making a jump shot but thankfully for Serbia, Tripkovic made another big
perimeter play to barely keep his team in the contest. A nice fake on the arc
and drive to the hoop for Velickovic helped matters further as he gave a taste
of what he can bring to the ACB this season at Real and that little flurry meant
Serbia trailed 24-14 at the end of the first - a scoreline that could have been
a lot worse but for the last 90 seconds. Serbia extended their run to 7 points
at the start of the second as Velickovic made a nice baseline fadeaway but a
tip-in by Marc Gasol got Spain back ticking over on the scoreboard again. Ivan
Paunic drove to the bucket and was fouled by Mumbru and he made one from the
line to reduce the gap to single figures before Marc Gasol fouled Velickovic and
despite only just over a minute gone in the period, it was the fifth foul by the
Spanish and he went made one free-throw. It was quite astonishing that Spain had
managed to commit five foul in 80 seconds during this early stage of the game
and in a comfortable position so not surprisingly Coach Scariolo wanted to talk
it over with the refs. Fernandez was then blocked and not surprisingly when the
ball ended back in his hands on the arc, he couldn't help himself but to shoot -
an airball. Serbia had edged themselves back into the game with an aggressive
approach but that aggression was matched by
Pau Gasol as he ripped down a big dunk to make it 28-18. Fernandez was then back
in the action again as he exploded to the hoop and was fouled, sinking both
free-throws. He then made a spectacular reverse lay-up in transition and Spain
were back on top again at 32-18. Serbia were finding it tough going and after
Pau came up with a block and Reyes scored inside on the break, it was time-out
Serbia again with just under six minutes left .Tripkovic, another player about
to make his ACB debut made a couple of free-throws to slow Spain down.
Pau Gasol was next to step up on the line but he missed both and then got the
chance to redeem himself as Fernandez grabbed the rebound, found Navarro who
threw it up to the Lakers star for a big alley-oop play. Rubio then made two
free-throws and the blowout was all but confirmed with 4 minutes still to go
until Serbia could find refuge in the locker rooms.
Pau Gasol then made it 40-20 inside to spark cheers of 'MVP' from the Spanish
fans. Dusan Ivkovic was doing everything in his power to keep encouraging his
players to believe and Nenad Krstic made a couple from the line. The class of
the Spanish was then underlined with a terrific play, outrageously nonchalant
ball movement and patience finding Rubio wide open and home alone. He knocked
down the triple and Serbia barely had time to breathe. Krstic made a lay-up but
Fernandez cancelled that out with two more free throws before
Pau Gasol threw another one down. It was getting embarrassing as Gasol then came
up with another block and already the MVP was barely in doubt. Velickovic made a
score on the fast break for Serbia but Navarro made another triple. Then with 12
seconds left, Teodosic responded with his own three-pointer but summing up a
stunning first half display,
Pau Gasol made a lay-up on the buzzer to leave the court with 14 points, 8
rebounds and 2 big blocks and his team 52-29 ahead and the gold medal already
hanging round their necks - barring the biggest comeback in EuroBasket history.
Spain were quickly back into the swing in the second half with a quick score
from Rubio but Velickovic came back with a tip-in.
Pau Gasol grabbed his first points of the third quarter from the free-throw line
annoyed with himself he didn't convert when fouled and had to settle for two
free-throws. Krstic then scored inside before then almost doing the same but he
was hammered and had to make one point from the line, missing his second
attempt. Spain were perhaps less fluid than in that stunning first half but the
twenty point lead was always there or thereabouts as
Pau Gasol came up with a monster rejection of Velickovic who was left floored by
the experience. To his credit, Velickovic hen responded with a triple next time
down the floor and Coach Scariolo called time-out to probably try and get his
team back firing on offence with just four points in four minutes. Navarro got
one to drop inside as Serbia defence focused on Marc Gasol while Teodosic
responded with a lay-up. The Serbia fans tried to lift their team, in far bigger
numbers than previously seen. Milenko Tepic gave them reason to cheer with a
lovely spin move to the hoop and the gap dropped to 17 at 58-41. In what was
turning into a courageous quarter for Serbia, Krstic then made a jump shot and
was fouled by Marc Gasol. He made the free-throw and his team had outscored
Spain 15-6 in just over six minutes. Just when it looked like Serbia could dream
of an unlikely comeback at 58-44, Marc Gasol showed good perseverance inside and
Rudy Fernandez made a lay-up. That meant time-out for Ivkovic with fewer than
three to go until the final period. Felipe Reyes entered the game and the Real
Madrid forward scored within a couple of seconds showing some range with a nice
jump shot - the margin was back out to 20 points and when Fernandez shrugged off
the attentions of some vigorous Serbian defence to make a jumper of his own, it
was 66-44 with 90 seconds left. At least the Greek fans were making plenty of
noise too in order to add to the atmosphere - sometimes a problem in blowouts
but their incessant drumming and chanting kept the intensity inside the Arena up
to a decent level. Still celebrating their bronze medal of course and perhaps
enjoying watching a different team feeling the power of the Spanish. The all
action Reyes loves a battle and he went strongly in the lane but was fouled
hard, something he never minds and he made both with 6 seconds left to complete
the scoring in the penultimate period. Spain headed into the last quarter with
the same 23 point margin as they did at half-time at 67-44. It was a quiet start
to the last ten minutes for both teams until Kosta Perovic threw one down
aggressively and seconds later, Carlos Cabezas joined the party for the first
time and instantly made an impression with a triple from the corner. That
allowed the chants of 'Champions' to ring from the Spanish fans and the Spanish
number 10 then made a jump shot just in case anybody thought it the celebrations
were premature. After Tripkovic grabbed a put back the chants of 'Ole, Ole' went
up as each Spanish player caught the ball and it ended perfectly with Real
Madrid guard Sergio Llull grabbing a bucket as he was fouled. That led to
another Serbian time out at 74-48. When he returned, Llull completed the 'And1'.
Reyes was certainly enjoying himself and he grabbed another inside score as
Spain became rampant and beared down on the thirty point barrier. Cabezas too
highlighting the depth of the Spanish team as he moved to 7 points in four
minutes. Pamesa Valencia center Perovic grabbed an inside score and then
Raduljica made it a rare two scores in a row for Serbia but
Pau Gasol was back scoring (already with a double double) as he got the fans
chanting 'MVP' once again. The biggest EuroBasket margin in a final was 31
points in 1985 and Spain had just under three minutes to break that record but
Serbia kept going. Raduljica scoring again and then Tripkovic draining a triple
to put any record out of the picture. Cabezas went to the hoop and dropped it
off to Llull at the last minute for a nice play and with just under a minute
left the Spanish fans went for it and the celebrations started in earnest.
Popovic made one free-throw and then Spain put the icing on the cake as Lull
threw one up for Claver to finish with a spectacular reverse dunk. While
Velickovic hit the last points of the Final with a triple the fiesta go into
full swing as Spain were crowned European Champions for the first time with a
classy and resounding 85-63 success.
3rd place
Greece - Slovenia
57-56
In arguably the best atmosphere of the tournament to date, both sets of
boisterous supporters made for a superb pre-tip feeling ahead of this bronze
medal game as the two losing semi-finalists tried to end their time at
EuroBasket 2009 on a real high. Greece having been demolished by Spain and
Slovenia having lost that overtime heart-breaker against Serbia after throwing
away a double figure lead at the half. Both teams started at a high tempo and
Peperoglou got the Greeks ahead with a three-pointer quickly followed by a drive
to the hoop by Spanoulis. If their sluggish start was disappointing, the
Slovenian supporters didn't show it but only increased the decibel level as they
then watched Nachbar drill home a triple from the wing as he finally opened the
Slovenian account. Shortly afterwards the former NBA man repeated the trick to
hand Slovenia the lead. That lasted only seconds as Greece went inside to
Sofoklis Schortsanitis (206-C-85) (206-C-85) and then a smart drive to the
hoop and finish by Zsis gave Greece a 9-6 advantage. Slokar went up strong down
the other end of the floor and was fouled and subsequently made both free throws
while teammate Klobucar made one soon after to tie the game up at 9-9. Big
Slovenia favourite Erazem Lorbek then finished with a nice right handed hook
shot going to the hoop and Greece called a time-out with 3:34 to go in the
opening period and 9-11 behind. Both teams then went scoreless for a few minutes
until Calathes fouled Brezec and the big man stroked home two from the line to
extend Slovenia's narrow lead. Greece were badly in need of some offence and it
was Sofoklis Schortsanitis who provided it. He went up powerfully with his right
hand for a score and also drew Golemac into the foul but missed the bonus
strike. The Greeks were really pounding the ball inside and Bourousis who had
been quiet gave
Domen Lorbek (198-G/F-85) little option but to foul when mis-matched in the
paint. Before the Greek center could get to the line, Coach Zdvoc called
time-out with just under a minute remaining. While Bourousis could only make
one, Greece got the offensive rebound and ended up with
Sofoklis Schortsanitis being fouled by Jagodnik who was called for an
unsportsmanlike foul.
Sofoklis Schortsanitis made both to get Greece in front and after Slovenia
threw the ball away again, Greece got the last possession. As
Sofoklis Schortsanitis was looking pretty invincible, he ended up with the
ball and powered his way on the baseline to spin to the hoop for a buzzer
beater. He punched the air in delight and both teams headed to their respective
benches with Greece 16-13 ahead courtesy of scoring the last seven points of the
period. Greece took their run out to 14-0 at the start of the second with a
triple from the corner by Bourousis, a nice two handed finish by Printezis and
yet another move in the low post by
Sofoklis Schortsanitis who really was impressing. That run handed Greece a
double figure lead at 23-13 and finally Slovenia managed to snap a terribly dry
spell as Erazem Lorbek made a shot. The very active Printezis restored the ten
point margin from the line and then Slokar looking frustrated with Slovenian
indecisiveness grabbed the ball, went on a left handed dribble evading the Greek
defence and jammed it home.
Sofoklis Schortsanitis was continuing to look hard to guard and after being
man-handled by Slokar he made a free throw to keep Slovenia at arms length at
26-17. Erazem Lorbek then made an inside play with four minutes to go until the
midway point of the game and Greece ahead 26-19. What happened next had everyone
other than the Slovenian fans laughing as Sofo was again pretty much assaulted
by Brezec inside but still managed somehow to get the ball in the hoop and it
was a time-out for Zdovc again - still trying to figure out how to guard the
Greece number 15.
Sofoklis Schortsanitis then went to the line to complete the 'And1' and take
his tally to 14 points, more than double any other player on the court. Erazem
Lorbek then made a big three pointer to cut the gap to seven at 29-22. Greece
decided to call time-out with just under two minutes to go. When the play
resumed, Udrih made two from the line and then Calathes scored with a nice
little jump shot. Neither side could make a play in the last sixty seconds and
Greece led 31-24 at the break. After such a low scoring first two quarters it
was always going to be fascinating to see how the second half would pan out and
whether Slovenia could lock down
Sofoklis Schortsanitis. However it was fellow big man Bourousis that was the
first to score with a nice put back while for Slovenia, their big man Primoz
Brezec converted first. Soon
Sofoklis Schortsanitis was back at it again, scoring inside and drawing
another foul which he sunk to take the margin back to ten at 36-26. Midway
through the quarter and still Slovenia couldn't make a shot consistently and
Greece were happy to pack the paint and cut off any drives to the hoop. Slovenia
managed only those 2 points from Brezec in five minutes until finally Jaka
Lakovic got one to drop from the perimeter for his team which re-energised the
Slovenian fans. It led to Coach Kazlauskas to call time-out with 4.37 to go in
the penultimate period and surely knowing a Slovenia run would come at some
point. Zsis got the first points after the play re-started with two free-throws
and then Nachbar made one down the other end. There was then a spectacular
passage of play as
Sofoklis Schortsanitis came up with a big block on Erazem Lorbek only for
the ball to find Slokar who buried a three. However
Sofoklis Schortsanitis was back in the action next time down as he again
powered his way up to the hoop, made the play and was fouled although he missed
the extra point. Erazem Lorbek was also not put off by the block in the previous
play and he converted to make it 40-35.Fotsis then went up strong to convert and
he too drew a foul which he missed. Slovenia then got a steal and lay-up in
transition by Nachbar and Calathes missed a wide open triple in the last offence
of the period for Greece but they still held the upper hand at 42-37 heading
into the last ten minutes of the game. Amazingly Slovenia were at this point
shooting 23% from both inside and out, unable to get any easy looks in the
half-court and transition and triples both rarities. It didn't help when Slokar
missed a dunk. Still the Slovenian fans tried their best to rouse their team in
pursuit of a medal, this time Slokar getting fouled as put up a shot in the
paint and he made both to make it a one shot game at 42-39. That also
highlighted the fact Greece were drying up outside of Sofoklis
Sofoklis Schortsanitis, something rectified by Bourousis who drained his
second triple of the game. Lakovic then made a jumper and it was 45-41 with 8
minutes left until bronze was decided. Udrih then made an outside shot and
suddenly it was a one point game with Greece now needing the likes of Spanoulis
to come to the party but he tried to force it and was called for an offensive
foul. After looking completely flat, Slovenia had the ball back and a much
needed time out for Greece as the momentum switched to the Greens - now making a
better effort without Smodis and Dragic on the court. Calathes steadied Greek
nerves with a nice penetration and floating shot which dropped but moments later
Lakovic was on the line although he could make one. That made it 47-45 with just
over five minutes in the game. After a time-out it was developing into another
nail biting game. Erazem Lorbek made one from the line and within seconds, both
teams were in the penalty as
Sofoklis Schortsanitis kept Greece in front sinking both from the free throw
line. On the next play, the big man continued to make space for himself inside
and Jagodnik couldn't cope so had to foul and again he made both to move to 23
points. He then grabbed a big rebound as Greece kept ahead at 51-46 but then
committed an offensive foul with just over 2 minutes left, his fourth and it was
time out. Lakovic made a play with a big three as the action resumed and as
Spanoulis threw up an air ball from the perimeter in response, he looked for a
foul but didn't get it. Erazem Lorbek tried to tie the game up but didn't make a
turnaround jumper with a minute left then Greece delivered a dagger shot. The
ball was kicked out on penetration to the hoop and Fotsis took his opportunity
with a pivotal triple. There were 31 seconds left and it was 54-49 Greece.
Lakovic got a quick look at the hoop with a left handed lay-up before
Domen Lorbek fouled out after a quick foul on Spanoulis who missed his first
but made his second to keep it at a two shot game. Lakovic went for the same
play as previously and was fouled, almost getting it to drop but had to settle
for two points from the line with 18 seconds left. This time it was Zsis who was
fouled, his team 55-53 in front and a chance to make life really tough for
Slovenia. He made both and that effectively sealed the game. Or at least that is
what everybody thought until Lakovic sunk another one from the arc. Spanoulis
then got the inbound and managed to run a good few seconds off the clock down
the court before being fouled at 57-56. Again he missed his first and this time
also his second but with 4 seconds left Slovenia got the ball to Nachbar who
couldn't make a tough shot. That left the sounds of Zorba The Greek booming out
of the Arena and it was tough on Zdovc, his players and their great fans.
5th place
France - Croatia
69-62
France wrapped up their EuroBasket campaign with a difficult win over Croatia.
They overcame the absence of Tony Parker to tame Croatia at the end. France led
throughout the major part of the game and managed to withhold furious comeback
attemts from their opponents to celebrate at the end. Turiaf and
Antoine Diot (191-G-89) put France ahead in the starting minutes. Nando De
Colo soon came up with 7 points as France grabbed a 16:9 lead. Nando De Colo
capped the first period with three points as Les Bleus enjoyed a 21:12 lead.
Croatia opened the second quarter with a 10:2 run to cut the distance to just a
single point.
Antoine Diot and Mahinmi kept France in charge with timely buckets. Then
Antoine Diot exploded with back-to-back trebles as the French team built a
34:24 advantage at halftime. Kasun dragged Croatia within 9 but France
immediately responded. Mahinmi and
Antoine Diot teamed up for five points in a row to make it 41:27. France
maintained the double-digit lead before Croatia exploded with 10:0 spurt
narrowing the deficit at 5 points with ten minutes remaining. Croatia continued
their run at the start of the fourth frame scoring first four points. Ali Traore
finally snapped the rally accouting for a lay-up. Bokolo immdeiatelly followed
with a trey to give France a 51:45 lead. But Davor Kus matched it on the other
end to keep Croatia close. Ali Traore, Nicolas Batum and Alain Koffi did not
allow Croatia to get closer restoring a 7-point cushion. Banic and Bokolo traded
three-point attempts before Loncar converted a three-point play to drag Croats
within 4. Nicolas Batum exploded with five points in a row to balloon the margin
at 9 points with under 3 minutes to go. Rozic fired a three-pointer but Les
Bleus responded with a jumper from Alain Koffi and dunk from Ali Traore to
silence their counterparts.
Antoine Diot fired 18 points to lead the way for France. Nando De Colo added
15 points, while Nicolas Batum and Alain Koffi had 8 points each in the victory.
Davor Kus responded with 18 points for Croatia. Sandro Nicevic had 12 points and
9 rebounds in the losing case.
7th place
Turkey - Russia
66-89
Turkey-Russia 66:89 Turkey:
Omer Asik (211-C-86) 24+11 rebs, Erden 9 Russia: Fridzon 26, Ponkrashov 16,
Zozulin 16 The defending champions of Eurobasket, Russia finished on the seventh
place in Poland. Tonight the team beat Turkey 89:66 as the latter is 8th. Turkey
was too good from the start and exploded with 9-0 run when
Omer Asik closed it with a dunk. Sokolov responded wit a dunk for 9:2, while
Ponkrashov tied the score at 10:10. Fridzon gave his team 13:12 and Zozulin
closed the opening frame at 26:18. Russia started to increase the lead in the
second frame and reached 37:23, when Ponkrashov nailed a three. Russia kept the
necessary difference until the end of the half and had 11-point advantage.
Omer Asik sent the teams to the lockers for 51:40 as Russia was the winner of the
fist half. Russia continued to control the game in the beginning of the third
period and had 60:45 midway through the frame when Fridzon fired his 17th point.
He also scored two free throws later in the frame for 62:47, while Turkey cut
the gap a bit at the end. Atsur nailed a three for 66:58, while Onan closed
thirty minutes of the game with 68:59. In the fourth period Ponkrashov made it
74:61 and
Omer Asik reduced to 74:63 as he posted his 22nd point. Ponkrashov nailed another
two for 75:63 with 6 minutes to go. Fridzon answered all the questions in the
game for 81:66 from the perimeter.Turkey did not score in the game anymore,
while Russia added 8 more points. Fridzon paced all the winners with 26 points.
Ponkrashov and Zozulin followed him with 16 points each for the 7th place.
Omer Asik exploded with 24 points and 11 rebounds in the losing effort, while
Erden notched 9.
First Eurobasket Gold For Spain As Pau Gasol Leads
The Way - Sep. 20, 2009 Spain went into the 2009
EuroBasket Final trying to bury the nightmare of their last gasp loss to the
hand of JR Holden on home soil in Madrid two years earlier and after a slow
start to this tournament in Poland, none of that
mattered as Serbia
and 40 minutes stood between them and their supposed destiny. Could
Serbia,
the youngest team in the tournament, average age less than 23 years old spring
another big surprise? Spain went onto court with P
Gasol, Fernandez, Rubio, Navarro and Garbajosa while
Serbia has
Tepic, Teodosic,
Tripkovic, Velickovic and Krstic. It was Pau Gasol, the leading scorer in the
championships that fittingly got the first score of the final after Fernandez
dumped it off to him in the paint. However that lead lasted barely a minute as
Uros Tripkovic scored a triple from the top, a feat repeated by Navarro from the
corner. Krstic then finished inside and the game was tied 5-5. Three minutes in
and Rubio spotted up from the same location as Navarro and the outcome was the
same as he sunk the three-pointer. Gasol then extended the Spanish lead with a
turnaround jumper, again from a Fernandez assist and when Rudy then made his
third assist to Garbajosa in the corner, he made
Spain's third triple of the
game and at 13-7 after five minutes, things already looked ominous for
Serbia.
Navarro then made a jump shot and
Serbia
were on the ropes and the early feeling was that a blowout was a possibility.
Spain were moving the ball very well and when Fernandez stepped back and drilled
home a trey, the double figure lead was established. By the time Raul Lopez
finished in transition, Ivkovic called time-out his team 20-7 behind and caught
in a Spanish whirlwind. Little wonder that the Spanish fans were celebrating
early. Serbia found some respite when
Markovic got to the line and made two free-throws. Spain were not only moving
the ball but also very aggressive on the glass on the offensive end and that
handed Marc Gasol the chance of his first points of the game as he sunk both
free throws to take the game out to 22-9 with a little over 90 seconds
remaining. Navarro then showed some nice dribble penetration before stopping and
making a jump shot but thankfully for Serbia, Tripkovic made another big
perimeter play to barely keep his team in the contest. A nice fake on the arc
and drive to the hoop for Velickovic helped matters further as he gave a taste
of what he can bring to the ACB this season at Real and that little flurry meant
Serbia trailed 24-14 at the end of the first - a scoreline that could have been
a lot worse but for the last 90 seconds.
Serbia extended their run to
7 points at the start of the second as Velickovic made a nice baseline fadeaway
but a tip-in by Marc Gasol got
Spain
back ticking over on the scoreboard again. Ivan Paunic drove to the bucket and
was fouled by Mumbru and he made one from the line to reduce the gap to single
figures before Marc Gasol fouled Velickovic and despite only just over a minute
gone in the period, it was the fifth foul by the Spanish and he went made one
free-throw. It was quite astonishing that
Spain
had managed to commit five foul in 80 seconds during this early stage of the
game and in a comfortable position so not surprisingly Coach Scariolo wanted to
talk it over with the refs. Fernandez was then blocked and not surprisingly when
the ball ended back in his hands on the arc, he couldn't help himself but to
shoot - an airball. Serbia
had edged themselves back into the game with an aggressive approach but that
aggression was matched by Pau Gasol as he ripped down a big dunk to make it
28-18. Fernandez was then back in the action again as he exploded to the hoop
and was fouled, sinking both free-throws. He then made a spectacular reverse
lay-up in transition and Spain
were back on top again at 32-18. Serbia
were finding it tough going and after Pau came up with a
block and Reyes scored inside on the break, it was time-out
Serbia again
with just under six minutes left .Tripkovic, another player about to make his
ACB debut made a couple of free-throws to slow Spain down. Pau Gasol was next to
step up on the line but he missed both and then got the chance to redeem himself
as Fernandez grabbed the rebound, found Navarro who threw it up to the Lakers
star for a big alley-oop play. Rubio then made two free-throws and the blowout
was all but confirmed with 4 minutes still to go until Serbia could
find refuge in the locker rooms. Pau Gasol then made it 40-20 inside to spark
cheers of 'MVP' from the Spanish fans. Dusan Ivkovic was doing everything in his
power to keep encouraging his players to believe and Nenad Krstic made a couple
from the line. The class of the Spanish was then underlined with a terrific
play, outrageously nonchalant ball movement and patience finding Rubio wide open
and home alone. He knocked down the triple and Serbia barely
had time to breathe. Krstic made a lay-up but Fernandez cancelled that out with
two more free throws before Pau Gasol threw another one down. It was getting
embarrassing as Gasol then came up with another block and already the MVP was
barely in doubt. Velickovic made a score on the fast break for
Serbia but Navarro made another
triple. Then with 12 seconds left, Teodosic responded with his own three-pointer
but summing up a stunning first half display, Pau Gasol made a lay-up on the
buzzer to leave the court with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 2 big blocks and his
team 52-29 ahead and the gold medal already hanging round their necks - barring
the biggest comeback in EuroBasket history. Spain were quickly back into
the swing in the second half with a quick score from Rubio but Velickovic came
back with a tip-in. Pau Gasol grabbed his first points of the third quarter from
the free-throw line annoyed with himself he didn't convert when fouled and had
to settle for two free-throws. Krstic then scored inside before then almost
doing the same but he was hammered and had to make one point from the line,
missing his second attempt. Spain were perhaps less fluid than in that stunning
first half but the twenty point lead was always there or thereabouts as Pau
Gasol came up with a monster rejection of Velickovic who was left floored by the
experience. To his credit, Velickovic hen responded with a triple next time down
the floor and Coach Scariolo called time-out to probably try and get his team
back firing on offence with just four points in four minutes. Navarro got one to
drop inside as Serbia defence focused on Marc Gasol
while Teodosic responded with a lay-up. The Serbia fans
tried to lift their team, in far bigger numbers than previously seen. Milenko
Tepic gave them reason to cheer with a lovely spin move to the hoop and the gap
dropped to 17 at 58-41. In what was turning into a courageous quarter for
Serbia, Krstic then made a jump shot
and was fouled by Marc Gasol. He made the free-throw and his team had outscored
Spain 15-6 in just over six minutes.
Just when it looked like Serbia could dream of an unlikely
comeback at 58-44, Marc Gasol showed good perseverance inside and Rudy Fernandez
made a lay-up. That meant time-out for Ivkovic with fewer than three to go until
the final period. Felipe Reyes entered the game and the Real Madrid forward
scored within a couple of seconds showing some range with a nice jump shot - the
margin was back out to 20 points and when Fernandez shrugged off the attentions
of some vigorous Serbian defence to make a jumper of his own, it was 66-44 with
90 seconds left. At least the Greek fans were making plenty of noise too in
order to add to the atmosphere - sometimes a problem in blowouts but their
incessant drumming and chanting kept the intensity inside the Arena up to a
decent level. Still celebrating their bronze medal of course and perhaps
enjoying watching a different team feeling the power of the Spanish. The all
action Reyes loves a battle and he went strongly in the lane but was fouled
hard, something he never minds and he made both with 6 seconds left to complete
the scoring in the penultimate period. Spain headed into the last quarter
with the same 23 point margin as they did at half-time at 67-44.
It was a quiet start to the last ten minutes for both teams until Kosta
Perovic threw one down aggressively and seconds later, Carlos Cabezas joined the
party for the first time and instantly made an impression with a triple from the
corner. That allowed the chants of 'Champions' to ring from the Spanish fans and
the Spanish number 10 then made a jump shot just in case anybody thought it the
celebrations were premature. After Tripkovic grabbed a put back the chants of
'Ole, Ole' went up as each Spanish player caught the ball and it ended perfectly
with Real Madrid guard Sergio Llull grabbing a bucket as he was fouled. That led
to another Serbian time out at 74-48. When he returned, Llull completed the
'And1'. Reyes was certainly enjoying himself and he grabbed another inside score
as Spain became rampant and beared down on the thirty point barrier. Cabezas too
highlighting the depth of the Spanish team as he moved to 7 points in four
minutes. Pamesa Valencia center Perovic grabbed an inside score and then
Raduljica made it a rare two scores in a row for Serbia but Pau Gasol was back
scoring (already with a double double) as he got the fans chanting 'MVP' once
again. The biggest EuroBasket margin in a final was 31 points in 1985 and Spain
had just under three minutes to break that record but Serbia kept going.
Raduljica scoring again and then Tripkovic draining a triple to put any record
out of the picture. Cabezas went to the hoop and dropped it off to Llull at the
last minute for a nice play and with just under a minute left the Spanish fans
went for it and the celebrations started in earnest. Popovic made one free-throw
and then Spain put the icing on the cake as Lull threw one up for Claver to
finish with a spectacular reverse dunk. While Velickovic hit the last points of
the Final with a triple the fiesta go into full swing as Spain were crowned
European Champions for the first time with a classy and resounding 85-63
success.
Greeks Grab Bronze In Another Heartbreaker For
Slovenia - Sep. 20, 2009 In arguably the best
atmosphere of the tournament to date, both sets of boisterous supporters made
for a superb pre-tip feeling ahead of this bronze medal game as the two losing
semi-finalists tried to end their time at EuroBasket 2009 on a real high.
Greece
having been demolished by
Spain
and
Slovenia
having lost that overtime heart-breaker against
Serbia
after throwing away a double figure lead at the half. Both teams started at a
high tempo and Peperoglou got the Greeks ahead with a three-pointer quickly
followed by a drive to the hoop by Spanoulis. If their sluggish start was
disappointing, the Slovenian supporters didn't show it but only increased the
decibel level as they then watched Nachbar drill home a triple from the wing as
he finally opened the Slovenian account. Shortly afterwards the former NBA man
repeated the trick to hand
Slovenia
the lead. That lasted only seconds as
Greece
went inside to
Sofoklis Schortsanitis (206-C-85) and then a smart drive to the hoop and
finish by Zsis gave
Greece
a 9-6 advantage. Slokar went up strong down the other end of the floor and was
fouled and subsequently made both free throws while teammate Klobucar made one
soon after to tie the game up at 9-9. Big
Slovenia
favourite Erazem Lorbek then finished with a nice right handed hook shot going
to the hoop and
Greece
called a time-out with 3:34 to go in the opening period and 9-11 behind. Both
teams then went scoreless for a few minutes until Calathes fouled Brezec and the
big man stroked home two from the line to extend
Slovenia's
narrow lead.
Greece
were badly in need of some offence and it was
Sofoklis Schortsanitis who provided it. He went up powerfully with his right
hand for a score and also drew Golemac into the foul but missed the bonus
strike. The Greeks were really pounding the ball inside and Bourousis who had
been quiet gave Domen Lorbek little option but to foul when mis-matched in the
paint. Before the Greek center could get to the line, Coach Zdvoc called
time-out with just under a minute remaining. While Bourousis could only make
one,
Greece
got the offensive rebound and ended up with Sofoklis Schortsanitis being fouled
by Jagodnik who was called for an unsportsmanlike foul.
Sofoklis Schortsanitis made both to get
Greece
in front and after Slovenia
threw the ball away again,
Greece
got the last possession. As
Sofoklis Schortsanitis was looking pretty invincible, he ended up with the
ball and powered his way on the baseline to spin to the hoop for a buzzer
beater. He punched the air in delight and both teams headed to their respective
benches with
Greece
16-13 ahead courtesy of scoring the last seven points of the period.
Greece
took their run out to 14-0 at the start of the second with a triple from the
corner by Bourousis, a nice two handed finish by Printezis and yet another move
in the low post by
Sofoklis Schortsanitis who really was impressing. That run handed
Greece
a double figure lead at 23-13 and finally
Slovenia
managed to snap a terribly dry spell as Erazem Lorbek made a shot. The very
active Printezis restored the ten point margin from the line and then Slokar
looking frustrated with Slovenian indecisiveness grabbed the ball, went on a
left handed dribble evading the Greek defence and jammed it home.
Sofoklis Schortsanitis was continuing to look hard to guard and after being
man-handled by Slokar he made a free throw to keep
Slovenia
at arms length at 26-17. Erazem Lorbek then made an inside play with four
minutes to go until the midway point of the game and
Greece
ahead 26-19. What happened next had everyone other than the Slovenian fans
laughing as Sofo was again pretty much assaulted by Brezec inside but still
managed somehow to get the ball in the hoop and it was a time-out for Zdovc
again - still trying to figure out how to guard the Greece number 15.
Sofoklis Schortsanitis then went to the line to complete the 'And1' and take
his tally to 14 points, more than double any other player on the court. Erazem
Lorbek then made a big three pointer to cut the gap to seven at 29-22.
Greece
decided to call time-out with just under two minutes to go. When the play
resumed, Udrih made two from the line and then Calathes scored with a nice
little jump shot. Neither side could make a play in the last sixty seconds and
Greece
led 31-24 at the break.
After such a low
scoring first two quarters it was always going to be fascinating to see how the
second half would pan out and whether Slovenia
could lock down
Sofoklis Schortsanitis. However it was fellow big man Bourousis that was the
first to score with a nice put back while for
Slovenia,
their big man Primoz Brezec converted first. Soon
Sofoklis Schortsanitis was back at it again, scoring inside and drawing
another foul which he sunk to take the margin back to ten at 36-26. Midway
through the quarter and still Slovenia
couldn't make a shot consistently and Greece were happy to pack the paint
and cut off any drives to the hoop. Slovenia managed only those 2 points
from Brezec in five minutes until finally Jaka Lakovic got one to drop from the
perimeter for his team which re-energised the Slovenian fans. It led to Coach
Kazlauskas to call time-out with 4.37 to go in the penultimate period and surely
knowing a Slovenia run would come at some
point. Zsis got the first points after the play re-started with two free-throws
and then Nachbar made one down the other end. There was then a spectacular
passage of play as
Sofoklis Schortsanitis came up with a big block on Erazem Lorbek only for
the ball to find Slokar who buried a three. However
Sofoklis Schortsanitis was back in the action next time down as he again
powered his way up to the hoop, made the play and was fouled although he missed
the extra point. Erazem Lorbek was also not put off by the block in the previous
play and he converted to make it 40-35.Fotsis then went up strong to convert and
he too drew a foul which he missed. Slovenia then got a steal and lay-up in
transition by Nachbar and Calathes missed a wide open triple in the last offence
of the period for Greece but they still held the upper hand at 42-37 heading
into the last ten minutes of the game.
Amazingly Slovenia were at this point shooting 23% from both inside and out,
unable to get any easy looks in the half-court and transition and triples both
rarities. It didn't help when Slokar missed a dunk. Still the Slovenian fans
tried their best to rouse their team in pursuit of a medal, this time Slokar
getting fouled as put up a shot in the paint and he made both to make it a one
shot game at 42-39. That also highlighted the fact Greece were drying up outside
of Sofoklis Schortsanitis, something rectified by Bourousis who drained his
second triple of the game. Lakovic then made a jumper and it was 45-41 with 8
minutes left until bronze was decided. Udrih then made an outside shot and
suddenly it was a one point game with Greece now needing the likes of Spanoulis
to come to the party but he tried to force it and was called for an offensive
foul. After looking completely flat, Slovenia had the ball back and a much
needed time out for Greece as the momentum switched to the Greens - now making a
better effort without Smodis and Dragic on the court. Calathes steadied Greek
nerves with a nice penetration and floating shot which dropped but moments later
Lakovic was on the line although he could make one. That made it 47-45 with just
over five minutes in the game. After a time-out it was developing into another
nail biting game. Erazem Lorbek made one from the line and within seconds, both
teams were in the penalty as
Sofoklis Schortsanitis kept Greece in front sinking both from the free throw
line. On the next play, the big man continued to make space for himself inside
and Jagodnik couldn't cope so had to foul and again he made both to move to 23
points. He then grabbed a big rebound as Greece kept ahead at 51-46 but then
committed an offensive foul with just over 2 minutes left, his fourth and it was
time out. Lakovic made a play with a big three as the action resumed and as
Spanoulis threw up an air ball from the perimeter in response, he looked for a
foul but didn't get it. Erazem Lorbek tried to tie the game up but didn't make a
turnaround jumper with a minute left then Greece delivered a dagger shot. The
ball was kicked out on penetration to the hoop and Fotsis took his opportunity
with a pivotal triple. There were 31 seconds left and it was 54-49 Greece.
Lakovic got a quick look at the hoop with a left handed lay-up before Domen
Lorbek fouled out after a quick foul on Spanoulis who missed his first but made
his second to keep it at a two shot game. Lakovic went for the same play as
previously and was fouled, almost getting it to drop but had to settle for two
points from the line with 18 seconds left. This time it was Zsis who was fouled,
his team 55-53 in front and a chance to make life really tough for Slovenia. He
made both and that effectively sealed the game. Or at least that is what
everybody thought until Lakovic sunk another one from the arc. Spanoulis then
got the inbound and managed to run a good few seconds off the clock down the
court before being fouled at 57-56. Again he missed his first and this time also
his second but with 4 seconds left Slovenia got the ball to Nachbar who couldn't
make a tough shot. That left the sounds of Zorba The Greek booming out of the
Arena and it was tough on Zdovc, his players and their great fans.
Semifinals - Sep. 19,
2009
Group Places 5-8
France - Turkey
80-68
France earned the vital win at the European championship in Poland. They
overcame Turkey to clinch the spot at the 2010 World Championship. Tony Parker
exploded with 28 points and 10 assists to propel the team to the win. Turkey got
to a storming start to the game as they scored 26 points in the first frame
worth a 14-point lead at the first intermission. Turkey maintained the lead
throughout the second term. Atsur and Suler gave the Turkish team a 19-point
buffer at the start of the quarter. Batum and Diot stopped the bleeding and
dragged France closer. However Turkey stayed calm and ensured a 43:32 halftime
lead. But Les Bleus managed to recover as they changed complexion of the game
drastically in the third stanza. Tony Parker,
Florent Pietrus (202-F-81, agency:
Octagon)
and Nicolas Batum paced France to a 61:59 advantage with ten minutes to go in
the game. Tony Parker poured in 10 points in a row at the start of the final
frame as Les Bleus grabbed a 71:59 lead. Turkey could not recover from the
shock. They accounted for just 9 points in the final stanza and had to surrender
at the end. Antoine Diot, Nicolas Batum and
Florent Pietrus scored 13 points each for France. Turiaf added 6 points in
the winning effort. Hedo Turkoglu came up with 13 points, 6 boards and 3 assists
for Turkey. Omer Asik added 11 points and 9 rebounds in the loss.
Russia - Croatia
69-76
Croatia clinched the spot at the 2010 World Championship in Turkey. They toppled
Russia at the EuroBasket today to secure the ticket to the next years showdown.
Roko-Leni Ukic knocked down 18 points and issued 8 assists to pace Croatia.
Russia will have a chance to book the last train to Turkey when they face the
World Championship hosts in the battle for the 7th spot tomorrow. Mario Kasun
opened the game with a free throw but Sergey Monya quickly put Russia up with a
three-pointer. Roko-Leni Ukic triggered a 7:0 run from the Croats as they surge
in front 10:6. But Sergey Monya looked unstoppable in the frame as he poured in
8 points to pull Russia back in charge 14:12. Nicevic and Planinic capped the
first frame with four points in a row as Croatia earned an 18:14 lead. Russia
did not allow their opponents to run away at the start of the second frame. The
teams kept it close and soon Timofey Mozgov and Zozulin gave Russia a 26:24
lead. Vorontsevich and Sergey Bykov extended the margin at 6 points midway
through the second stanza. Zozulin followed with two free throws as the margin
increased at 8-point mark. Vorontsevich opened a double-digit lead for Russia
before Roko-Leni Ukic capped the half with a lay-up making it 33:41. Roko-Leni
Ukic fueled a 12:0 run from Croatia in the third term. The team gained a 47:45
advantage. Kelly McCarty drew things level but Roko-Leni Ukic and Loncar
responded with six points in a row to ensure a 53:47 lead for Croatia. The
pressure grew on both teams nevertheless Russia dealt with it as they crowned
the third stanza with a 9:5 run to trail by just two points with ten minutes to
go. Kelly McCarty hit two free throws to level things at the beginning of the
fourth quarter. Mario Kasun and Marin Rozic restored a 4-point lead for Croatia
with seven minutes to go. Ponkrashov and Kus exchanged free throws and after a
number of misses Sergey Monya drained a triple to knot things up at 65. Nicevic
followed a timeout with four points in a row as Croatia surged back in front.
Sergey Bykov answered with a lay-up to keep Russia within striking distance with
just under 3 minutes left. Marin Rozic accounted for just one free throws out of
two attempts making it 70:67 for Croatia with two minutes remaining. Sergey
Bykov missed a lay-up and Roko-Leni Ukic punished Russia on the other end
hitting a three-pointer.
David Blatt called for timeout but Sergey Bykov missed another attempt right after
it. Planinic also came up empty after his attempt, while Sergey Bykov dropped
both free throws to narrow the distance. Kus was put to the stripe and hit one
of his attempts. He missed the second one but won the offensive rebound. Marin
Rozic got the ball and got fouled to account for both attempts sealing the win
for Croatia. Croatia: Roko-Leni Ukic 18, Marin Rozic 14, Mario Kasun 12 Russia:
Sergey Monya 18, Timofey Mozgov 9, Kelly McCarty 9
Group Semifinals
Spain - Greece
82-64
The first EuroBasket 2009 semi-final between Spain and Greece began to the sound
three hugely noisy set of supporters, not only the Spanish and Greek fans but
also the Lithuanian fans also out in great numbers. In a near capacity Spodek
Arena it was Spain who drew first blood, Rudy Fernandez slamming home anb assist
from Jorge Garbajosa before MVP in waiting
Pau Gasol (214-F/C-80) drained a long jump shot. Greece finally got off the mark
two minutes into the contest as big man Bourousis scored inside. Soon Greece saw
the task that was to lie ahead of them as 'La Bomba' lived up to his name with
the first triple of the game. However not to be outdone Zsis drained a
three-pointer as the shot clock counted down and within seconds Spanoulis tied
the game up at 7-7 in a frantic opening. Navarro was looking hot as he moved to
five points while down the other end Ricky Rubio found himself having to guard
Bourousis in the paint - perhaps one of the biggest mis-matches in the
tournament! While Bourousis didn't get the chance to convert, seconds later he
found himself in the same spot and powered his way up tempting Rubio into
fouling and the Greek star gleefully accepted the bonus from the line to hand
Greece a 9-10 lead. Down the other end of the floor opposing center
Pau Gasol was looking dominant already and he grabbed an easy looking hook shot
to restore the Spanish advantage. When Bourousis managed to get another inside
score for Hellas it was clear that both players would be hugely influential.
Garbajosa got a put back on the fast break for Spain and then Fotsis re-adjusted
nicely for a sweet looking jumper as the game really flowed brilliantly well.
Pau Gasol was trying to keep pace with Bourousis and he did so with gusto as he
nonchalantly stepped back to drain his first trey as Spain moved 16-14 in front.
Fotsis was doing a decent job for Greece and he found himself back on the line
and made both to tie the game up with just over 2 minutes left of a pulsating
first quarter. After rimming out on a previous triple attempt, Fernandez went
inside and made a bucket as well as drawing the foul to complete an impressive'
'And 1' play. Things got even better for him and his team seconds later when he
grabbed a steal and made a no look pass to
Pau Gasol who rammed it home, again drawing a foul and not surprisingly it was
time for a Greek time out as they trailed 21-16. With Gasol missing the extra
free throw Greece had the chance to narrow the gap again but the Spanish defence
was proving a tough nut to crack with Cabezas shackling Spanoulis pretty well
and he showed his prowess on offence too as he buried a three-pointer to
complete an 8-0 run for the Spanish. That run was broken by Printezis who came
up with a big dunk and a foul shot for a nice play but defensively Greece were
struggling. Even Alex Mumbru came off the bench for an inside score but at least
Greece finished the opening period with a flourish as Printezis finished a three
man fast break to get back into the contest at 26-21. Greece turned to 'Big
Sofo' to try and help inside with
Pau Gasol but it wasn't Pau who was doing the damage early in the second as
Felipe Reyes made a lay-up on the break before Spain exposed some lax Greek
perimter defence through another triple from Navarro as Spain opened up the
first double-digit lead of the game at 31-21. Greece were looking lacklustre
with Spanoulis so well guarded and nothing was coming easy for them. Mumbru
found himself on the line for a free-throw and he grabbed one of two as Spain
converted the first six points of the quarter, in fact it became eight when Marc
Gasol scored with a nice reverse lay-up and the game was really beginning to
slip away from Greece - they were on the wrong end of a devastating 18-5 run
since the first quarter and a time-out was called as they tried to stop the rot
at 34-21. Even with the irrepressible
Pau Gasol sat on his backside on the bench, Greece couldnt find any penetration
or make a shot until finally the drought was broken with a big three in the
quarter by Spanoulis. However the guard then turned the ball over next time down
as Reyes got himself on the line as the Spanish broke down the floor. He made
one and was joined again by Pau on the floor as Spain looked to press home their
advantage, this time Fernandez getting one to drop off the glass to extend the
lead to 37-24. Greece then got Spain in the penalty with over four minutes to go
and Nikolaos Zsis made two only for Rubio and Calathes, wo yoiung guys to get in
a tangle with Rubio also making both from the line after drawing the foul.
Bourousis managed to get himself back in the game after a real lull with a nice
tip-in and then Navarro fouled Fotsis who had the chance to narrow the deficit
to single digits for the first time in a while bu he missed his second so it
stayed ten points at 39-29. The number of foul shots with both teams now in foul
trouble slowed the game down and
Pau Gasol was next up, making one of two before things got a little ugly with
words exchanged by Coach Scariolo and Bourousis who were both subject of
technical fouls which cancelled each other out. The distraction was not as big
as the one caused by Allen Iverson whose face came up on the big screens as he
sat courtside and gave a little wave. Moments later Fotsis drained a big three
and at 40-32 to go with 2:44 left in the half, Scariolo called a time-out and
the crowd rocked with the cheerleders to some Michael Jackson tunes as they drew
for breath. Just when it looked like Greece might haul themselves back into the
game at a pivotal time, Sergio Llull entered the game and dropped a bomb from
outside to restore the double figure lead although Zsis did strike one from the
line seconds later. However after a foul by Schortsanitis,
Pau Gasol made two from the line and there was fun down the other end of the
floor. Big Sofo went up three times, missing under pressure on both occassions
but finally got one to drop and pumped his fist as he drew the foul and
converted the three-point play. It gave Greece some great momentum as Calathes
put home a sweet bucket on the break to narrow to 45-38. Fernandez then made a
score only for Sofo to get another inside lok as he muscled out the defence in
typical fashion, much to the delight of the Greek supporters, hinting a comeback
could be on the cards. Perhaps the big guy got a little too excited on the next
possession as he tried to steamroller two Spanish defenders going on a long
drive to the hoop and in what was probably the easiest refereeing call of the
entire tournament, he picked up his second offensive foul. That handed Spain the
ball 47-40 ahead with 11 seconds left of the half and after a time-out it was
Fernandez that completed the scoring as Navarro dished up an assist to him under
the hoop as he finished to hand Spain a 49-40 half-time lead. The third quarter
started with Rubio slicing through the Greek defence like a knife through butter
as he went to the hoop on a long arching drive almost unchallenged.
Pau Gasol then made a lay-up off the glass. Spanoulis opened the Greek account
but after a hustle play in the paint, Pau was at it again getting one to drop
inside. Three minutes into the second half and Greece were back on the ropes at
55-42. Fernandez was producing some nice offensive rebounding and the Greek
bench were getting a little heated and were warned by the referees. The game was
being played at a far slower pace than in the opening although the intesity in
terms of physicality barely dropped a notch. After
Pau Gasol handed a defensive rebound to Rubio who was off and running, the
problems of Greece mounted. The guard had both Fernandez and Navarro open on the
wings having beaten the Greek defence down the floor and he chose Rudy who
dropped the triple leading to a time out with Greece on the wrong end of a 9-2
opening to the second half at 58-42. A nice little jump shot on the run gave
Calathes a score to inject some life back into Greece and as Printezis got a
rebound and put back, the margin was back to 12 points but that last seconds as
Pau Gasol was perfect from the line before being withdrawn. It was 60-46 with
three minutes until the final quarter beckoned. Spanoulis made a nice play goin
to the hoop but this time Marc Gasol was the one doing the damage with a
fadeaway. Greece looked to lack belief and not surprising in the face of some
tough Spanish defence. That gave the platform for another score as Cabezas made
a lay-up with the Greek defence AWOL and we entered ther last minute of the
penultimate period. Thankfully for Greece, Calathes made a three at the top to
keep a little chink of light for them while on the last possessions neither
teams could make a play and it was 64-51 heading into the last ten minutes. The
last quarter began with a beautiful right handed dunk by Real Madrid guard
Sergio Llull and again it was a slow start to the game for Greece as the same
player then made two from the line. Spain were looking impregnable and the final
nail in the Greek coffin came when Carlos Cabezas delivered a big triple to take
the margin out to 20 points for the first time at 71-51. That didn't stop the
great Greek fans from continuing their relentless support for their team
although obviously despite 8 minutes left to go in the semi-final it was the
Spanish fans scenting that elusive gold medal being just one game away with this
game in the bag. It was exhibition stuff by Spain as Llull made another play and
time-out Greece came more in hope and desperation with a bronze medal to be
played for the following day than any feasible way of clawing back this one
against the truly rampant World Champions. As the final quarter began to peter
out as any kind of a realistic contest, Spain just continued to enjoy themselves
and to play the game like a true fiesta - something the Spanish fans will be
enjoying tonight and possibly tomorrow too. Greece tried in vain but they could
make no impression as Spain ran out comfortable winners 82-64. It meant that for
all of their early tournament malaise and general inability to live up to their
reputation during the first group stage, Spain are now just 40 minutes away from
a gold medal. Whether that waranted the SPanish fans chanting 'Champions' in
anticipation, who knows although Slovenia and Serbia might have something to say
about that. Greece meanwhile now think about bronze.
Serbia - Slovenia
96-92 (1OT)
Both teams lined up looking to make it to the Final of Eurobasket final of 2009
with the dubious task of trying to deny Spain gold and due to the spectacular
noise and atmosphere of the Slovenian team the game could have been played on
Slovenian soil - it was hard to believe this game was in Katowice, Poland.
Serbia went with Tepic,
Milos Teodosic (195-G-87) (195-G-87), Tripkovic, Raduljica and Krstic while
Slovenia chose Lakovic, Brezec, Nachbar, Lorbek and Lorbek. It was Miroslav
Raduljica who opened the scoring and that was followed by another bucket for
Serbia as
Milos Teodosic finished a strong right handed lay-up in the lane. Nachbar
then got the Greens underway with a nice baseline jump shot. In the face of some
deafening jeers Serbia managed to restore their early momentum with a nice
Krstic jump shot having come up with block moments beforehand. Serbia were
playing some strong defence and it looked like it was going to be a real war of
attrition. Especially when Brezec put up an air ball having had some perhaps
surprise form from outside in these championships. Some nice penetration into
the key and a right handed hook off the glass by Dormen Lorbek broke a barren
spell for both teams as the game approached the midway point of the opening
period. Nachbar went to the line for two foul shots on that five minute mark and
sunk them both to ensure a tied game at 6-6 in a defence dominated period, both
teams rebounding pretty well defensively with cheap putbacks a rare commodity.
Slovenia got Serbia in the penalty and it as Dormen Lorbek who handed Slovenia
the lead. After Kristic missed a turnaround jumper, Raduljica committed a silly
foul on the rebound and that put Nachbar back on the line to take the Slovenian
advantage out to 6-10. With three minutes remaining, not surprisingly Coach
Ivkovic called a time-out, his team having suffered an 8-0 run by their
opponents. Not to be outdone by his brother, Erezam Lorbek suddenly came to life
and drew a foul on an inside score to also convert the bonus and at 13-6 it was
the Slovenian defence proving to be the difference. Serbia could get nothing
going and it was looking tough during a scoreless five minutes. Down the other
end Slovenia were still earning their points from the line, Nachbar making both
again and almost coming up with a double digit lead at15-6. Kosta Perovic then
ended a truly miserable offensive period for Serbia with two free throws of his
own from the line and Coach Ivkovic was left hoping that the worse may have been
over. Another cheap foul, this time on Slokar put Perovic back on the line and
he made one. Markovic had the arduous task of following Lakovic all over the
court and his attention was just too much as he also fouled to allow the combo
guard to also make one of two free-throws. Entering the last minute of the
period Serbia could get nothing much to drop but Perovic was fouled yet again on
another big rebound and once more he made just one to make it 10-16. Just when
Serbia were slowly creeping back up on Slovenia, Samo Udrih buried a triple and
you've guessed it, down the other end of the court, Perovic was back shooting
free throws and he made just one - again. That gave Slovenia the last possession
but they weren't decisive enough but left the court 11-19 in front thanks mainly
to 10 of 11 free throw shooting. Erazem Lorbek scored the first bucket of the
second quarter off a nice assist inside by Lakovic but Perovic replied
instantly. Serbia were however getting nothing in transition with Slovenia
nicely organised on defending the fast break but Perovic was coming up big time
for them - this time with a nice tip dunk from a missed Tepic lay-up. Slovenia
then let Serbia back in as Slokar committed an unsportsmanlike foul and
Velickovic made them pay with both free-throws and it was time out by Jure Zdovc
his team still ahead but looking less comfortable at 17-21. He might have been
figuring out a way to stop Perovic but it didn't work as the center scored again
to move into double-figures and make it a 2 point game. However Erazem Lorbek
soon responded and the Slovenian fans were on their feet when the same player
went inside and drew a foul on Bjelica put managed to get the drop and this time
it was Ivkovic calling time out with 7 minutes left and his team 19-25 behind.
Lorbek completed the 'And-1'. Serbia needed the likes of Krstic, Velickovic and
Milos Teodosic to really step it up if they wanted to grind this one out.
Markovic grabbed a great offensive rebound and put back on the run before some
controversy over whether Dormen Lorbek had drained a triple as the shot clock
sounded. It was basket good and Slovenia were 21-29 ahead. Serbia were stone
cold from outside and Bjelica rimming out put them 0/8 in the game while Brezec
compounded their pain with an inside score and a bonus from the free-throw line
which opened up a double figure lead at 21-32 with just under 4 minutes to go
until the interval. Much to the relief of Serbian fans, their team came up with
five straight points, a three-pointer in the corner from
Milos Teodosic and a monster dunk by Krstic and that led Zdovc to call a
time-out for Slovenia having seen his teams advantage almost halved in just 20
seconds. Nachbar came up with a smart play straight out of the time-out, faking
the three and looking to drive as he drew the foul on Bjelica and made both from
the line. There were jeers from Slovenian fans when Brezec was called for a foul
on Milos Teodosic who could only make one and Serbia continued to chase the
Slovenian shadow. Slovenia went to Erezam Lorbek in the paint and he drew a foul
on Krstic as the fans chanted 'MVP, MVP', perhaps as a hint to the watching
media who vote in these matters. He made them both but Krstic replied. Seconds
later Erezam Lorbek had the fans chanting MVP even louder after a gorgeous tip
slam in traffic. It was 29-38 to the Greens.
Milos Teodosic made two from the line for Serbia but it was Dormen Lorbek
scoring next time down, also from the free-throw position and he sunk both to
keep Slovenia in control. Krstic got another inside bucket and he was beginning
to steadily grow in influence but it never looked quite enough and especially
when Dormen Lorbek sunk a trey from the corner to put Slovenia ten points up at
33-43. A tight game was beginning to open up as Krstic scored again before
Erezam Lorbek returned to the line to more chants of support. With 11 seconds
left of the half and down by ten, Bjelica rimmed out and it was a shot that
realistically Serbia needed to make as they headed into the locker room trailing
35-45. Amazingly, the Lorbek brothers scoring around 80% of Slovenian points in
the half! Serbia began the second half with the first basket, an inside basket
by Krstic and in a similar pattern to the first half it was Erezam Lorbek who
was straight back into the action as the Slovenian heartbeat with a triple on
the shot clock buzzer. Milenko Tepic then made a decisive move to the hoop to
slam home an open score and the difference was single figures. It was going to
be intriguing to see if Serbia could make some outside shots but again little
dropped in their first couple of attempts. Tepic was trying to take the game to
Slovenia and another tough move drew the foul and he cut the deficit to just
seven points at 41-48. While Serbia were more aggressive they remained stone
cold from the arc and that misery was compounded when Nachbar drained a three
and Ivkovic incurred a technical foul which led to Lakovic making one from the
line. Serbia were 11 points behind at 41-52. Serbia then came up with a little
burst of scoring six points in a hurry. Tepic making a lay-up and then one free
throw before a triple from Velickovic and suddenly it was 47-52 and Slovenia
called time-out to try and regain some composure and stop the Serbian momentum.
After an offensive foul by Udrih, Velickovic got a lucky one to drop after
bouncing on the rim and it was suddenly a one shot game instead of a double
digit contest. Erezam Lorbek then got a much needed score for Slovenia which was
followed up by a fourth foul on Tripkovic to send Dormen Lorbek to the line for
two free-throws to make it 49-56 with 90 seconds left in the period. Kosta
Perovic was back on the line again, this time for the first time in the half and
he made both. Erazem Lorbek then rashly picked up what could be a crucial fourth
foul and it was a really needless one as Tepic again narrowed the gap to make it
a one shot game. Paunic then fouled Golemac and the big man made one to hand
Serbia the ball with just over 40 seconds left and Perovic went strong to get
back to the free-throw line. He sunk both and the game was delicately poised at
just two points difference. Serbia then came up with a steal and with less than
one second left, Golemac fouled Markovic and he made one to get within one point
of Slovenia in a great quarter for Serbia. Serbia then completed the comeback
when Milos Teodosic nailed a triple to start the final period and after a free
throw by Lakovic, he was at it again, burying another three-pointer and suddenly
Slovenia were in trouble at 62-58 and their talisman Erezam Lorbek on foul
trouble and on the bench with four fouls. It led to Jure Zdovc to call a time
out with seven minutes left. The coach decided to risk putting his big player
back into the game and it paid instant dividends as he went up strong and got
fouled making both to move to 23 points. However Tepic made a beautiful play
with a drive and high shot way up on the glass that drew gasps from the crowd
but not as much as when Dormen Lorbek sunk a three-pointer from way downtown to
make it 64-63 and cut the gap. The crowd went wild but incredibly Perovic then
went and restored the advantage with an inside score and foul shot as he
finished the three point play inside. The game was on an absolute knife edge.
The nervous tension inside the Spodek was palpable and Nachbar made one from the
line for Slovenia as their fans prayed their team could regain control in the
last five or six minutes. It was time out with 5:36 remaining and a gold or
silver medal was still on the line for both teams. Erezam Lorbek was back on the
line and he made both before a pivotal moment in the game when Nachbar drew a
cheap foul on Tepic. Not only did it allow him to make one from the line to tie
the game up but it was the fifth for Tepic who left the court. However Serbia
still had
Milos Teodosic and he made a tough lay up in the paint before a massive
three-pointer by Jagodnik gave Slovenia the lead once more with three minutes
left at 69-70. Jagodnik then got another bucket to take Slovenia into a further
lead before
Milos Teodosic made one from the line. The Arena then erupted as Dormen
Lorbek sunk a triple to give his team a 70-75 lead with two minutes to go and it
was time-out Serbia with Krstic to go on the line when the action resumed. The
NBA man made both and it was a one shot game again. However when Jagodnik then
delivered an absolute dagger from the corner the place went crazy again and
Serbia looked like they might be done. Not a bit of it as Lakovic fouled
Milos Teodosic on a triple attempt and he made all three to make it 75-78
with 80 seconds left. On the next two possessions there were two pivotal plays,
Krstic coming up with a superb block and then Brezec called for a fifth foul and
an unsportsmanlike on
Milos Teodosic who made one from the line. On the resulting possession he
missed the lay-up and it was tough to bear for the guard. 35 seconds left and
Krstic fouled Lakovic who made one from the line only for
Milos Teodosic to make amends with a huge, huge three from the top to tie
the game up with a big time triple at 79-79. That effectively gave Slovenia the
last possession but Lakovic couldnt make the play and with a couple of seconds
left Velickovic threw one up but it was short and that mean....take a breath -
overtime! Krstic scored the first points of the extra period with a tip-in off a
Velickovic missed lay-up and the tension really was unbearable. The big man then
repeated almost the same play as Slovenia failed to box out and they found
themselves trailing 83-79. That led to a quick time out by Jure Zdovc as the
small band of Serbian fans made themselves heard above the Slovenian hoardes for
pretty much the first time in the night. They were shouting even more loudly
when Uros Tripkovic then struck from downtown to hand his team a 7 point lead,
their biggest of the night at just the right time. Slokar then made two
free-throws to maintain hope for Slovenia at 86-81. Udrih then held his nerve
from the line for the Greens and it was a one shot game with just over two
minutes and Nachbar was fouled next time down. He made one and Serbia then went
to Milos Teodosic who buried another massive triple. At 89-84 Dormen Lorbek
made a lay-up and there was 45 seconds left and Nachbar drew a foul on
Velickovic after a defensive rebound. This time he made both and it was a one
point game at 89-88 and in another stunning play - the hot hand
Milos Teodosic made another huge triple. Just when it looked like it was
over for sure, Lakovic then made a three-pointer with 12 seconds to go. It was
time-out and Serbia 92-91 ahead - with the ball on the half way line. Lakovic
had to foul out by fouling
Milos Teodosic and he went to the line. He was just the man Serbia needed to
keep a cool head and he made both. Serbia smartly fouled Samo Udrih down the
court so he couldnt get a triple chance but he did make one from the line. With
Slovenia having to foul, Velickovic went to seal the game with five seconds left
- something he did to secure a truly remarkable win. Slovenia were cruising and
while some might say they blew it, Serbia deserve the credit for a stunning
achievement to make the Final with so many guys missing. Meanwhile the 32 point
performance of
Milos Teodosic will live long in the memory.
Stunning Serbia Slay Slovenia In Overtime Thriller
To Make Final - Sep. 19, 2009 Both teams lined up looking
to make it to the Final of Eurobasket final of 2009 with the dubious task of
trying to deny Spain gold and
due to the spectacular noise and atmosphere of the Slovenian team the game could
have been played on Slovenian soil - it was hard to believe this game was in
Katowice,
Poland.
Serbia went with Milenko
Tepic,
Milos Teodosic (195-G-87),
Uros Tripkovic (196-G-86,
agency:
Beo Basket),
Miroslav Raduljica (213-C-88,
agency: Octagon)
(213-C-88,
agency: Octagon) and
Nenad Krstic (214-C-83) while Slovenia chose
Jaka Lakovic (186-G-78),
Primoz Brezec
(216-F/C-79),
Bostjan Nachbar (207-G/F-80),
Erazem Lorbek (210-F/C-84, college:
Michigan St.)
and Domen Lorbek (198-G/F-85). It was
Miroslav Raduljica who opened the scoring and that was followed by another
bucket for Serbia as
Milos Teodosic finished a strong right handed lay-up in the lane.
Bostjan Nachbar then got the Greens underway with a nice baseline jump shot.
In the face of some deafening jeers Serbia managed to restore their early
momentum with a nice
Nenad Krstic jump shot having come up with block moments beforehand. Serbia
were playing some strong defence and it looked like it was going to be a real
war of attrition. Especially when
Primoz Brezec put up an air ball having had some perhaps surprise form from
outside in these championships. Some nice penetration into the key and a right
handed hook off the glass by
Domen Lorbek broke a barren spell for both teams as the game approached the
midway point of the opening period.
Nachbar went to the line for two foul shots on that five minute mark and sunk
them both to ensure a tied game at 6-6 in a defence dominated period, both teams
rebounding pretty well defensively with cheap putbacks a rare commodity. Slovenia got Serbia in the penalty and it as
Domen Lorbek who handed Slovenia the lead. After Kristic
missed a turnaround jumper,
Miroslav Raduljica committed a silly foul on the rebound and that put
Nachbar back on the line to take the Slovenian advantage out to 6-10. With three
minutes remaining, not surprisingly Coach Ivkovic called a time-out, his team
having suffered an 8-0 run by their opponents. Not to be outdone by his brother,
Erazem Lorbek suddenly came to life and drew a foul on an inside score to
also convert the bonus and at 13-6 it was the Slovenian defence proving to be
the difference. Serbia could get nothing going and it
was looking tough during a scoreless five minutes.
Down the other end
Slovenia were still earning their
points from the line, Nachbar making both again and almost coming up with a
double digit lead at15-6.
Kosta Perovic (217-C-85)
then ended a truly miserable offensive period for Serbia
with two free throws of his own from the line and Coach
Dusan Ivkovic (agency:
Beo Basket ) was left hoping that the worse may have been over. Another cheap
foul, this time on
Uros Slokar (210-F/C-83)
put Perovic back on the line and he made one.
Stefan Markovic (194-G-88)
had the arduous task of following Lakovic all over the court and his attention
was just too much as he also fouled to allow the combo guard to also make one of
two free-throws. Entering the last minute of the period Serbia could get
nothing much to drop but Perovic was fouled yet again on another big rebound and
once more he made just one to make it 10-16. Just when Serbia were slowly
creeping back up on Slovenia,
Samo Udrih (195-G-79)
buried a triple and you've guessed it, down the other end of the court, Perovic
was back shooting free throws and he made just one - again. That gave Slovenia
the last possession but they weren't decisive enough but left the court 11-19 in
front thanks mainly to 10 of 11 free throw shooting.
Erazem Lorbek scored the first bucket of the second quarter off a nice
assist inside by Lakovic but Perovic replied instantly. Serbia were however getting nothing in transition
with Slovenia nicely
organised on defending the fast break but Perovic was coming up big time for
them - this time with a nice tip dunk from a missed Tepic lay-up.
Slovenia then let
Serbia back in as Slokar committed an
unsportsmanlike foul and
Novica Velickovic (205-F-86)
made them pay with both free-throws and it was time out by
Jurij Zdovc his team still ahead but looking less comfortable at 17-21.
He might have been figuring out a way to stop Perovic but it didn't work as the
center scored again to move into double-figures and make it a 2 point game.
However
Erazem Lorbek soon responded and the Slovenian fans were on their feet when
the same player went inside and drew a foul on
Nemanja Bjelica (209-F/C-88,
agency:
Interperformances) put managed to get the drop and this time it was Ivkovic
calling time out with 7 minutes left and his team 19-25 behind. Lorbek completed
the 'And-1'.
Serbia needed the likes of Krstic,
Velickovic and
Milos Teodosic to really step it up if they wanted to grind this one out.
Markovic grabbed a great offensive rebound and put back on the run before some
controversy over whether Dormen Lorbek had drained a triple as the shot clock
sounded. It was basket good and Slovenia were 21-29 ahead. Serbia
were stone cold from outside and Bjelica rimming out put them 0/8 in the game
while Brezec compounded their pain with an inside score and a bonus from the
free-throw line which opened up a double figure lead at 21-32 with just under 4
minutes to go until the interval.
Much to the relief of Serbian fans, their team came up with five straight
points, a three-pointer in the corner from
Milos Teodosic and a monster dunk by Krstic and that led Zdovc to call a
time-out for Slovenia having seen his teams advantage almost halved in just 20
seconds. Nachbar came up with a smart play straight out of the time-out, faking
the three and looking to drive as he drew the foul on Bjelica and made both from
the line. There were jeers from Slovenian fans when Brezec was called for a foul
on Milos Teodosic who could only make one and Serbia continued
to chase the Slovenian shadow. Slovenia went to
Erazem Lorbek in the paint and he drew a foul on Krstic as the fans chanted
'MVP, MVP', perhaps as a hint to the watching media who vote in these matters.
He made them both but Krstic replied. Seconds later
Erazem Lorbek had the fans chanting MVP even louder after a gorgeous tip
slam in traffic. It was 29-38 to the Greens.
Milos Teodosic made two from the line for Serbia but it was
Domen Lorbek scoring next time down, also from the free-throw position and
he sunk both to keep Slovenia in control. Krstic got
another inside bucket and he was beginning to steadily grow in influence but it
never looked quite enough and especially when
Domen Lorbek sunk a trey from the corner to put Slovenia ten
points up at 33-43. A tight game was beginning to open up as Krstic scored again
before
Erazem Lorbek returned to the line to more chants of support. With 11
seconds left of the half and down by ten, Bjelica rimmed out and it was a shot
that realistically Serbia needed to make as they headed into the locker room
trailing 35-45. Amazingly, the Lorbek brothers scoring around 80% of Slovenian
points in the half!
Serbia began the second half
with the first basket, an inside basket by Krstic and in a similar pattern to
the first half it was
Erazem Lorbek who was straight back into the action as the Slovenian
heartbeat with a triple on the shot clock buzzer.
Milenko Tepic (198-G-87,
agency:
Beo Basket) then made a decisive move to the hoop to slam home an open score and
the difference was single figures. It was going to be intriguing to see if
Serbia could make some outside shots
but again little dropped in their first couple of attempts. Tepic was trying to take the game to Slovenia and
another tough move drew the foul and he cut the deficit to just seven points at
41-48. While Serbia were more aggressive they remained stone cold from the arc
and that misery was compounded when Nachbar drained a three and Ivkovic incurred
a technical foul which led to Lakovic making one from the line.
Serbia were 11 points behind at
41-52.
Serbia
then came up with a little burst of scoring six points in a hurry.
Tepic making a lay-up and then one free throw before a triple from
Velickovic and suddenly it was 47-52 and Slovenia called time-out to try and
regain some composure and stop the Serbian momentum. After an offensive foul by
Udrih, Velickovic got a lucky one to drop after bouncing on the rim and it was
suddenly a one shot game instead of a double digit contest.
Erazem Lorbek then got a much needed score for Slovenia which
was followed up by a fourth foul on Tripkovic to send
Domen Lorbek to the line for two free-throws to make it 49-56 with 90
seconds left in the period.
Kosta Perovic was back on the line again, this time for the first time in
the half and he made both.
Erazem Lorbek then rashly picked up what could be a crucial fourth foul and
it was a really needless one as Tepic again narrowed the gap to make it a one
shot game. Paunic then fouled
Jurica Golemac (209-F-77)
and the big man made one to hand Serbia the ball with just over 40
seconds left and Perovic went strong to get back to the free-throw line. He sunk
both and the game was delicately poised at just two points difference.
Serbia then came up with a
steal and with less than one second left, Golemac fouled Markovic and he made
one to get within one point of Slovenia in a great quarter for
Serbia.
Serbia then completed the
comeback when
Milos Teodosic nailed a triple to start the final period and after a free
throw by Lakovic, he was at it again, burying another three-pointer and suddenly
Slovenia were in trouble at 62-58 and their talisman
Erazem Lorbek on foul trouble and on the bench with four fouls. It led to
Jurij Zdovc to call a time out with seven minutes left. The coach decided to risk
putting his big player back into the game and it paid instant dividends as he
went up strong and got fouled making both to move to 23 points. However Tepic
made a beautiful play with a drive and high shot way up on the glass that drew
gasps from the crowd but not as much as when Dormen Lorbek sunk a three-pointer
from way downtown to make it 64-63 and cut the gap. The crowd went wild but
incredibly Perovic then went and restored the advantage with an inside score and
foul shot as he finished the three point play inside. The game was on an
absolute knife edge. The nervous tension inside
the Spodek was palpable and Nachbar made one from the line for Slovenia as their
fans prayed their team could regain control in the last five or six minutes. It
was time out with 5:36 remaining and a gold or silver medal was still on the
line for both teams.
Erazem Lorbek was back on the line and he made both before a pivotal moment
in the game when Nachbar drew a cheap foul on Tepic. Not only did it allow him to make one
from the line to tie the game up but it was the fifth for Tepic who left the court.
However Serbia still had
Milos Teodosic and he made a tough lay up in the paint before a massive
three-pointer by Goran Jagodnik gave Slovenia the lead once more with
three minutes left at 69-70. Jagodnik then got another bucket to take
Slovenia into a further lead before
Milos Teodosic made one from the line.
The Arena then erupted as
Dormen Lorbek sunk a triple to give his team a 70-75 lead with two minutes to go
and it was time-out Serbia with Krstic to go on the line
when the action resumed. The NBA man made both and it was a one shot game again.
However when Jagodnik then delivered an absolute dagger from the corner the
place went crazy again and Serbia looked like they might be
done. Not a bit of it as Lakovic fouled
Milos Teodosic on a triple attempt and he made all three to make it 75-78
with 80 seconds left. On the next two possessions there were two pivotal plays,
Krstic coming up with a superb block and then Brezec called for a fifth foul and
an unsportsmanlike on
Milos Teodosic who made one from the line. On the resulting possession he
missed the lay-up and it was tough to bear for the guard. 35 seconds left and
Krstic fouled Lakovic who made one from the line only for
Milos Teodosic to make amends with a huge, huge three from the top to tie
the game up with a big time triple at 79-79. That effectively gave Slovenia the
last possession but Lakovic couldnt make the play and with a couple of seconds
left Velickovic threw one up but it was short and that mean....take a breath -
overtime!
Krstic scored the first points of the extra period with a tip-in off a
Velickovic missed lay-up and the tension really was unbearable. The big man then
repeated almost the same play as Slovenia failed
to box out and they found themselves trailing 83-79. That led to a quick time
out by Jurij Zdovc as the small band of Serbian fans made themselves heard above
the Slovenian hoardes for pretty much the first time in the night. They were
shouting even more loudly when
Uros Tripkovic then struck from downtown to hand his team a 7 point lead, their
biggest of the night at just the right time. Slokar then made two free-throws to
maintain hope for Slovenia at 86-81. Udrih then held
his nerve from the line for the Greens and it was a one shot game with just over
two minutes and Nachbar was fouled next time down. He made one and
Serbia then went to
Milos Teodosic who buried another massive triple. At 89-84
Domen Lorbek made a lay-up and there was 45 seconds left and Nachbar drew a
foul on Velickovic after a defensive rebound. This time he made both and it was
a one point game at 89-88 and in another stunning play - the hot hand
Milos Teodosic made another huge triple. Just when it looked like it was
over for sure, Lakovic then made a three-pointer with 12 seconds to go. It was
time-out and Serbia 92-91 ahead - with the ball on
the half way line. Lakovic had to foul out by fouling
Milos Teodosic and he went to the line. He was just the man
Serbia needed to keep a cool head and
he made both. Serbia smartly fouled
Samo Udrih down the court so he couldnt get a triple chance but he did make one
from the line. With Slovenia having to foul, Velickovic
went to seal the game with five seconds left - something he did to secure a
truly remarkable win. Slovenia were cruising and while some might say
they blew it, Serbia deserve the credit for a
stunning achievement to make the Final with so many guys missing. Meanwhile the
32 point performance of
Milos Teodosic will live long in the memory.
Spanish Sights Now On Gold As Greek Search For
Bronze - Sep. 19, 2009 The first EuroBasket 2009
semi-final between Spain and Greece began to the sound three hugely noisy set of
supporters, not only the Spanish and Greek fans but also the Lithuanian fans
also out in great numbers. In a near capacity Spodek Arena it was
Spain who drew first blood, Rudy
Fernandez slamming home an assist from Jorge Garbajosa before MVP in waiting Pau
Gasol drained a long jump shot. Greece finally got off the mark two
minutes into the contest as big man Bourousis scored inside. Soon
Greece saw the task that was to lie
ahead of them as 'La Bomba' lived up to his name with the first triple of the
game. However not to be outdone Zsis drained a three-pointer as the shot clock
counted down and within seconds Spanoulis tied the game up at 7-7 in a frantic
opening.
Navarro was looking hot as he moved to five points while down the other end
Ricky Rubio found himself having to guard Bourousis in the paint - perhaps one
of the biggest mis-matches in the tournament! While Bourousis didn't get the
chance to convert, seconds later he found himself in the same spot and powered
his way up tempting Rubio into fouling and the Greek star gleefully accepted the
bonus from the line to hand Greece a 9-10 lead. Down the other end of the floor
opposing center Pau Gasol was looking dominant already and he grabbed an easy
looking hook shot to restore the Spanish advantage.
When Bourousis managed to get another inside score for Hellas it was clear that both players would be hugely
influential. Garbajosa got a put back on the fast break for Spain and then
Fotsis re-adjusted nicely for a sweet looking jumper as the game really flowed
brilliantly well. Pau Gasol was trying to keep pace with Bourousis and he did so
with gusto as he nonchalantly stepped back to drain his first trey as
Spain moved 16-14 in front.
Fotsis was doing a decent job for Greece and he found himself back on the line
and made both to tie the game up with just over 2 minutes left of a pulsating
first quarter. After rimming out on a previous triple attempt, Fernandez went
inside and made a bucket as well as drawing the foul to complete an impressive'
'And 1' play. Things got even better for him and his team seconds later when he
grabbed a steal and made a no look pass to Pau Gasol who rammed it home, again
drawing a foul and not surprisingly it was time for a Greek time out as they
trailed 21-16.
With Gasol missing the extra free throw Greece had the chance to narrow the gap
again but the Spanish defence was proving a tough nut to crack with Cabezas
shackling Spanoulis pretty well and he showed his prowess on offence too as he
buried a three-pointer to complete an 8-0 run for the Spanish. That run was
broken by Printezis who came up with a big dunk and a foul shot for a nice play
but defensively Greece were
struggling. Even Alex Mumbru came off the bench for an inside score but at least
Greece finished the opening period with a flourish as Printezis finished a three
man fast break to get back into the contest at 26-21.
Greece turned to 'Big Sofo'
to try and help inside with Pau Gasol but it wasn't Pau who was doing the damage
early in the second as Felipe Reyes made a lay-up on the break before Spain
exposed some lax Greek perimeter defence through another triple from Navarro as
Spain opened up the first double-digit lead of the game at 31-21. Greece were
looking lacklustre with Spanoulis so well guarded and nothing was coming easy
for them.
Mumbru found himself on the line for a free-throw and he grabbed one of two as
Spain converted the first six points of the quarter, in fact it became eight
when Marc Gasol scored with a nice reverse lay-up and the game was really
beginning to slip away from Greece - they were on the wrong end of a devastating
18-5 run since the first quarter and a time-out was called as they tried to stop
the rot at 34-21.
Even with the irrepressible Pau Gasol sat on his backside on the bench, Greece couldnt find any penetration
or make a shot until finally the drought was broken with a big three in the
quarter by Spanoulis. However the guard then turned the ball over next time down
as Reyes got himself on the line as the Spanish broke down the floor. He made
one and was joined again by Pau on the floor as
Spain looked to press home their
advantage, this time Fernandez getting one to drop off the glass to extend the
lead to 37-24.
Greece
then got Spain in the penalty with over four
minutes to go and Nikolaos Zsis made two only for Rubio and Calathes, two young
guys to get in a tangle with Rubio also making both from the line after drawing
the foul. Bourousis managed to get himself back in the game after a real lull
with a nice tip-in and then Navarro fouled Fotsis who had the chance to narrow
the deficit to single digits for the first time in a while but he missed his
second so it stayed ten points at 39-29.
The number of foul shots with both teams now in foul trouble slowed the game
down and Pau Gasol was next up, making one of two before things got a little
ugly with words exchanged by Coach Scariolo and Bourousis who were both subject
of technical fouls which cancelled each other out. The distraction was not as
big as the one caused by Allen Iverson whose face came up on the big screens as
he sat courtside and gave a little wave.
Moments later Fotsis drained
a big three and at 40-32 to go with 2:44 left in the half, Scariolo called a
time-out and the crowd rocked with the cheerleaders to some Michael Jackson
tunes as they drew for breath. Just when it looked like Greece
might haul themselves back into the game at a pivotal time, Sergio Llull entered
the game and dropped a bomb from outside to restore the double figure lead
although Zsis did strike one from the line seconds later. However after a foul
by Schortsanitis, Pau Gasol made two from the line and there was fun down the
other end of the floor.
Big Sofo went up three times, missing under pressure on both occasions but
finally got one to drop and pumped his fist as he drew the foul and converted
the three-point play. It gave Greece some
great momentum as Calathes put home a sweet bucket on the break to narrow to
45-38. Fernandez then made a score only for Sofo to get another inside look as
he muscled out the defence in typical fashion, much to the delight of the Greek
supporters, hinting a comeback could be on the cards. Perhaps the big guy got a
little too excited on the next possession as he tried to steamroller two Spanish
defenders going on a long drive to the hoop and in what was probably the easiest
refereeing call of the entire tournament, he picked up his second offensive
foul. That handed Spain the ball 47-40 ahead with 11 seconds left of the half
and after a time-out it was Fernandez that completed the scoring as Navarro
dished up an assist to him under the hoop as he finished to hand Spain a 49-40
half-time lead.
The third quarter started with Rubio slicing through the Greek defence like a
knife through butter as he went to the hoop on a long arching drive almost
unchallenged. Pau Gasol then made a lay-up off the glass. Spanoulis opened the
Greek account but after a hustle play in the paint,
Pau was at it
again getting one to drop inside. Three minutes into the second half and
Greece were back on the ropes at
55-42. Fernandez was producing some nice offensive rebounding and the Greek
bench were getting a little heated and were warned by the referees. The game was
being played at a far slower pace than in the opening although the intensity in
terms of physicality barely dropped a notch. After Pau Gasol handed a defensive
rebound to Rubio who was off and running, the problems of Greece mounted.
The guard had both Fernandez and Navarro open on the wings having beaten the
Greek defence down the floor and he chose Rudy who dropped the triple leading to
a time out with Greece on the wrong end of a 9-2 opening to the second half at
58-42.
A nice little jump shot on the run gave Calathes a score to inject some life
back into Greece and as Printezis got a rebound and put back, the margin was
back to 12 points but that last seconds as Pau Gasol was perfect from the line
before being withdrawn. It was 60-46 with three minutes until the final quarter
beckoned. Spanoulis made a nice play goin to the hoop but this time Marc Gasol
was the one doing the damage with a fadeaway. Greece looked to lack belief and
not surprising in the face of some tough Spanish defence. That gave the platform
for another score as Cabezas made a lay-up with the Greek defence AWOL and we
entered ther last minute of the penultimate period. Thankfully for Greece,
Calathes made a three at the top to keep a little chink of light for them while
on the last possessions neither teams could make a play and it was 64-51 heading
into the last ten minutes.
The last quarter began with a beautiful right handed dunk by Real Madrid guard
Sergio Llull and again it was a slow start to the game for
Greece as the same player then made
two from the line. Spain were looking impregnable and the final nail in the
Greek coffin came when Carlos Cabezas delivered a big triple to take the margin
out to 20 points for the first time at 71-51.
That didn't stop the great Greek fans from continuing their relentless support
for their team although obviously despite 8 minutes left to go in the semi-final
it was the Spanish fans scenting that elusive gold medal being just one game
away with this game in the bag. It was exhibition stuff by Spain as Llull made another play and time-out
Greece came more in hope and
desperation with a bronze medal to be played for the following day than any
feasible way of clawing back this one against the truly rampant World Champions.
As the final quarter began to peter out as any kind of a realistic contest, Spain just continued to enjoy
themselves and to play the game like a true fiesta - something the Spanish fans
will be enjoying tonight and possibly tomorrow too. Greece tried in vain but they could make no
impression as Spain ran out comfortable winners
82-64.
It meant that for all of their early tournament malaise and general inability to
live up to their reputation during the first group stage, Spain are now just 40
minutes away from a gold medal. Whether that waranted the SPanish fans chanting
'Champions' in anticipation, who knows although Slovenia and Serbia might have
something to say about that. Greece meanwhile now think about bronze.
Slovenia got 2-point victory over Croatia in the
semifinals - Sep. 18, 2009 Slovenia headed into this game as favourites and backed
by another noisy set of fans, bringing back memories of their Group round in
Warsaw while Croatia were still looking for their first impressive performance
having laboured their way into the quarters. One factor was definately how
Jasmin Repesa (agency:
World Sport Agency ) would play his guard combinations and that was going to prove
crucial. Both teams started the game slowly with
Mario Kasun (213-C-80) getting the first point of the game from the line after
being fouled on a big dunk attempt while
Erazem Lorbek (210-F/C-84, college:
Michigan St.)
got Slovenia off the mark inside.
Croatia were pounding the ball inside to Kasun and he got one to drop off the
glass to put Croatia in front, while Nachbar sporting a wristband after his
injury worries made one from the line. Ukic then scored with an open shot before
scoring again with a beautiful floater. Croatia were fired up and they had their
fists pumping after forcing Slovenia into a 24 second violation and their
delight continued after Planinic penetrated an got one to drop. That forced
Jurij Zdovc
into calling a time out with his team trailing 11-4 and having struggled at the
offensive end in the opening five minutes or so.
Slovenia responded after the time out through the irrepressible
Erazem Lorbek and narrowed the gap but Croatia only faltered briefly and
after a flurry of triples by both teams, they held the advantage at 25-18 at the
end of the first quarter - thanks mainly to 12 points from
Roko-Leni Ukic (195-G-84) who really showcased his NBA quality.
At the start of the second period and much to his relief, the previously well
shackled
Jaka Lakovic (186-G-78) finally got a score, not from the arc as usual but a
lay-up in transition. Next time down the floor the veteran
Sandro Nicevic (210-C-76, agency:
Beo Basket) made a jump shot and maintained the advantage of the Croatians. The
Slovenian fans were then on their feet when Lakovic finally made a shot from
outside and not only that but he also drew the foul for a rare four point play
and suddenly it was 24-27 and a one shot game less than two minutes into the
period.
After
Erazem Lorbek continued his good work by drawing a foul and with their lead
evaporating, Coach
Jasmin Repesa (agency:
World Sport Agency ) called a well needed time-out for the Croatian team and as the
players re-emerged, Lorbek cut the gap to just two points at at 25-27 after
scoring and missing one of his free-throws. The action then hotted up even
further as
Goran Jagodnik (202-F-74,
agency:
Beo Basket) was called for a needless unsporstmanlike foul on
Sandro Nicevic under the basket and the forward stroked home both
free-throws before missing an inside chance from the resulting possession.
Goran Jagodnik then made amends for his indiscretion by converting two
free-throws and it was very much game on although the referees were calling the
game very tightly so it didnt quite ebb and flow as some of us might have liked
- though an understandable strategy in the circumstances. With just over five
minutes remaining until the half time break, Slovenia were desperately trying to
get themselves level and into the lead but
Zoran Planinic (199-G-82) had other ideas as he sunk a triple to put his
team 32-27 in front. When Slovenia then handed possession back to Croatia
courtesy of a technical foul for flopping by
Bostjan Nachbar (207-G/F-80), it was time for Zdovc to call another time-out
and for the small but loud and very merry band of Croatian fans to dance in
their seats.
They were dancing even more vigourously when
Roko-Leni Ukic converted both free-throws and then
Zoran Planinic pump faked and finished a lay-up inside. It gave Croatia a
healthy advantage and when
Bostjan Nachbar rimmed out with a triple attempt it gave them the chance of
a double-figure lead and they took it through
Sandro Nicevic again inside - with something of a lucky drop.
Nachbar reduced the arrears with a couple from the line and with 3 minutes left
Primoz Brezec (216-F/C-79)
came into the game to try and shore up what as looking to be a really soft
Slovenian key. The wily
Nikola Prkacin (208-C-75) showed he still has what it takes with a beautiful
spin on the baseline for a gorgeous looking move to the hoop and without Lorbek
who knows where Slovenia would have been. The forward buried a three and it kept
his team in touching distance otherwise Croatia might have been out of sight.
Prkacin made one from the line and then Ukic drove to the hole and finished with
a sublime running one handed release to restore the double digit lead for the
unfancied Croatians.
Mario Stojic (198-G/F-80, agency:
Interperformances) then got an easy put back which was a real killer for
Slovenia who were doing nothing inside defensively. Ukic then grabbed a steal
and made a behind the back pass in mid air to
Marko Popovic (185-G-82,
college: S.Idaho JC) on the break and with the 7-0 run, the game looked to be ebbing
away from Slovenia - their history of choking at vitals stages in big
tournaments coming back to possibly haunt them.
Things were looking bleak but a technical foul by
Marko Popovic gave Slovenia a chance of limiting the damage before the half time
buzzer and
Jaka Lakovic made both free throws before this time the other Lorbek came alive
as Domen made a shot on he buzzer to reduce a one sided half to just 8 points as
the interval at 39-47.
The mood was certainly different inside the Arena as
Domen Lorbek (198-G/F-85) scored two free-throws at the start of the second
although that joy was tempered by Planinic making a free throw to get Croatia
going in the second half. Erezam Lorbek then drilled a triple from the top and
the noise from the Slovenian fans was suddenly deafening. That noise subsided
when Kasun sunk a long looking jump shot and Croatia were 6 ahead at 50-44.
Erezam Lorbek then made a jump shot before a huge triple by
Jaka Lakovic sent the Slovenian fans into raptures and seconds later, the
comeback was complete as the stunning Lorbek made an inside score to hand
Slovenia a 51-50 advantage. Lorbek was just unstoppable and he made another
score seconds later as Slovenia threatened to take control having looked dead
and buried in midway through the second quarter. It was riveting stuff and
Croatia had to find a way to stop the CSKA forward who was rampant and already
with 23 points to his name.
What was also important was that Slovenia had really turned up their defensive
effort and it was in stark contrast to the first half complacency. They also
grabbed successive offensive rebounds and Croatia were the ones looking flat
footed. They also had the last shot of the game but Ukic rimmed out to sum up a
miserable quarter as Croatia left the court to listen to their coach 53-50
behind.
Croatia could really get nothing to drop and their drought was clearly
irritating Coach Repesa and you've guessed it,
Erazem Lorbek was at it again, starting the Slovenian scoring in this last
quarter too. You wondered if Croatia might just find some momentum again at just
the right time but another missed shot didnt add credence to such a notion.
Eventually Vujcic broke the barren run which seemed to last for an eternity and
his inside score put it back to a one shot game. It was very quickly a one shot
game as Ukic converted with a little one handed jump shot on the run and it was
time out Slovenia with seven minutes left and they were 55-54 in front.
Nicevic was tasked with man handling Lorbek off the ball and that attention
handed
Uros Slokar (210-F/C-83)
the chance to make a tough jumper but within seconds Nikola Vujcic had reduced
the gap.
Slokar then drilled a big three and both
teams traded buckets with the last by Vujcic keeping it a one shot game at 63-60
with three minutes remaining. If
Erazem Lorbek as hot offensively he also showed his defensive prowess with a
big block as the Slovenian fans gave him the cheers he deserved.
Bostjan Nachbar then made two big free-throws to give Slovenia a five
point margin with just over two minutes to go and they had one foot in the
semi-finals. Amidst deafening jeers Planinic rimmed out from way downtown but so
did Nachbar with what would have been a real dagger.
Nicevic then used all of his experience to draw a foul insideHe made both and
then both teams missed to give Slovenia the ball with 30 seconds
left and 65-62 in front. Nachbar then made the play of the game making a jump
shot with a second left on the clock and while Repesa went mental at no 24
second violation and Ukic drained a three it didn't matter - Slovenia were
through to the semi-finals and up against old foes Serbia.
Greece beat Turkey in overtime in the most exciting
final stage game so far - Sep. 18, 2009 Prior to tip-off
for this game between these arch rivals, the media were informed about a
tragic event that occurred in a nearby coal mine, where 12 coal miners lost
their lives. In a fitting tribute, everybody inside the Spodek Arena paid their
respect with a well observed period of silence.
The Greek fans were as usual in
boisterous mood and vastly outnumbered their counterparts making a raucous sound
even before the game had started. The first points of the contest
were scored by
Omer Asik (211-C-86) and followed by 3-pointer by
Omer Onan (194-G-78) as Turkey started brightly but the Greeks responded as
Ioannis Bourousis (212-C-83, agency:
FCM)
got them off the mark.
Turkey tried to
maintain their early advantage, but after Spanoulis 3-pointer, the Greeks tied
the game at 7-7 before Zisis rattled off 5 consecutive points to hand his team
their first lead of the game at 12-9. Moments later Turkey tied the
game up again and then
Vassilis Spanoulis (193-G-82,
agency:
Beo Basket) challenged NBA star
Hedo Turkoglu (206-F-79) down each end of the floor with the Greeks taking back
the lead at 17-14 heading into the second period. Not surprisingly that gave the
noisy Greek supporters even more reason to increase the tempo off the court,
this game more than just about basketball with national pride coming into play
too. Greece had put
together a very good defence, especially against Turkish leader Turkoglou, who
ended the first quarter with no points and that would need to continue.
The second quarter started the same way as the Greeks kept storming the Turkish
side. After the effective dunk of Schortsanitis followed two free throws, and
then a Zisis' bucket,
Greece extended their lead to
24-16.The Greek team were playing more aggressively, especially at the defensive
end and Turkoglu was finally put on the bench to be replaced by
Ender Arslan (190-G-83)
but initially the game did not change much.
Eventually the Greeks missed a
few free throws and the chance to increase their lead. Turkey looked like they
could not find any response to that tough defence of the Greek team and when
Turkoglu went back on the court for last 4 minutes of the quarter, he might not
have been able to find his rhythm but his team did rally to get within three
points going into the locker room at the half time break. Turkey started the second half as they had
finished the first, getting back the lead at 32-31 but as the roller-coaster
ride continued, Greece responded quickly getting back
into a 4-point lead. The game was very tough and neither team were budging or
giving each other a shot at breaking away, much better for the fans than the two
relative blowouts in the first two quarter-finals. By the end of the third
quarter
Greece still had their noses in front
at 47-46 to underline the closeness of the contest.
The last quarter started
similar way to the penultimate period although things changed in the 6th minute
when the Turks got back in front and then increased the lead to 4-points (56-52)
after five consecutive points from Turkoglu. Suddenly it was the Greek team
which was in trouble as Turkoglu took the initiative on both boards.
After another triple by the NBA
man, Turkey found themselves ahead 63-57
up with just two minutes left before the final buzzer and Spanoulis tried his
best to speed up the game for Greeks. He was scoring on and initializing every
action. Thanks to his influence,
Greece managed to close the gap to 2
points (63-61) helped by a massive Nikolaos Zisis 3-pointer.Then what looked to
be Impossible happened. 40 seconds before the end of the game another action
initiated by again by Spanoulis resulted in a nice assist to
Giorgos Printezis (206-F-85, agency:
FCM)
and his 3-pointer changed the momentum as Greece edged
back in front at 64-63.
Bogdan Tanjevic called time out for Turkey and with the ball, Turkoglu
missed the pass for an easy score inside.
A quick foul by Tunceri and
that put Zisis on the foul line but crucially he misses one of two free throws.
It was 65-63 for Greece and 18 more seconds to go. The
last second hero was Ender Arslan. He waited with the ball for over 10 seconds,
drove on the basket and after a superb re-adjustment, got to the hoop to secure
the points for Turkey and with that terrific play - overtime.
Greece managed to get an early 5-point lead after Spanoulis and
Antonis Fotsis (210-F-81)
converted before Turkey cut the lead to 2 points (69-72) after a bucket by
Tunceri.
Vassilis Spanoulis then drained what looked to be a real dagger but within
seconds, Ersan Ilyasova responded in kind to put the score to 72-75 just one
minute before the end.
Turkoglu then charged the basket and got an important 2-pointer cutting Greeks
lead to 1 point (75-74). Then the Magic man tried to make a big play and
arguably made a big mistake in trying to force the situation but unlike a few
seconds earlier, this time under severe pressure and he missed. Zisis then
quickly drew a foul with just 10 seconds left and missed another from the line
but got the other one. Both teams had done their best to throw the gamne away
and with the last possession of a thrilling game, Arslan could not repeat his
regular time shot and Greece marched on to the semi-finals sparking triumphant
scenes on he buzzer both on the court and in the crowd.
Four games penalty for Kambala - Sep.
18, 2009 Kaspars Kambala (206-C-78, college:
UNLV) of
Latvia was handed a four-game suspension for his intentional, unprovoked act of
violence against Germany's Steffen Hamann, after the game of their respective
teams in the EuroBasket 2009 Preliminary Round, in Gdansk, Poland on September
9th.
After examining the evidence available, including video footage and the report
by the game commissioner, FIBA Europe's Single Disciplinary Judge ruled that
this act of violence is subject to article 126.3 of FIBA Europe Regulations and
sanctioned
Kaspars Kambala to a disqualification of four (4) National Team games within
FIBA Europe official competitions (i.e. excluding friendly games) and a fine of
EUR 6.000.
Blue edges White at the Champions U18 All-Star Game - Sep.
18, 2009 Blue Team was slightly better over White at the Champions
U18 All-Star Game, edging them by two points (77-75). The game was very close
and no team could get any larger lead. The game belong to the centers, where
White team was dominated by German
Philipp Neumann (210-C-92) and Serb
Dejan Musli (214-C-91, agency:
Octagon).
But the MVP goes to Blue team leader Lithuanian
Jonas Valanciunas (211-C-92).
White - Blue 75-77
White: Naumann 14, Prostran 13, Musli 10, Andjusic 9, Dekic 8, Binev 5,
Czerapowicz 5, Person 4, Kulvietis 4, Eilingsfeld 3
Blue: Valanavicius 18+19 reb (!!!), Radovic 12+9REB, Radosavljevic 11,
Peciukevicius 9, Meiers 7, Muric 6, De Nicolao 4, Chrysikopoulos 4, Antipov 4,
Nedovic 2
Champion U18 All Star Game - Sep.
18, 2009
FIBA Europe started to follow Euroleague idea about organizing separate
all-star game for top youngsters in Europe.
Euroleague uses model of qualification games for the best youth clubs on the
continent and best teams make it to the final stage when they play at the same
time when Euroleague teams play their Final Four.
FIBA Europe focused on the individual players instead of clubs. They selected
the group of most talented youngsters and they will play the all-star game later
today.
The players were split into two teams. The reosters:
Coaches: Jyri Lohikoski (FIN) and Zeljko Djokic (SRB)
Summary of the Quarterfinals in Poland - Sep. 18, 2009 France - Spain
66-86
The second game of the quarterfinals was between defending champion Spain and
'black horse' of the tournament France. Especially France made a long way
qualifying to the tournament as the last team and entering play-offs as the
biggest favorite. Spain disappointed from the very beginning, but played better
from game to game. So everything could happen tonight. Both teams had NBA
players in their roster. Both teams approached the game as a heavy weight
contest. No team could really establish any lead in the first minutes. When
France scored, Spain (usually Fernandez and Navarro) responded right away.
Pietrus tried to stop
Pau Gasol (214-F/C-80), but similarly like during the NBA finals and trying to
defend Kobe, it was no match for much taller Gasol. France tried to play closer
to the basket, while Spain was better in long-distance shooting. When Spain got
two consecutive 3-point shoots and got 6-point lead, French coach called first
time-out. It did not help much and Spaniards were having still a good game.
French were very athletic, but not as tall as Spanish players. They could not
find anyone to stop
Pau Gasol in the middle. It was interesting to watch duo of
Tony Parker (183-G-80) and
Ricard Rubio (192-G-90) defending each other. Young star Rubio successfully
stopped experienced star Parker. The first quarter ended with 10-point lead of
Spanish team. Second quarter started with changed Spanish roster.
Ricard Rubio, Rudy Fernandez and
Pau Gasol stayed on the bench. But the situation did not change for better for
French team. When Spain was 16 points ahead (35-19), France got another time
out. It allowed Spanish coach Sergio Scariolo to put even more main players on
the bench. Spanish fans felt at that moment that evening belongs to them and
they will have the reason to celebrate. Spain maintained the lead for the rest
of second quarter. Especially come back on the court
Pau Gasol helped Spaniards get few easy dunks. He got 8 points in five minutes.
The second quarter ended with 15-point lead (47-32) of Spanish team. The third
quarter started with aggressive game by French team. Rubio and
Pau Gasol played their usual game getting points.
Ronny Turiaf (208-C/F-83, agency:
Priority Sports, college:
Gonzaga)
got 8 (!!!) points from inside ignoring much taller
Pau Gasol. France managed to eliminate Spaniards lead to 13 points. But then few
quick actions of Spain and the lead raised to 20 points.
Tony Parker, who had a very bad day was sent on the bench in last minutes of that
quarter. Thanks to three successful free throws of
Nando De Colo (202-G-87)
allowed France to end this quarter 'just' with 21 points (52-73) behind. At that
point no one in the arena really believed in French team any more. The last
quarter started with French leader
Tony Parker still on the bench.
Ronny Turiaf got quickly his 5th personal foul and went on the bench too. But
Spanish coach allowed
Pau Gasol to rest on the bench. It looked more like both teams already settled
the game and everything was already over. But French players tried their best.
Suddenly
Alain Koffi (207-C-83)
got his first (6!!!) points this evening. Spanish lead shrunk to just 11 points
(77-66). Parker was sent back on the court. After two points first by Rudy
Fernandez and then by
Pau Gasol (81-66 for Spain), French coach called time out.
Pau Gasol got another dunk. 17-points lead for Spain and just two more minutes
of the game. Everything was over. Spanish team received standing ovation from
their supporters. The game anded 86-66 for Spain. They will face in the
semifinals the winner of game between Greece and Turkey. The MVP of the game was
an easy choice:
Pau Gasol.
Russia - Serbia
68-79
Russia vs Serbia was the first game of the Final Stage of Eurobasket 2009. The
final stage games took place in Spodek Arena for decades the main sport arena in
Poland. Serbia beat Russia 79-68 in a contest they controlled the majority of
nthe game with better offensive chemistry and solid team defense. Russia
struggled throughout the game offensively forcing bad shots and the lacked any
team cohesion.
Uros Tripkovic (196-G-86,
agency:
Beo Basket) played a brilliant game torching the Russians with 18 points and was
the leading scorer in the game.
Milos Teodosic (195-G-87) was fantastic as he hit a couple of dagger 3
pointers every time Russia made a serious run in the second half and finished
with 12 points.
Nenad Krstic (214-C-83) added 10 points,
Kosta Perovic (217-C-85)
and Novica Velickovic both scored 13 points for the winners. Russisa was led by
Vitaly Fridzon (195-G-85) who scored 15 points and
Sergey Monya (204-F-83) who scored 12 for the Russian team. The first
quarter started with Serbia establishing their inside game with Krstic the NBA
player who scored 9 early points. However Russia made a run with the smooth
perimeter shooting of Kelly McCarty the former Kentucky player. Russia led 24-23
at the end of first quarter. Serbia started the second quarter by applying
tremendous ball pressure and opened up 8-0 run. Russia called a time out and
David Blatt mobilized his players to play more better defense. In the next few
minutes both teams went cold and no one could score any points. The first team
to wake up was Serbia and they increased their lead to 38-24 with perfect 17-0
run. Serbia was moving the ball, they had better penetration and organized
defense. Even a second time out did not help Russian team. finally McCarty broke
the quiet spell hitting one of two free throws. The Russians managed to stop the
Serbian run, but they were still far from getting their rhythm. The Second
quarter completely belong to Serbs and it ended with 15-point lead (43-28) for
Serbia. The third quarter: Serbia started strong with 5 consecutive points.
Russians got two dunks in next 3 minutes. But Serbia put quite strong defense,
which made the difference. The Russians did not have too much to lose so they
tried to press Serbs but Ivkovic's team is not a new at this level and they
easily controlled the game. The game turned into a tough defensive contest with
a lot of mistakes by both teams. The Serbs maintained still 16-20 point lead.
Finally Serbia made a few mistakes, which allowed Russia to get back to the
game. They cut the lead one-by-one ending the third quarter with 11-point
distance to Serbia 43-54. The Russians began the last quarter with full-court
pressure but Serbia still was the better team. They played smart and had a
better shot selection. The Serbs increased the lead to 16 points (59-43). The
time factor worked for Serbs, so Russians were the ones trying to shot quickly
but not successfully.
Sergey Monya and
Vitaly Fridzon of Russia and twice
Milos Teodosic exchanged three-pointers, which did not change anything on
the court and Serbia still had 15-point lead. Two free throws of Sergey Bykov
followed with three-pointer of Fridzon cut Serbs lead to just 10 points (56-66).
Kosta Perovic's two free throws, Velickovic another 2 free throws and then
Uros Tripkovic's 2-pointer gave back 15-point lead for Serbia. After the time out
taken by Serbia, it looked like both teams came back on the court being
determined not to change anything. The Russians simply could not do anything
right and the Serbians managed to keep control of the game with more precise
team play..
Turkey - Greece
74-76 OT1
Just before the game the media were informed about very tragic event which
happened in nearby coal mine, where 12 coal miners lost their life. So we
observed a minute of silence prior to game start. Greek fans were in definite
majority and they started with a loud support for their team even before the
game started. The first points were scored by
Omer Asik (211-C-86) and followed by 3-pointer of
Omer Onan (194-G-78). Greeks responded with 2-pointer of Ioannis Bourousis.
Turkish tried still maintain 5-ponts lead, but after Spanoulis 3-pointer Greeks
tied the game at 7-7. Then Zisis turn with 5 consecutive points and Greeks took
their first lead 12-9. But Turkey equaled the game quite quickly.
Vassilis Spanoulis (193-G-82,
agency:
Beo Basket) challenged NBA star
Hedo Turkoglu (206-F-79) and Greeks took back the lead 15-14. Greece won that
part 17-14. Their supporters were quite loud and no surprise as the games
between these two countries are more than just about sport. Greece put a very
good defense, especially against Turkish leader Turkoglu, who ended the first
quarter with no points. The second quarter started the same way how the first
one ended. Greeks kept storming Turkish side. After effective dunk of
Schortsanitis followed with his two free throws, and then Zisis' 2-pointer
Greece got 8 point lead 24-16. Greek team played more aggressively, especially
on defensive end. Turkoglu was finally put on the bench being replaced by Ender
Ender Arslan (190-G-83).
The game did not change much. Greeks lost few free throws and chance to increase
their lead. But Turks could not find response to tough defense of Greek team.
Turkoglu went back on the court for last 4 minuted of the quarter. But he was
still not able to find his rhythm and ended this period with no points. Greece
managed to maintain 3-point lead at the half time. Turkey started the third
quarter with Turkoglu on the bench and ...getting long-waiter lead 32-31. Greeks
responded quickly getting back 4-point lead. The game was very tough and very
close. How much different than first two games we could see yesterday. It was an
extra passion, not just basketball. Greece managed to maintain 2-3 point lead
till the end of that part of the game. Third quarter ended 47-46 for Greece. The
last quarter started similar way like the third one. However the things changed
in the 6th minute when Turks got first 1-point and then increased it to 4-point
lead (56-52) after five consecutive (first this game) points of Turkoglu. Now it
was Greek team which was in trouble. But Turkoglu took initiative on both
boards. After his another 3-pointer, Turkey was already 6 points ahead (63-57)
just two minutes before game end. Spanoulis tried his best to speed up the game
for Greeks. He was scoring on initializing every action. Greeks managed to close
the gap to 2 points (63-61) after Zisis 3-pointer. Impossible happened. 40
second before the end of the game another action initiated by Spanoulis, nice
assist to
Giorgos Printezis (206-F-85, agency:
FCM)
and his 3-pointer changes lead for Greek team (64-63). Tanjevic calls time out
for Turkey. Turks keep the ball and ...Turkoglu misses the pass. Quick foul by
Tunceri and Zisis misses one of two free throws. 65-63 for Greece and 18 more
seconds to go. The last second hero was
Ender Arslan. Waited with the ball for over 10 seconds, drove on the basket
and ...got 2 points for Turkey. Here we have overtime. Greece managed to get
5-point lead after Spanoulis and
Antonis Fotsis (210-F-81)
actions. Turks cut the lead to 2 points (69-72) after 2-pointer of Tunceri.
Spanoulis's killing 3-pointer followed by Ilyasova's 3-pointer response put the
score to 72-75 just one minute before the end. Turkoglu charged the basket and
got important 2-pointer cutting Greeks lead to 1 point (75-74). Here Turkoglu
follows with a big mistake trying to charge basket the same way like few seconds
earlier, but this time against three Turks. He misses and Zisis quickly draws
the foul in just 10 seconds left. Misses one, but got another one. Greeks got
74-76 lead.
Ender Arslan could not repeat regular time shot and Greece wins the game
76-74.
Slovenia - Croatia
67-65
Slovenia headed into this game as favorites and backed by another noisy set of
fans, bringing back memories of their Group round in Warsaw while Croatia were
still looking for their first impressive performance having labored their way
into the quarters. One factor was definitely how Repesa would play his guard
combinations and that was going to prove crucial. Both teams started the game
slowly with Mario Kasun getting the first point of the game from the line after
being fouled on a big dunk attempt while
Erazem Lorbek (210-F/C-84, college:
Michigan St.)
got Slovenia off the mark inside. Croatia were pounding the ball inside to Kasun
and he got one to drop off the glass to put Croatia in front, while Nachbar
sporting a wristband after his injury worries made one from the line. Ukic then
scored with an open shot before scoring again with a beautiful floater. Croatia
were fired up and they had their fists pumping after forcing Slovenia into a 24
second violation and their delight continued after
Zoran Planinic (199-G-82) penetrated an got one to drop. That forced Jure
Zdovc into calling a time out with his team trailing 11-4 and having struggled
at the offensive end in the opening five minutes or so. Slovenia responded after
the time out through the irrepressible
Erazem Lorbek and narrowed the gap but Croatia only faltered briefly and
after a flurry of triples by both teams, they held the advantage at 25-18 at the
end of the first quarter - thanks mainly to 12 points from Ukic who really
showcased his NBA quality. At the start of the second period and much to his
relief, the previously well shackled
Jaka Lakovic (186-G-78) finally got a score, not from the arc as usual but a
lay-up in transition. Next time down the floor the veteran Nicevic made a jump
shot and maintained the advantage of the Croatians. The Slovenian fans were then
on their feet when
Jaka Lakovic finally made a shot from outside and not only that but he also drew
the foul for a rare four point play and suddenly it was 24-27 and a one shot
game less than two minutes into the period. After
Erazem Lorbek continued his good work by drawing a foul and with their lead
evaporating, Coach Repesa called a well needed time-out for the Croatian team
and as the players re-emerged, Lorbek cut the gap to just two points at at 25-27
after scoring and missing one of his free-throws. The action then hotted up even
further as Jagodnik was called for a needless unsporstmanlike foul on Nicevic
under the basket and the forward stroked home both free-throws before missing an
inside chance from the resulting possession. Jagodnik then made amends for his
indiscretion by converting two free-throws and it was very much game on although
the referees were calling the game very tightly so it didnt quite ebb and flow
as some of us might have liked - though an understandable strategy in the
circumstances. With just over five minutes remaining until the half time break,
Slovenia were desperately trying to get themselves level and into the lead but
Zoran Planinic had other ideas as he sunk a triple to put his team 32-27 in
front. When Slovenia then handed possession back to Croatia courtesy of a
technical foul for flopping by Nachbar, it was time for Zdovc to call another
time-out and for the small but loud and very merry band of Croatian fans to
dance in their seats. They were dancing even more vigourously when Ukic
converted both free-throws and then
Zoran Planinic pump faked and finished a lay-up inside. It gave Croatia a
healthy advantage and when Nachbar rimmed out with a triple attempt it gave them
the chance of a double-figure lead and they took it through Nicevic again inside
- with something of a lucky drop. Nachbar reduced the arrears with a couple from
the line and with 3 minutes left Brezec came into the game to try and shore up
what as looking to be a really soft Slovenian key. The wily Prkacin showed he
still has what it takes with a beautiful spin on the baseline for a gorgeous
looking move to the hoop and without Lorbek who knows where Slovenia would have
been. The forward buried a three and it kept his team in touching distance
otherwise Croatia might have been out of sight. Prkacin made one from the line
and then Ukic drove to the hole and finished with a sublime running one handed
release to restore the double digit lead for the unfancied Croatians. Stojic
then got an easy put back which was a real killer for Slovenia who were doing
nothing inside defensively. Ukic then grabbed a steal and made a behind the back
pass in mid air to Popovic on the break and with the 7-0 run, the game looked to
be ebbing away from Slovenia - their history of choking at vitals stages in big
tournaments coming back to possibly haunt them. Things were looking bleak but a
technical foul by Popovic gave Slovenia a chance of limiting the damage before
the half time buzzer and
Jaka Lakovic made both free throws before this time the other Lorbek came alive
as Domen made a shot on he buzzer to reduce a one sided half to just 8 points as
the interval at 39-47. The mood was certainly different inside the Arena as
Domen Lorbek scored two free-throws at the start of the second although that joy
was tempered by
Zoran Planinic making a free throw to get Croatia going in the second half.
Erezam Lorbek then drilled a triple from the top and the noise from the
Slovenian fans was suddenly deafening. That noise subsided when Kasun sunk a
long looking jump shot and Croatia were 6 ahead at 50-44. Erezam Lorbek then
made a jump shot before a huge triple by Lakoic sent the Sloovenian fans into
raptures and seconds later, the comeback was complete as the stunning Lorbek
made an inside score to hand Slovenia a 51-50 advantage. Lorbek was just
unstoppable and he made another score seconds later as Slovenia threatened to
take control having looked dead and buried in midway through the second quarter.
It was riveting stuff and Croatia had to find a way to stop the CSKA forward who
was rampant and already with 23 points to his name. What was also important was
that Slovenia had really turned up their defensive effort and it was in stark
contrast to the first half complacency. They also grabbed successive offensive
rebounds and Croatia were the ones looking flat footed. They also had the last
shot of the game but Ukic rimmed out to sum up a miserable quarter as Croatia
left the court to listen to their coach 53-50 behind. Croatia could really get
nothing to drop and their drought was clearly irritating Coach Repesa and you've
guessed it,
Erazem Lorbek was at it again, starting the Slovenian scoring in this last
quarter too. You wondered if Croatia might just find some momentum again at just
the right time but another missed shot didnt add credence to such a notion.
Eventually Vujcic broke the barren run which seemed to last for an eternity and
his inside score put it back to a one shot game. It was very quickly a one shot
game as Ukic converted with a little one handed jump shot on the run and it was
time out Slovenia with seven minutes left and they were 55-54 in front. Nicevic
was tasked with man handling Lorbek off the ball and that attention handed
Slokar the chance to make a tough jumper but within seconds Vujcic had reduced
the gap. Slokar then drilled a big three and both teams traded buckets with the
last by Vujcic keeping it a one shot game at 63-60 with three minutes remaining.
If Erazem Lorbek as hot offensively he also showed his defensive prowess with a
big block as the Slovenian fans gave him the cheers he deserved. Bostjan Nachbar
then made two big free-throws to give Slovenia a five point margin with just
over two minutes to go and they had one foot in the semi-finals. Amidst
deafening jeers
Zoran Planinic rimmed out from way downtown but so did Nachbar with what
would have been a real dagger. Nicevic then used all of his experience to draw a
foul insideHe made both and then both teams missed to give Slovenia the ball
with 30 seconds left and 65-62 in front. Nachbar then made the play of the game
making a jump shot with a second left on the clock and while Repesa went mental
at no 24 second violation and Ukic drained a three it didn't matter - Slovenia
were through to the semi-finals and up against old foes Serbia.
World Champions Spain knocks Undefeated France out
of the event - Sep. 17, 2009 The second game of the quarterfinals was between world
champion Spain and 'black horse' of the tournament France. Especially after
France qualified to the tournament as the last team and entering play-offs as
the biggest favorite. Spain was disappointing in the the very beginning, but
played better from game to game. So everything could happen tonight. Both teams
featured NBA players in their roster.
Spain easily defeated France 86-66 with
Pau Gasol (214-F/C-80) simply destroying the French interior guys. Spain played
more physical and shot a lot better from the outside.
Tony Parker (183-G-80) struggled with the Spanish defense and turned the ball
over a lot with his team mates following him with with bad outside shooting.
The France starting team featured four NBA players but the quality and
experience of Spain was too much for the French.
The game began as a heavy weight contest as both teams came out swinging.
Neither team could really establish any lead in the first minutes. When France
scored, Spain (usually Fernandez and Navarro) responded right away. Pietrus
tried to stop
Pau Gasol, but this was a no contest as well.. France tried to compete by
playing closer to the basket, while Spain was better in long-distance shooting.
When Spain got two consecutive 3-point shoots and got 6-point lead, the French
coach called first time-out. It did not help much and as the Spaniards were
having a good game. The French were very athletic, but not as tall as Spanish
players. They could not find anyone to stop
Pau Gasol in the middle. It was interesting to watch duo of
Tony Parker and
Ricard Rubio (192-G-90) defending each other. Young star Rubio successfully
stopped the experienced star Parker. The first quarter ende with a 10-point lead
for the Spanish team.
The second quarter started with
Ricard Rubio,
Rudy Fernandez (197-G-85) and
Pau Gasol on the bench. But the situation did not change for the French team.
When Spain was 16 points ahead (35-19), France called another time out. It
allowed the Spanish coach
Sergio Scariolo to rest his quality players. The Spanish fans felt at that moment
that evening belonged to them and they will have a reason to celebrate. Spain
maintained the lead for the rest of second quarter especially when
Pau Gasol came back to the court and got a few easy dunks. He scored 8 points in
five minutes. The second quarter ended with 15-point lead (47-32) of Spanish
team.
The third quarter started with aggressive play by French team. Rubio and
Pau Gasol played their usual game by scoring easy points. Turiaf scored a quick
eight points from inside over the much taller
Pau Gasol. France managed to erase the Spaniards lead to 13 points. However
Spain responded and increased the lead raised to 20 points.
Tony Parker, who had a very bad day was sent on the bench in last minutes of that
quarter. Thanks to three successful free throws of
Nando De Colo (202-G-87)
allowed France to end this quarter 'just' with 21 points (52-73) behind. At that
point no one in the arena really believed in French team any more.
The last quarter started with French leader
Tony Parker still on the bench. Turiaf quickly picked up his 5th personal foul
and went on the bench too. But Spanish coach allowed
Pau Gasol to rest on the bench. It looked more like both teams already settled
the game and everything was already over. But French players tried their best.
Suddenly
Alain Koffi (207-C-83)
scored his first (6!!!) points this evening and the role players for France
injected some energy to the game and the Spanish lead shrunk to just 11 points
(77-66). Parker was sent back on the court and after baskets by
Rudy Fernandez and then by
Pau Gasol (81-66 for Spain), the French coach called another time out.
Pau Gasol scored another easy dunk off of a penatraion and kick. Spain opened up
a 17 point lead with two minutes remaining in the game. The game was over and
the Spanish team received a standing ovation from their supporters. Spain will
face in the semifinals the winner of game between Greece and Turkey.
The MVP of the game was an easy choice:
Pau Gasol.
Serbia beats Russia in the first game of
quarterfinals 79-68 - Sep. 17, 2009 Russia vs Serbia was the first game of the Final Stage of
Eurobasket 2009. The final stage games took place in Spodek Arena for decades
the main sport arena in Poland.
Serbia beat Russia 79-68 in a contest they controlled the majority of nthe game
with better offensive chemistry and solid team defense.
Russia struggled throughout the game offensively forcing bad shots and the
lacked any team cohesion. Uros
Uros Tripkovic (196-G-86,
agency:
Beo Basket) played a brilliant game torching the Russians with 18 points and was
the leading scorer in the game.
Milos Teodosic (195-G-87) was fantastic as he hit a couple of dagger 3
pointers every time Russia made a serious run in the second half and finished
with 12 points. Nenad Kristic added 10 points, Kosta
Kosta Perovic (217-C-85)
and Novica Velickovic (205-F-86)
both scored 13 points for the winners.
Russisa was led by
Vitaly Fridzon (195-G-85) who scored 15 points and
Sergey Monya (204-F-83) who scored 12 for the Russian team.
The first quarter started with Serbia establishing their inside game with Krstic
the NBA player who scored 9 early points. However Russia made a run with the
smooth perimeter shooting of
Kelly McCarty (201-F-75, agency:
Avi Zilberman, college:
S.Mississippi) the former Kentucky player. Russia led 24-23 at the end of
first quarter. Serbia started the second quarter by applying tremendous ball
pressure and opened up 8-0 run. Russia called a time out and
David Blatt mobilized his players to play more better defense. In the next few
minutes both teams went cold and no one could score any points. The first team
to wake up was Serbia and they increased their lead to 38-24 with perfect 17-0
run. Serbia was moving the ball, they had better penetration and organized
defense. Even a second time out did not help Russian team. finally McCarty broke
the quiet spell hitting one of two free throws. The Russians managed to stop the
Serbian run, but they were still far from getting their rhythm.
The Second quarter completely belong to Serbs and it ended with 15-point lead
(43-28) for Serbia.
The third quarter: Serbia started strong with 5 consecutive points. Russians got
two dunks in next 3 minutes. But Serbia put quite strong defense, which made the
difference. The Russians did not have too much to lose so they tried to press
Serbs but Ivkovic's team is not a new at this level and they easily controlled
the game. The game turned into a tough defensive contest with a lot of mistakes
by both teams.
The Serbs maintained still 16-20 point lead. Finally Serbia made a few mistakes,
which allowed Russia to get back to the game. They cut the lead one-by-one
ending the third quarter with 11-point distance to Serbia 43-54.
The Russians began the last quarter with full-court pressure but Serbia still
was the better team. They played smart and had a better shot selection. The
Serbs increased the lead to 16 points (59-43). The time factor worked for Serbs,
so Russians were the ones trying to shot quickly but not successfully.
Sergey Monya and
Vitaly Fridzon of Russia and twice
Milos Teodosic exchanged three-pointers, which did not change anything on
the court and Serbia still had 15-point lead. Two free throws of
Sergey Bykov (190-G-83) followed with three-pointer of Fridzon cut Serbs
lead to just 10 points (56-66).
Kosta Perovic's two free throws, Velickovic another 2 free throws and then
Uros Tripkovic's 2-pointer gave back 15-point lead for Serbia. After the time out
taken by Serbia, it looked like both teams came back on the court being
determined not to change anything. The Russians simply could not do anything
right and the Serbians managed to keep control of the game with more precise
team play..
Eurobasket 2009. Qualifying Round 3 - Sep.
16, 2009
GROUP E
France
- Greece71-69 France remained
perfect at the EuroBasket 2009. They clinched the top spot at the Qualifying
Round Group E after a hard-fought victory over Greece tonight.
Alain Koffi (207-C-83)
knocked down 14 points and grabbed 6 boards to lead Les Bleus. Batum scored the
first points of the game before Greece unleashed a 10:0 run to jump
in front. Turiaf and Tony Parker narrowed the distance but the Hellenes stayed
in charge throughout the reminder of the frame. Sofoklis Schortsanitis capped it
with a free throw to give the Greek team a 21:18 lead. Sofoklis Schortsanitis
opened the second quarter with a dunk to stretch the margin. Ali Traore and
Alain Koffi teamed up for 10 points in a row as
Les Bleus jumped ahead.
Alain Koffi and Jeanneau managed a 7-point
advantage late in the second half. Yannick Bokolo extended the gap at 9 points
before Bourousis sealed the first half outcome at 34:41. The teams went
scoreless for almost two minutes at the start of the second half. Batum and Tony
Parker finally broke the silence to open up a double-digit advantage for
France. The Hellenes responded with
an 8:0 run to narrow the deficit at 3 points. Batum, Yannick Bokolo and Ali
Traore restored a 6-point buffer with just over 3 minutes to go. Tony Parker
kept the distance before
Vassilis Spanoulis (193-G-82,
agency:
Beo Basket) crowned the stanza with a
three-pointer to clip the difference to just 3 points at 53:56. Yannick Bokolo
and Ali Traore piloted France to a 61:55 advantage with 7
minutes remaining in regulation. Greece finally snapped almost
three-minute scoreless span with a free throw from Zisis. Yannick Bokolo came up
with a dunk but Sofoklis Schortsanitis responded with a three-point play to drag
Greece within 4.
Vassilis Spanoulis followed with a trey as
Greece trimmed the deficit at just
one point 62:63 with under 4 minutes left. Antonis Fotsis followed with a lay-up
to put Greece on top 64:63. Turiaf hit two
free throws to retain the advantage for Les Bleus. Antonis Fotsis missed his
sixth three-pointer and Nando De Colo punished the Hellenes with a lay-up.
Antonis Fotsis responded with two accurate freebies on the other end to narrow
the deficit to a single point with 22 seconds remaining. Nando De Colo got
fouled and went deadly from the stripe to keep France ahead.
Vassilis Spanoulis answered with a trey to tie
things up at 69 with 8 seconds to go. Nando De Colo came up with a
buzzer-beating jumper and snatched the victory for France. Tony Parker netted 12 points
for France. Ali Traore and Yannick Bokolo
produced 10 points each in the winning effort.
Vassilis Spanoulis responded with 16 points for
Greece. Sofoklis Schortsanitis
chipped in 12 points in the second straight loss for the Hellenes.
Germany - Croatia68-70 Croatia became the last team from
Group E to advance to EuroBasket 2009 quarter-finals. The team overcame the
German powerhouse 70:68 in the last game on Tuesday. Femerling opened the game
for the German side and Rozic brought the first points for the winners. Kasun
followed him with a lay-up for 10-2 run. Schaffartzik made a jump shot for
10:16, while Jagla's three brought 19:18. Banic closed the period at 20:19 for
the Croatian side. The latter continued better in the second period as Nicevic
scored for 22:19 and Loncar gave his team 27:21. Popovic gave the biggest lead
for Croatia at the first half at 37:27
and Jagla reduced to 37:32. Banic opened another quarter when the teams came
back from the lockers.
Roko-Leni Ukic (195-G-84) posted a jump shot
for 41:34, while Nicevic brought Croatia 45:41. Benzing tied the score
at 47:47 and Schaffartzik gave Germany 48:47. Hamann drove a lay-up
for 50:49 to close the third period. Planinic was the first to open the last
quarter for 52:50 and Nicevic made a tip-in for 54:52. The last quarter was like
a thriller not only in the game but in the whole group. The game was decisive
for the last ticket to the 1/4 finals.
Roko-Leni Ukic made a dunk for 57:57 and
Croatia scored another four for
61:57. Femerling made two free throws for 61:59 and Loncar made a jump shot for
64:59. Banic scored one free throw to make the score 65:59 with a minute on the
board. Schaffartzik nailed two three-pointers for 67:65, but Rozic posted the
last points for Croatia for 70:65. Hamann made
another triple for the German side to make the final 70:68.
Roko-Leni Ukic top-scored for the winners with
18 points for 2-3 record. Popovic and Planinic followed him with 11 points each.
Heiko Schaffartzik (182-G-84,
agency: Pro One Sports) ended up with 18 points in the
losing effort. Femerling posted 15, while Jagla added 11.
Russia - FYR Macedonia71-69 Russia secured the place at the
EuroBasket quarterfinal stage after their heart-stopping win over FYR Macedonia.
It all came down to the final seconds of the battle when a pair of misses from
Mirakovski sealed the difficult win for the reigning champions.
Timofey Mozgov (215-C-86) (215-C-86) tallied 25
points and 11 rebounds to pace Russia. Bykov opened the score with
almost one minute into the game. The teams traded baskets before Anton
Ponkrashov and
Timofey Mozgov ensured a 12:8 lead for
Russia late in the starting frame.
Andrey Vorontsevich capped the frame with a jumper as the defending champions
enjoyed a 14:10 lead. Massey knocked down 4 points early in the second stanza as
FYR Macedonia stayed close. However Andrey Vorontsevich nailed 4 points in an
8:2 run from Russia as they cleared off to an
8-point distance. Anton Ponkrashov and
Timofey Mozgov gave the team a 9-point lead
30:21 with just over three minutes to go. However Vrbica Stefanov and Pero Antic
fired from downtown as FYR Macedonia got back within 4. Kurbanov and Vrbica
Stefanov exchanged points late in the first half and Russia went into
the dressing room up by 4 points 33:29. Stojanovski and Vrbica Stefanov
organized a 7:2 run from FYR Macedonia at the start of the third frame as they
surged in front. Gecevski and Tasovski helped their team to a 40:37 advantage.
Russia needed a 5:0 run late in the
quarter to retain the lead. But Gecevski immediately drew things level. Andrey
Vorontsevich and Vrbica Stefanov traded baskets and the teams headed into the
final period tied at 49. Monya and McCarty quickly set Russia in front
at the start of the fourth term. Steafanov and Todor Gechevski replied with
eight points in a row as the lead changed hands once again. Bykov stopped the
bleeding with a three-pointer to cut the distance. McCarty and
Timofey Mozgov set Russia back in
charge with four straight points. Russia kept ahead as Bykov,
Timofey Mozgov and Anton Ponkrashov delivered
timely buckets. The reigning champions entered the final 30 seconds of the
encounter up by 5 points 68:63. Pero Antic knocked down 5 points to drag FYR
Macedonia within 1 with 12 seconds to go. Fridzon fired twice from the stripe to
restore a three-point cushion. Mirakovski came up with just one free throw out
of two attempts. Anton Ponkrashov answered with a turnover but Mirakovski missed
a lay-up as Russia escaped with a tough victory
at the end. Andrey Vorontsevich scored 10 points for the winners. Ponrkrashov
had 6 points, 6 boards and 6 assists in the victory. Vrbica Stefanov produced 14
points for FYR Macedonia. Pero Antic had 11 points, while Todor Gechevski
finished with 10 in the loss.
GROUP F
Lithuania
-
Serbia79-89 Serbia managed to beat Lithuania in the last day of Qualifying Round in
Poland and to secure third place in
Group F (3-2). Even before this game it was clear that Serbia will advance and at the same time that
Lithuania will say goodbye to
EuroBasket 2009. In the Quarterfinals, which is scheduled for tomorrow,
Serbia will meet the
defending champion - Russia.
Milos Teodosic (195-G-87) paced Serbia to
victory today with 20 points and 12 assists.
Nenad Krstic (214-C-83) and
Novica Velickovic
(205-F-86) scored 16 points each, while
Uros Tripkovic
(196-G-86, agency:
Beo Basket) added 14.
Milenko Tepic
(198-G-87, agency:
Beo Basket) helped the winners with 13 points.
In Team
Lithuania,
Jonas Maciulis (198-G/F-85) shined with 20
points and 5 rebounds.
Darjus Lavrinovic (212-C-79) and
Marijonas Petravicius (208-F/C-79, college:
S.Carolina) netted 13 points apiece. Their team
did not succeed to qualify for the 2010 World Championship in Turkey, but they
will most probably apply for a wild-card. Lithuania opened the game with quick 4-0 run, but
Serbia responded soon after that
setting the score to 10-13. After 10 minutes of play Serbia was 19-23
ahead. Linas Kleiza made it in the last Lithuania's possession closing the
gap from 6 to 4. Lithuania
tied the score couple of times in the second quarter, but Serbia was
always there to grab back 1 to 4 point lead. Thanks to lay-up by
Milenko Tepic at the first half buzzer,
Serbia had 37-47. Third quarter
belonged to Lithuania. After 41-46 for Serbians
at the beginning of this period, Lithuania started with melting their
lead.
Jonas Maciulis and his teammates created
impressive 10-0 and it seemed they finally found their game. However, Serbia did not
give up and soon after that tied the score to 61-61.
Milos Teodosic closed third quarter with a jump
shot and Serbia was 2 points up. With 4:16
minutes remaining in the game Lithuania made another turn, actually
grabbed nice 4-point lead, 75-71. Their joy did not last too long as
Serbia through
Novica Velickovic and
Milos Teodosic (4 triples together) made 0-12
run for 75-83. Nemanja Bjelica and
Milenko Tepic joined them with a 3-pointer by
each of them resolving question about the winner.
Darjus Lavrinovic closed this game and
Lithuania's participation at
EuroBasket 2009 with a free throw.
Poland - Spain
68-90
Spain demonstrated magnificent performance in crucial game against the host of
EuroBasket 2009. It was the last day of Qualifying Round and the decisive game
for both teams. The reigning World Champions (3-2) made it and they will meet
France in the Quarterfinals. On the
other side, Poland finished participation on this
event falling to 1-4.
Juan Carlos Navarro (192-G-80) paced Spain to fourth
place in Group F with 23 points.
Pau Gasol (214-F/C-80) also shined with 20
points and 5 rebounds, while his brother
Marc Gasol (212-C-85, agency:
Interperformances) added 9 points and 7
rebounds.
David Logan
(184-G-82, college:
Indianapolis) responded with 20 points in loss.
Lukasz Koszarek (187-G-84) had 17 points, 5
boards and 7 assists, while
Marcin Gortat (213-C-84) this time stopped on
12 points and the same number of boards. Spain opened the game strongly making
0-7 and soon after that 5-12 lead. After lay-up by
Pau Gasol, Spain jumped to plus 7 and later
Juan Carlos Navarro joined him, what was enough for
Spain to take nice 14-23 lead after
ten minutes. Mumbru opened the second frame with a triple and
Spain was 12 points up. The hosts had
many troubles at the defensive end. Their offense was decent, but on the other
side of the court Spaniards were unstoppable. Navarro drained two consecutive
triples and after that
Ricard Rubio (192-G-90) and
Pau Gasol lifted up their team to huge 24-42.
Krzysztof Szubarga
(182-G-84) scored in the last possession for Poland, but at that time it was
already clear that the hosts will need a miracle to avoid elimination from
EuroBasket. Nothing has changed after that and Spain moved up
to plus 28 at the middle of third quarter. That was after dunk by
Sergio Llull
(178-G-87). Third quarter ended 46-71 for Spain and rest of the way was just
the formality. Spain slowed
down and Poland finished the last period 22-19
saying goodbye to the most important European contest. It means that
Poland failed to qualify for
the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.
Turkey - Slovenia
67-69
Slovenia grabbed thriller win against Turkey handing it the first loss on
EuroBasket 2009. That was a decisive match for the first place in Qualifying
Group F, which now belongs to Slovenians (4-1). Turkey, who has the same score,
dropped to position No.2. It means that in the Quarterfinals Slovenia will meet
Croatia, while Turkey will take on Greece.
Bostjan Nachbar (207-G/F-80) top-scored for the
winners with 16 points.
Samo Udrih
(195-G-79) and
Jaka Lakovic (186-G-78) netted 12 points each,
while
Goran Jagodnik
(202-F-74, agency:
Beo Basket) followed them with 11. In Team
Turkey,
Ersan Ilyasova (207-F-87) collected 16 points,
7 rebounds and 4 assists.
Hedo Turkoglu (206-F-79) scored 10, Omer Asik
and Ender Arslan
(190-G-83) had 10 pts apiece.
Slovenia had a nice start making 0-5 lead, but Turkey answered with 9-4 run
after that. It was 12-12, when
Bostjan Nachbar and his teammates created
impressive 0-10 run, closed by the mentioned player.
Ersan Ilyasova made it for Turkey and Nachbar
set the score to 15-24 after 10 minutes. After triple by
Jaka Lakovic and basket by
Goran Jagodnik, Slovenia jumped to 17-31.
Lakovic was on fire and he connected another triple soon after that so Slovenia
already had huge 18-37 lead. When it seemed that Slovenians control rhythm of
the game, their rivals finally woke up making 14-2 run until the end of the
first half (32-39). At the middle of third period Turkey came to 43-44 and later
finally grabbed 48-47 lead. However,
Jaka Lakovic and
Uros Slokar
(210-F/C-83) shined for Slovenia lifting it up to 52-57 after 30 minutes. During
the last quarter Slovenians had plus 4 couple of times and they entered to last
50 seconds with 62-67. Omer Asik and
Ender Arslan were unmistakable from the FT line
pushing their team up to 67-68, after what
Samo Udrih scored on FT for Slovenia (67-69).
Turkey had 9 seconds for the last offense and Atsur was wide open for 3 at the
very end, but he missed from the left corner.
Eurobasket 2009. Qualifying Round 2 - Sep.
14, 2009
GROUP E
FYR Macedonia - Germany
86-75
FYR Macedonia remained hopeful about their EuroBasket ambitions as they rolled
past Germany in a do-or-die battle in Group E. The victory propelled them to 1-3
record in the Qualifying Round and they caught up with Germany in the standings.
Patrick Femerling put Germany ahead with a lay-up but then
Vrbica Stefanov (188-G-73)
took the floor. He scored 7 points to pull FYR Macedonia in charge 9:4. The
teams traded three-pointers before Antic secured an 18:14 lead for the Balkan
team at the first break. Schultze and Lucca Staiger continued a three-point
cannonade at the start of the second period as they drew things level at 20.
Staiger soon added two more long bombs as the German team spurred in front
28:26. Jeremiah Massey returned the advantage to FYR Macedonia just to see
Greene connect from beyond the arc for another lead from Germany. Gecevski
followed with two free throws and after Jeremiah Massey and Patrick Femerling
exchanged the baskets the teams went into the dressing rooms tied at 36.
Jeremiah Massey and
Vrbica Stefanov opened the second half with five points in a row as FYR
Macedonia grabbed the lead.
Vrbica Stefanov and Dime Tasovski ballooned the gap at 7 points. Lucca
Staiger and Jagla used well-tested weapons hitting two trebles to put Germany
down by just one. However Dime Tasovski,
Vrbica Stefanov and Jeremiah Massey continued to deliver as FYR Macedonia
cleared off to a 9-point distance late in the period.
Vrbica Stefanov stole the ball and fed Pero Antic for a buzzer-beating
three-pointer as FYR Macedonia entered the fourth term up by 12 points. Dime
Tasovski opened the fourth frame with another triple as FYR Macedonia started to
get away.
Vrbica Stefanov quickly extended the margin at 16 points before Germany woke
up. Schaffartzik and Olbrecht exploded with 8 points to drag the team within 11.
Pero Antic went perfect from the stripe to keep FYR Macedonia going. Jeremiah
Massey then came up with three points in a row as the gap grew back at 16-point
mark. Germany did not say die as Olbrecht, Lucca Staiger and Benzing fired 5
consecutive points to narrow the deficit. But when it mattered the most
Vrbica Stefanov went deadly from the stripe and silenced Dirk Bauermanns
team. Mirakovski,
Vrbica Stefanov and Gecevski sealed the winning outcome for FYR Macedonia in
the final seconds.
Vrbica Stefanov knocked down 25 points to lead FYR Macedonia. Jeremiah
Massey added 16 points in the winning effort. Patrick Femerling came up with 13
points for Germany. Lucca Staiger top-scored with 14 points in the loss.
Greece - Russia
65-68
Russia proved once again they have serious ambitions for defending their
EuroBasket title as they prevailed against Greece in a heart-stopper in Group E
tonight. Russia improved at 2-2 record in the pool, while Greece slipped at 3-1.
Russia grabbed the lead right from the start. Sergey Monya and Timofey Mozgov
gave the defending champions a 6:2 lead. Fridzon scored five points in a row to
ensure an 11:3 advantage midway through the starting frame. Sergey Monya and
Fridzon soon stretched the gap at 9 points 17:6. Vorontsevich opened up a
double-digit lead late in the first quarter before Vassilis Spanoulis capped the
period with a jumper 12:21. Greece tipped off the second period with four points
in a row to trim the distance. Vassilis Spanoulis dragged the Hellenes within 4
before Kurbanov stopped the bleeding with three points for Russia. Timofey
Mozgov and Bykov quickly restored a 10-point advantage. But Greece persisted and
cut the distance back to 4 points with just over three minutes to go. However
Kelly McCarty (201-F-75, agency:
Avi Zilberman, college:
S.Mississippi) knocked down a three-pointer, while Vorontsevich and
Ponkrashov crowned the half with three points to give Russia a 39:32 lead.
Ioannis Bourousis and Fotsis teamed up for five points to begin the second half.
Sofoklis Schortsanitis (206-C-85) added two more as the Greek team earned a
40:39 advantage. Russia could not account for a single point for more than 7
minutes before
Kelly McCarty snapped the silence with a jumper. The teams traded baskets late in
the frame but
Kelly McCarty had the last laugh as his three-pointer sent the Russia into the
fourth quarter up by one 48:47.
Sofoklis Schortsanitis drew things level early in the final stanza but
Sergey Monya hit from downtown twice to put Russia back in the drivers seat.
Sergey Monya followed with the third straight triple moments later as Russia
cleared off to a 9-point distance.
Sofoklis Schortsanitis finally responded for the Hellenes hitting two free
throws. Timofey Mozgov and Schortsantis traded dunks as Russia maintained a
7-point lead midway through the stanza.
Kelly McCarty came up with four points for David Blatt team as they earned a
10-point lead with under four minutes remaining 63:53 forcing Jonas Kazlauskas
to call for timeout. It worked as Giorgos Printezis and Vassilis Spanoulis fired
four consecutive points to reignite the intrigue. Zisis and Fotsis came up empty
from beyond the arc however Giorgos Printezis grabbed the offensive rebound and
was put on the line. He hit the first free throw, while Fotsis won the offensive
rebound after Giorgos Printezis missed his second attempt. Fotsis drained a
triple to narrow the margin to just two points 61:63 with 91 seconds left in
regulation.
Kelly McCarty responded with two free throws, while Fotsis hit just one of two on
the other end. Ponkrashov hit two free throws in two trips to the line to
stretch the lead to 5 points. Giorgos Printezis immediately answered with a big
trey as Greece clipped the distance to two points with 21 seconds left. Sergey
Monya drained just one of two from the stripe allowing giving a chance for
Giorgos Printezis to force overtime. But his triple rimmed off and Russia
celebrated a dramatic victory at the end.
Kelly McCarty knocked down 17 points to pace Russia. Sergey Monya added 16 points,
while Timofey Mozgov had 10 points for the reigning champs.
Sofoklis Schortsanitis replied with 13 points for the Hellenes. Ioannis
Bourousis and Vassilis Spanoulis netted 12 points each in the loss.
Croatia - France
79-87
France did not mind 30 points from
Marko Popovic (185-G-82,
college: S.Idaho JC) to edge Croatia 87:79 in the last game of the Qualifying Round
in Group E. The team that just got the only ticket from the Adiitional
Qualifying Round becomes one of the favorite at Eurobasket 2009. France opened
the game with a three-point play from Turiaf. But Banic quickly responded with
four points of his own to put Croatia up. The lead changed hands for several
times before
Marko Popovic capped the period with a three-pointer giving Croatia a 21:19
advantage. Kus and Loncar picked up the scoring groove and stretched the margin
at 7 points 26:19.
Marko Popovic drained another triple moments later as Croatia earned a 29:20
advantage. France got within 6 just to see
Marko Popovic hit another treble making it 34:25. Batum narrowed the distance to 4
points but
Marko Popovic persisted as his four free throws kept Croatia in charge. Stojic and
Planinic ensured a 43:36 advantage with under two minutes to go in the half.
Marko Popovic followed with two freebies as the margin grew back at 9-point mark.
Parker followed two offensive rebounds with a three-point play to narrow the
gap. Marko Popovic hit just one free throw, while Diaw responded with two
accurate shots from the stripe to seal the first half outcome at 41:46. Pietrus
and Batum combined for quick 7 points at the start of the second half as Les
Bleus drew things level at 48. Parker followed with a three-pointer to put
France in front. He made his 17th point later in the period for 55:51. Piertus
made one free throw and again Parket nailed a three for 61:51.
Marko Popovic reduced the gap at the end of the third period for 63:56. Diaw
opened the last quarter from the perimeter for 66:56, while Nicevic and Traore
exchanged the free throws.
Marko Popovic kept his side alive from the perimeter for 70:65, while Batum
replied for 73:65. Loncar and Ukic brought Croatia back to 69:73, but Bokolo and
Batum gave France 78:69. Loncar cut it to 71:79, while
Marko Popovic and Ukic gave Croatia 77:81 with a minute to go. Diaw and Pietrus
however nailed threes for his sdie as France remained perfect in Poland. Parker
top-scored for the winners with 24 points for 4-0 record. Batum nailed 18, Diaw
added 15 and Pietrus scored 14.
Marko Popovic ended up with 30 points in the losing effort. Ukic had 11, while
Banic posted 10.
Turkey remains undefeated on EuroBasket 2009 in
Poland. This time
Ersan Ilyasova (207-F-87) and his teammates met ex World / European
Champion and had to work very hard in order to reach 4-0 record in Group F. It
was an overtime win and Turkey will meet Slovenia on
Wednesday in the battle for position No.1 before the Quarterfinals. On the other
side, Serbia also qualified for QFinals,
but it is not known yet will it be from position No.2 of No.3.
Ersan Ilyasova was the leading player for Turkey in this
game registering double-double, 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Omer Asik (211-C-86) scored 11 points and
grabbed 6 rebounds, while
Kerem Tunceri (190-G-79) added 9 points and 7
assists. In the loosing squad,
Milos Teodosic (195-G-87) had 16 points, 6
boards and 8 assists.
Novica Velickovic(205-F-86) scored 12 and
Nenad Krstic (214-C-83) one point less. Turkey opened the game with
0-4, but Serbia quickly responded with 5-0
run. Thanks to jump shot by
Semih Erden (211-C-87), Turkey finished
the first quarter with 18-20 advantage. The teams exchanged lead many times in
the second period. The biggest plus had Turkey and it was the HT score 33-36.
Guler dunked the ball in their last possession. At the beginning of the second
half Turkey jumped to plus 4 and
Hedo Turkoglu (206-F-79) set the margin to
38-44. Thanks to triples by
Ersan Ilyasova and
Kerem Tunceri, Turkey made 42-50 with 2:56 to go in third
quarter. However,
Milos Teodosic hit a bomb later closing the gap
to 52-55 after 30 minutes. In the last quarter
Ersan Ilyasova again brought plus 7 to his team with a triple
(52-59), but Serbia did not give up. Serbians made
7-0 run so the teams entered to very exciting finish. With 28 seconds remaining
Serbia grabbed 64-63 lead (after long
range stroke by Teodosic) and
Semih Erden scored on FT after that.
Serbia did not make it in their last
offense and on the other side
Kerem Tunceri missed a lay-up, after what
Hedo Turkoglu tipped the ball in, but that came
too late so the teams went to extra five minutes. There Serbia was
scoreless, including few mistakes and missed open three point shots by
Stefan Markovic(194-G-88).
Turkey also struggled at the
offensive end, but thanks to free throw by
Semih Erden, lay up by
Ersan Ilyasova and 2 FTs by
Kerem Tunceri at the very end, Turkey remained untouchable in
Poland. Serbia will play against Lithuania on
Wednesday (last day of the Qualifying Round).
Great victory for Slovenia, who now has 3-1 record in Qualifying Group F. It
means that Slovenians already booked a spot for EuroBasket 2009 Quarterfinals.
On the other side, the host of this event dropped to 1-3.
Erazem Lorbek (210-F/C-84, college:
Michigan St.) was central figure of the game as
he collected 20 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Point guard
Jaka Lakovic (186-G-78) had 14 points and 6
assists, while
Primoz Brezec(216-F/C-79) nailed 12 points.
Samo Udrih(195-G-79) helped the winners with 10 pts. In Team Poland,
Szymon Szewczyk (209-C-82) and
David Logan(184-G-82, college:
Indianapolis) netted 15 points each. The first
one pulled down 7 rebounds beside that. Poland had better start making quick
4-8 lead. Slovenia tied the score to 8-8, but
Szymon Szewczyk and his teammates responded
with 1-6 run. Later,
Lukasz Koszarek (187-G-84) closed first quarter
with a triple setting the score to 11-17 for the hosts.
Samo Udrih drained two consecutive triples at
the beginning of the second period and
Jaka Lakovic made two free throws for 19-17.
Poland tied the score to 22-22, after
what Goran Jagodnik(202-F-74, agency:
Beo Basket) made 5-0 run by himself. However,
Slovenians were not able to keep more than 31-29 after the first 20 minutes.
Beginning of the second half was crucial as Slovenia created
fantastic 15-1 run, closed with a triple by
Erazem Lorbek. The hosts didn't succeed to
recover from this and at the middle of the last frame Slovenia was 22
points up. The rest of the way was just the formality and Slovenia had no
troubles to register comfortable and very important win.
On Wednesday, which is the last day of the Qualifying Round, Slovenia will play against Turkey.
Poland will meet
Spain and that game will be the
crucial one for both teams.
Spain
- Lithuania84-70 Spain
had no troubles to beat Lithuania in the second day of Qualifying Round
in Poland. With this victory the
reigning World Champion made a big step forward to Quarterfinals and it now has
2-2 record in Group F. On the other side, Lithuania has no
chance to make it. Former European Champion fell to 0-4 and it is the only
winless team in both, Group E and F.
Pau Gasol (214-F/C-80) stepped up for Spain
collecting 19 points and 8 rebounds.
Juan Carlos Navarro (192-G-80) had 13, while
Rudy Fernandez (197-G-85) delivered 2 points
less. Jorge Garbajosa (205-C/F-77, agency:
Interperformances) followed them with 10
points. In Team Lithuania,
Marijonas Petravicius (208-F/C-79, college:
S.Carolina) netted 13 points and grabbed 8
boards.
Arturas Jomantas (200-G/F-85) added 11 points.
Spain opened the game with
4-0, but soon after that Lithuania grabbed 9-12 lead. Later,
Lithuanians jumped to 10-19 and they managed to keep plus 9 until the end of the
opening quarter (15-24).
Robertas Javtokas (211-C-80, agency:
Interperformances, college:
Arizona) closed it with two free throws. At
that time it seemed that Lithuania finally found its game, but
situation on the court totally changed in the second quarter.
Spain took control on their rivals
and totally smashed them during the next 6-7 minutes. Lithuania was
unable to score until 2:56 to go in the first half, while
Pau Gasol and his teammates drained magnificent
23 points. So it was impressive turn and 38-24 for Spain.
Lithuania somehow succeeded to
respond after this shock and
Marijonas Petravicius cut the margin to 40-32
at the HT. At the middle of third period, actually after triple by
Jorge Garbajosa, Spain was 54-39 up and it was hard to believe
that Lithuania is able treat until the
end, especially because of the above mentioned fiasco. After 30 minutes of play
Spain had 64-43 lead and winner of
this game was already known. For the rest of the way Spain had no
troubles to keep comfortable plus and
Marc Gasol (212-C-85, agency:
Interperformances) closed the game with a dunk
for the final 84-70.
Wednesday will be the crucial day in Group F, when
Spain will meet the host of
EuroBasket 2009 - Poland. Lithuania will take on Serbia.
Eurobasket 2009. Qualifying Round 1 - Sep.
12, 2009
GROUP E
Germany - Greece
76-84
The second match in Group E in Bydgoszcz saw Greek side achieving 84:76 victory
over Germany. Greece remained perfect after the first day of the Qualifying
Round. Germany made it to the Qualifying Round only in the closing seconds of
Group B and cherish every extra minute they get to spend at EuroBasket 2009
after arriving with minimum expectations. Greece was in front almost for the
whole first period and enjoyed 25:19 when Schortsanitis made a lay-up and the
added another points from the free throw line. In the second period the battle
continued but Greece again played better for 41:33 at the halftime.
Nikos Zisis (195-G-83) made a three for the last points in the first half
for Greek side, while Pleiss closed the period for the Germans. When the teams
came back from the lockers Germany posted 5 points in a row for 38:45. Spanoulis
however made a lay-up for 47:38. Greene replied with a lay-up for 47:40 and
Printezis scored for 57:45 later in the frame. Schaffartzik posted for 57:48,
whilst Schortsanitis made a dunk for 59:48.
Tim Ohlbrecht (211-C/F-88) cut it to 66:59 and Benzing made it 68:62. Germany
did not give up and battled until the last minutes. Greece however was too good
to be caught.
Nikos Zisis made the last point for the winners to seal another success with
his team. Spanoulis top-scored for the winners with 20 points for 3-0 record.
Schortsanitis netted 14,while
Nikos Zisis and Fotsis had 12 each.
Heiko Schaffartzik (182-G-84,
agency: Pro One Sports) delivered 23 points in defeat and Benzing posted 16.
France - FYR Macedonia
83-57
France just started the Qualifying Round but already booked their spot in the
quarter-finals.The favorites overcame F.Y.R. of Macedonia 83:57 in the last game
of Friday. The French improved to 3-0 in the Qualifying Round Group E and join
Greece into the final eight. Turiaf made a dunk to give his side the first lead.
Stefanov scored from the perimeter to taste the lead with his team, and then
France exploded with 15-0 run for 17:3. Stojanovski posted for 21:9 and Pietrus
closed the frame at 24:9. Another three-pointer from Parker and two lay-ups by
the French star saw 31:9 on the board. F.Y.R. of Macedonia could not recover at
all and failed at 42:11 when Traore a lay-up. Samardziski sent the teams to the
lockers for 49:18. Pietrus with a jump-shot opened the third quarter and Batum
made it 56:24. Nando De Colo led his team to 65:32, while Antic made two free
throws at the end of the third for 67:35. Later in the fourth quarter F.Y.R. of
Macedonia started to play a bit better, but they were too far to catch up with
the opponents. Bokolo scored for 74:44 and
Todor Gechevski (209-C-77,
agency:
Interperformances) reduced to 81:55. Mirakovski was the last to score in the
game for 83:57.
Florent Pietrus (202-F-81, agency:
Octagon)
and Nando De Colo stepped up with 14 points each for the winners. Batum, Traore
and Parker followed them with 13 each. Todor
Todor Gechevski, Darko Sokolov and Jeremiah Massey finished the night with 9
points each in the losing case.
Russia - Croatia
62-59
Russia earned a dramatic victory at the start of EuroBasket Qualifying Round
action. They held off Croatia in an exhausting battle in Group E tonight. The
European defending champions survived nail-biting dying seconds to earn a
crucial victory at the end. Russia improved at 1-2 record and caught up with
Croatia in the ladder. The teams eagerly traded baskets throughout the opening
frame. The lead changed hands for several times. Finally Kurbanov capped the
period with a jumper to tie things up at 16. Nicevic put Croatia in charge at
the start of the second quarter but Ponkrashov fired from beyond the arc to
regain the lead for Russia. The complexion of the game did not change as the
teams went on a roller-coaster action. Kurbanov and Timofey Mozgov gave the
defending European champions to 28:23 lead but Zoran Planinic crowned the half
with a trey to narrow the deficit. Sergey Bykov and Timofey Mozgov maintained
the lead early in the third stanza. Timofey Mozgov and Monya stretched the
margin at 6 points but Croatia refused to let Russia run away. Mario Kasun and
Ukic exploded with six points in a row as the teams headed into the fourth
quarter knotted up at 42.
Kelly McCarty (201-F-75, agency:
Avi Zilberman, college:
S.Mississippi) opened the fourth frame with a three-pointer to retain the
advantage for Russia. Croatia responded with four points in a row and surged in
front 46:45.
Kelly McCarty and Timofey Mozgov spurred Russia back in charge midway through the
fourth stanza. Sergey Bykov gave Russia a 51:48 advantage but Zoran Planinic
fired from downtown to draw things level. After a number of misses Timofey
Mozgov put Russia back in the drivers seat with two minutes remaining 53:51.
Banic hit two free throws to level things up at 53.
Vitaly Fridzon (195-G-85) and Zoran Planinic exchanged the buckets, while
Sergey Bykov went perfect from the stripe to pull Russia back in front 57:55
with 45 seconds to go. Vujcic accounted for just one free throw, while
Vitaly Fridzon went perfect from the line to boost the lead to three points
with 13 seconds left. Popovic missed a jumper, while
Vitaly Fridzon and Ponkrashov extended the advantage at 4 points. Marko
Popovic tried to save the day with a big three-pointer but
Vitaly Fridzon netted two freebies to seal the winning outcome at the end.
Timofey Mozgov tallied 18 points and 8 rebounds for Russia. Sergey Bykov,
Vitaly Fridzon and
Kelly McCarty added 9 points each in the win. Mario Kasun responded with 13 points
and 6 rebounds for Croatia. Zoran Planinic contributed 12 points in the losing
effort.
Serbia opened the Qualifying Round of EuroBasket 2009 with valuable win against
the host - Poland. That was very important game for both teams as they entered
to second stage with 1-1. It means that ex European and World Champion made a
huge step forward to Quarterfinals, while Poland fell to 1-2. Of course,
Poland also has a chance to advance
as there are two more games to be played. Center
Nenad Krstic (214-C-83) once again stepped up
for his team collecting 18 points and 8 rebounds.
Milos Teodosic (195-G-87) had 13 points and 4
assists, while
Uros Tripkovic
(196-G-86, agency:
Beo Basket) added 12 pts. Fourth scorer of the
team was
Novica Velickovic
(205-F-86) with 10 pts (7 rebs). In Poland,
Marcin Gortat (213-C-84) and
Lukasz Koszarek (187-G-84) scored 16 pts each.
Gortat also pulled down 9 rebounds beside that.
Michal Ignerski
(205-F-80, agency:
Stanley International, college:
Mississippi St.) netted 13 pts and grabbed 5
rebs. Serbia had excellent beginning making
0-7 lead, but the host immediately responded with 12-3 run, led by
Marcin Gortat and
Michal Ignerski. The other one was on fire from
behind the arc, but still Serbia was the team who had 22-23
after 10 minutes of play. After basket by
Novica Velickovic at the halfway of second
period
Serbia was 26-34 up. Later it was
plus 9, but
Marcin Gortat fixed the score with a jumper to
36-43 at the HT. Serbia had furious beginning of the second half making 4-13 run
for fantastic 40-56. When it seemed that the winner is already known, the hosts
started to play much better so until the end of third period they closed the gap
to 53-62. With 5:29 to go Poland cut the margin on just two
points 62-64 and everything was open again. However,
Nenad Krstic helped his team to create 2-8 run,
what turned out as crucial in this game. Poland tried to do something until the end, but
Serbia was strong enough to keep its
lead and to register valuable win.
On Monday, Serbia will meet Turkey.
Poland will take on
Slovenia.
Turkey continues with excellent performance in Poland. After perfect 3-0 in
Preliminary Round, Turkey managed to beat the reigning
World Champion in Day 1 of the second stage. It means that the host of 2010 FIBA
World Championship is currently on top on Group F with 3-0, while
Spain fell to 1-2.
Ersan Ilyasova (207-F-87) led the winners with 15 points and 5
rebounds.
Omer Asik (211-C-86) had 13, while
Semih Erden (211-C-87) and
Kerem Tunceri (190-G-79) added 11 points
apiece. In Team Spain,
Rudy Fernandez (197-G-85) and
Pau Gasol (214-F/C-80) scored 16 points each.
Gasol had 9, while Fernandez grabbed 4 rebounds less than him. Spain opened the
game better creating quick 8-14 lead, after dunk by
Pau Gasol. However, Turkey
immediately responded with 10-2 run for 18-16 turn. Still after 10 minutes of
play it was Spain who had plus 2, 20-22. Second
period started with 0-5 series for Spain, but Turkey did not
give up. With 2 minutes left in the first half
Kerem Tunceri drained a triple closing another
nice run by Team Turkey, 33-31. They managed to keep
plus two until 15-minute break. The teams exchanged lead couple of times in
third period. Spain had plus
3 and after that Turkey jumped to plus 4. Garbajosa
made triple for Spain in the last possession in third
quarter closing the gap to 49-48. It was very exciting game until the end. With
1:42 to go Turkey had 61-58,
but Navarro made a lay up for Spain.
Ersan Ilyasova and
Ender Arslan(190-G-83) missed after that, while
Sergio Llull
(178-G-87) did the same for Spain. Finally, with 2 seconds left
Semih Erden made two free throws resolving
question about the winner.
On Monday, Turkey will meet Serbia.
Spain will take on
Lithuania.
Slovenia recovered from overtime loss against Spain in the last day of
Preliminary Round and started the second stage with victory.
Jaka Lakovic (186-G-78) was on fire and he was
a key player for the winners today. He spent 34 minutes on the court draining 24
points (6 of 9 for 3-pts).
Erazem Lorbek (210-F/C-84, college:
Michigan St.) had 17 points and 8 rebounds,
while
Uros Slokar
(210-F/C-83) and
Bostjan Nachbar (207-G/F-80) added 11 points
each.
Mantas Kalnietis (195-G-86, agency:
Interperformances) answered with 15 points in
loss, while
Jonas Maciulis (198-G/F-85) scored 4 pts less.
With this victory Slovenia
jumped to 2-1 record in Group F, while Lithuania dropped to 0-3. Slovenia had impressive start. After
13-12 for Lithuania, Slovenians woke up and
until the end of the first quarter they created 18-28 lead. It was
Bostjan Nachbar who closed this period with a
triple. He continued in the same rhythm at the beginning of the second frame and
Erazem Lorbek joined him so after 14 minutes of
play
Slovenia already had comfortable
22-36 lead. Lithuania struggled at the both sides
of the court and was unable to respond.
Jaka Lakovic hit a 3-pointer setting the score
to 26-43 at the half time. When Slovenia reached 31-51 at the beginning of the
second half it was clear that this game was already over for Lithuania. Until
the end of the game Lithuanians managed to come little bit closer and they never
seriously threatened.
On Monday, Slovenia will meet Poland.
Lithuania will take on
Spain.
Stats leaders of Preliminary Round - Sep. 11, 2009 Israeli National Team player
Lior Eliyahu (205-F-85,
agency: ZAG Advocates) is currently the leading scorer of EuroBasket 2009 in Poland.
He played 3 games on this event averaging 21.3 ppg. However, Eliyahu's Israel
finished the contest winless and of course did not qualify for the next stage.
Second scorer of Preliminary Round is
Tony Parker (183-G-80) of Team France. Parker is the main reason why France ended
first stage unbeaten as he averaged 19.7 ppg. In the opening game against
Germany he drained 19 (including 11 in the finish), against Latvia 23 and in
third game against Russia Parker scored 17 points .
Third scorer of Preliminary Round is
Maciej Lampe (210-C-85, agency:
Edge Sports) of Team Poland. Actually, there is also
Earl Rowland (188-G-83, college:
St.Mary's, CA) of Team Bulgaria with the same 17.7 ppg. Position No.5 belongs to
Marcin Gortat (213-C-84) with 17.3 ppg.
FYR Macedonia - Croatia
71-81
Croatia was too strong for Israel finishing the Preliminary Round with 2-1. On
the other side, FYR Macedonia is third ranked team in Group A thanks to victory
against Israel yesterday and also advanced to the next stage. There Croatia, FYR
Macedonia and Greece will meet 3 best teams from Preliminary Group B.
Nikola Vujcic (211-C-78)
led Croatia today scoring 12 points for 19 minutes. Marko Banic was behind him
with 11, while Zoran Planinic added 9 points and 7 assists. In the loosing
squad, Darko Sokolov, Vrbica Stefanov and Jeremiah Massey netted 12 points each.
Massey had 10 rebounds beside that, while Stefanov handed out 5 assists.
Israel - Greece
80-106
Greece earned the third straight win at the 2009 EuroBasket. They held off
Israel to win preliminary Group A. Israel lost the third game in a row and
return home winless. It was do-or-die battle for Israel but Greece did not give
a single chance to their opponents.
Vassilis Spanoulis (193-G-82,
agency:
Beo Basket) scored 18 points and dished out 5 assists to pace Greece. Antonis
Fotsis and Sofoklis Schortsanitis added 16 points each in the win. Lior Eliyahu
nailed 21 points, grabbed 8 boards and issued 4 assists for Israel. Raviv
Limonad had 15 points in the losing effort.
Group B
Russia - France
64-69
France finished the Preliminary Round on Eurobasket 2009 in Poland undefeated.
After victories against Germany and Latvia, Tony Parker and his teammates
outplayed the defending European champion advancing to Qualifying Round as
top-ranked team of Group B (3-0). Russians also booked a spot for the next stage
thanks to victory against Latvia, what is their only one so far.
Boris Diaw (203-F/C-82) this time led France to win collecting 19 points, 7
rebounds and 7 assists. Ronny Turiaf had 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Parker
added one point less than him. Russia got 13 points from Kelly McCarty. Nikita
Kurbanov scored 12 and Vitaly Fridzon 11 points.
Germany - Latvia
62-68
Germany lost their last game at the preliminary round of 2009 EuroBasket to
Latvia but still managed to stay in the title race. The win by six points turned
insufficient to Latvia as they had to pack things now.
Jan-Hendrick Jagla (213-F-81, agency:
Priority Sports, college:
Penn St.)
scored decisive five points in the dying seconds to carry Germany into the next
round of action. Kristaps Janicenoks paced Latvia with 14 points. Kaspars
Kambala produced 11 points in the winning case. Demond Greene led Germany with
16 points.
Jan-Hendrick Jagla accounted for 13 points and 7 boards in a sweet loss for
his team.
Group C
Spain - Slovenia
90-84 OT
Spain celebrated 90-84 overtime win against Slovenia finishing the Preliminary
Round in Poland with 2-1 record. The same numbers has Slovenia and both teams
qualified for the next stage. Juan Carlos Navarro was the leading scorer in
victory with 21 points.
Rudy Fernandez (197-G-85) followed him with 19 points and 5 rebounds, while big
guy Felipe Reyes added 17 points and 8 boards. Pau Gasol this time helped with
13 points and 9 rebounds. In Team Slovenia, Goran Dragic netted 19 points. Jaka
Lakovic had 15 and Bostjan Nachbar added one point less. At this moment the game
between Serbia and Great Britain did not even start, but depend of that result
it will be known will Spain or Slovenia end as No.1 of Group C.
United Kingdom - Serbia
59-77
Serbia advanced to the Qualifying Round of Eurobasket 2009 finishing the group
with 2-1 record. In the last game of the day the team outscored Great Britain
77:59. Nenad Krstic and
Milenko Tepic (198-G-87,
agency:
Beo Basket) top-scored for the winners with 17 points each. Teodosic nailed 11
as Serbia took the second place in the group. Nate Reinking ended up with 21
points in defeat, whilst Mensah-Bonsu posted 16.
Group D
Poland - Turkey
69-87
It was a game between two undefeated teams after two days in Preliminary Group
D. Turkey managed to beat the host of EuroBasket 87-69 and to finish this stage
with perfect 3-0. Poland fell to 1-2, but even before this game it was already
clear that these two countries booked a spot for the Qualifying Round. There,
Turkey and Poland will take on three best teams from Preliminary Group C.
Omer Asik (211-C-86) paced Turkey to victory today collecting 22 points and 8
rebounds. Ersan Ilyasova also had very important role collecting 18 points and 8
rebounds, while Hedo Turkoglu was third scorer of the team with 13 points. The
NBA star also pulled down 8 rebounds beside that. In Poland, Marcin Gortat
shined with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Maciej Lampe added 14 pts and 7 boards.
Lithuania - Bulgaria
84-69
Lithuania and Bulgaria struggled for the only victory in Group D and the only
ticket left to the Qualifying Round. Ramunas Butautas' squad pulled away late in
the final quarter to claim their first 84:69 victory in Poland.
Ksistof Lavrinovic (210-C-79)
poured in 16 points and had 6 rebounds for the winners. Petravicius nailed 13,
whislt Jasaitis added 11. Rowland produced 18 points in defeat and Stoykov
notched 16.
Div. B Day: 2 (Play-Offs) - Sep.
9, 2009 Montenegro - Sweden
88-71
Montenegro won the second game of the Play-offs of Division B over Sweden. The
team proved it one more time that they deserve a place in Division A more than
the opponents.
Nikola Pekovic (210-C-86,
agency:
Beo Basket) paced all the winners with 17 points for Division A birth. Drobnjiak
and Dasic followed him with 14 points each. Ringstrom finished the night with 17
points in the losing effort, while Levin notched 13.
Georgia - Belarus
86-84
Georgia fulfilled their ambitions and reached Division A of the European
Championship. They overcame Belarus in a two-game playoff series. Georgia
enjoyed a 14-point buffer after the opening clash in Belarus. But the team had
to withhold a furious rescue attempts from Belarus in Tbilisi to seal the
winning outcome.
Viktor Sanikidze (203-F-86) tallied 18 points and 10 boards for Georgia.
Tyrone Ellis nailed 17 points for the winners. Alexander Kudrautsau responded
with game-high 28 points for Belarus. Pavel Ulyanko had 14 points in the losing
effort.
Eurobasket 2009. Day 2 - Sep.
8, 2009
Group A
Greece - Croatia
76-68
Greece earned the second straight win at the EuroBasket 2009. They bruised
Croatia to improve at 2-0 record in Group A. Croatia slipped at 1-1 record.
Greece will take on Israel, while Croatia will play against FYR Macedonia on the
final day of the preliminary round.
Ioannis Bourousis (212-C-83, agency:
FCM)
(212-C-83, agency:
FCM)
fired 19 points and collected 8 rebounds to lead Greece. Kostas Koufos and
Efstratios Perperoglou added 10 points apiece in the winning effort. Roko-Leni
Ukic answered with 15 points for Croatia. Nikola Vujcic had 13 points in defeat.
Israel - FYR Macedonia
79-82
After yesterday's huge defeat against Greece, FYR Macedonia managed to beat
Israel 82-79 and to improve on 1-1 score in Preliminary Group A. On the other
side, Israel failed once again as it remains winless after two days in Poland.
As a reminder, Israel faced with 79-86 defeat yesterday against Croatia.
Pero Antic (210-F-82, agency:
Interperformances) was a key player in victory with 19 points and 6
rebounds. Jeremiah Massey followed him with 15 points and 6 boards, while Darko
Sokolov and Todor Gechevski helped Macedonians with 9 points each. Israel got
the most from Tal Burstein - 25 points. Yotam Halperin netted 5 less.
Group B
Latvia - France
51-60
France earned the second win at the EuroBasket 2009 in Poland. They overcame
Latvia in a hard-fought battle in Gdansk to climb on top of preliminary Group B.
Latvia in the meantime suffered the second loss in a row to remain at the bottom
of the standings.
Tony Parker (183-G-80) had another impressive performance for France as he
tallied 23 points, 4 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals in the win. France will wrap
up their preliminary action against Russia, while Latvia will take on Germany
tomorrow. Ali Traore knocked down 12 points for Les Bleus. Kaspars Kambala once
again shone for Latvia with 18 points and 7 boards to his tally. Kristaps
Janicenoks finished with 12 points, while Andris Biedrins pulled down game-high
20 rebounds in the loss.
Germany - Russia
76-73
Germany crushed the reigning European champion 76-73 registering the first win
in Poland. Yesterday, Germans failed against France in thriller, but today they
improved a lot and were strong enough to celebrate valuable win. Russia had a
joyful Day 1 against Latvia meaning that Russians now have the same score as
Germany (1-1, Preliminary Group B).
Jan-Hendrick Jagla (213-F-81, agency:
Priority Sports, college:
Penn St.)
stepped up for the winners with double-double, 19 points and 11 rebounds. Heiko
Schaffartzik also had important role netting 13 pts. Sven Schultze and Tim
Ohlbrecht delivered 9 points apiece. In Team Russia, Kelly McCarty responded
with 12 points and 6 rebounds. Anton Ponkrashov also scored 12, while Sergey
Bykov added one point less.
Group C
Spain - United Kingdom
84-76 Pau Gasol
(214-F/C-80) woke up after the loss from Serbia as Spain barely escaped from
another one. The Spanish outfit rolled over Great Britain to celebrate the first
victory at Eurobasket 2009 in Poland. It was another proof that Spain is too far
from their best games. All the nest happened in the last period of the thriller.
Reinking added 2 points for his team for 66:62 as Spain remained scoreless in
the last period. Hart buried a three for 66:65 with 7.34. Moreover Lenzly made
it 68:66 for Great Britain when Spain was useless in the court.
Pau Gasol
scored his 20th point to tie the game at 68:68, but Achara gave his team another
70:68 lead.
Pau Gasol
reduced to 70:69 when Hart nailed three from the perimeter for 73:69. The last
minutes became very exciting in the court. Fernandez made a dunk for 73:71 and
Pau Gasol
nailed three for 74:73 for Spain. The latter scored one free throw later in the
quarter, while Navarro's three brought 78:73 with 2 minutes to go.
Pau Gasol
scored his 27th point for 80:73 with a minute until the end and Navarro added
one for 81:73. Great Britaion responded immediately from the three-point line
and Hart posted for 81:76. Rubio was perfect from the free throw line to give
his team 83:76 and Navarro brought the Final score on the board.
Pau Gasol
was unstoppable with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Fernandez followed him with 13,
whilst Claver poured in 12. Hart finished the night with 15 points in the losing
effort and Lenzly had 14. Freeland and Reinking notched 10 points apiece for
great Britain.
Slovenia - Serbia
80-69
Slovenia registered second consecutive win on EuroBasket 2009 in Poland.
Slovenians played excellent game today shooting almost 60% from behind the arc
during the first three quarters. It means that they are currently No.1 in
Preliminary Group C, while Serbia fell to 1-1. As a reminder, Serbia crushed the
reigning World Champion (Spain) yesterday with nice 66-57.
Bostjan Nachbar (207-G/F-80) shined with 17 points and 9 rebounds today, while Jaka
Lakovic and Goran Dragic collected 16 points and 4 rebounds each. Erazem Lorbek
nailed 14 pts, including 5 boards. In Team Serbia, Milos Teodosic netted 14
points and handed out 6 assists. Kosta Perovic was second scorer of the team
with 9 pts. It is important to mention that Slovenia already booked a spot for
the next round.
Group D
Bulgaria - Turkey
66-94
Turkey easily reached the second victory to book the places at the Qualifying
Round of Eurobasket 2009. The team edged Bulgaria 94:76 in Group D second game.
Videnov gave Bulgaria the first lead but as it became clear it was the only lead
for his team in the game. The winners replied with 9-0 run as Asik closed it
with a jump shot for 9:2. Savas made it later 47:23 and Turkoglu exploded with a
dunk at the end of the half for 53:28. The latter played only 15 minutes as the
result became clear even at the halftime. In the third quarter Bulgaria was able
to reduce a bit after 24-19 in the stanza. Rowland made a lay-up for 70:52 and
Asik kept the 20-point difference for 72:52. Mladenov opened the last quarter in
the game and Georgiev scored for 85:58. Turkey did not slow down and won even
the last period 22-14 for the total success. Tunceri nailed three for the last
points of his team in the game. Ivanov set up the final score at 94:66 in the
game. Ender Arslan (190-G-83)
paced all the winners with 17 points for 2-0 record. Ilyasova followed him with
16 and Guler scored 14. Earl Rowland delivered 15 points in the losing case,
Videnov added 14 and Stoykov had 12.
Lithuania - Poland
75-86
The host of EuroBasket 2009 managed to grab another win. After 90-78 against
Bulgaria yesterday, Poland was too strong for Lithuania 86-75 jumping to 2-0
score in Preliminary Group D. At the same time Lithuanians remain winless after
two days. In Day 1 they failed against Turkey 76-84.
Maciej Lampe (210-C-85, agency:
Edge Sports) shined in victory nailing 22 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
David Logan scored 19, Michal Ignerski 16, while Marcin Gortat helped with
monster double-double, 15 points and 17 rebounds. In the loosing squad, Simas
Jasaitis top-scored with 21 points. Jonas Maciulis had 14 and Marijonas
Petravicius netted one point less. It is important to mention that Poland
already booked a spot for the next round.
GROUP A: DAY 2 - Hellas - Croatia 76-68 - Sep.
8, 2009 An amazing first half, with Bourousis and Koufos doing
nearly everything in the court with the international center of Olympiakos
scoring 17 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists being the stepping stone of the
Hellenic NT to create a deficit of 21 points 52-31. The Hellenes played the
total basketball in the first half and were amazing from the parameter as they
had 5/7 three pointers (Printezis, Bourousis X2, Zisis, Perperoglou) moreover
they played very good defense especially from Perperoglou, Bourousis and
Kalabokis, the last one played very well and full of passion over Kus and Ukic
before called his third foul at the mid of the second quarter.
The Croats started the game very well and in the first quarter over scored their
opponents in a couple of times but when Kazlauskas changed Zisis with Kalabokis
and Printezis to Fotsis, the defense became tougher and the Croats suffered a
lot. Even though, the first quarter ended with just 5 points difference (with an
amazing three pointer on a buzzer beeper, from Bourousis) the second quarter was
simply dreamful for Kazlauskas and Sferopoulos team. The Hellene players were
perfect from the parameter and even though Repesa tried with continuous changes
and time outs to change the Hellenic rhythm, he could do anything, Ukic was
fighting alone as Kasun and Planinic couldnt help a lot. The amazing situation
for the Hellenic NT is that the super scorer of the team remained into just 4
points with the minimum of tries (he only tried to penetrate the Croat basket
three times). It is also worth mentioned that the top center of the Croat NT,
Vujcic played only a few minutes as he had faced some pains in his waste from an
injury received in the game against the Israelis yesterday.
The third quarter begun with the Croats trying to cut the deficit by playing
tougher defense, and shooting from the parameter more often but with better
chances, being able to increase their poor percentages (of the first half). The
result was simply to decrease the difference in less than 2 minutes to 52-37
(with a 6-0 from Croats) mainly due to Zisiss false balls. Ukic scored another
basket and cut the deficit even more (54-39) Kazlauskas asked for his first time
out of the game as he realizes that his team was dismantling in a way.The time
out didnt help as the Croats with Ukic (2 steals) and Banic a (goal + foul) cut
the deficit even more in less than 4 minutes (54-42). Bourousis dunk once but
Ukic replied back. (Ukic had 15 points).Panathinaikos two forwards, Perperoglou
and Fotsis scored 7 unanswered points and brought the difference to 18 (62-44)
with 2.43 before the end of the third quarter. The game is a derby! The quarter
is finishing with the 18 points (65-47) difference remaining for the Hellenic NT
but with Sofoklis Schortsianitis called his fourth foul 3 seconds before the end
of the quarter.
The fourth and final quarter starts with the Croats being more offensive than
ever as they had an 18 points deficit to overcome and a Hellenic NT which was
able to get points from both starters (41 points) and benchers too (24 points).
The Croats with Kasun cuts the deficit to 15 points but Kalathis is returning
the basket with a difficult drive. The Croats with Planinic and Vujcic mainly
cut the deficit once more to 13 points with 5.31 to go. The Hellene guards in
the last minutes had 4 false balls and that was the reason why the Croats cut
the deficit. Vujcic with one of two from the charity line cuts the deficit to 12
while Bog Sofo scores also one of two, before Vujcic scores another one of two
to cut the deficit to 12 once more. After the fifth personal false ball from
Zisis, Kazlaouskas gets another time-out with 4.34 before the end in order to
give some more instructions to his player as the Croats become more and more
dangerous. Popovic scores his first basket to cut the deficit to 10 for the
first time since the 13th minute. Planinic scores a very difficult drive to cut
the deficit even more to 9 points, while Vujcic is scoring an amazing three
pointer to do the scor 71-65 and the overall game to a big time derby with less
than 2 minutes to go. The Hellenic NT is playing horrible basketball the last
quarter and the Croats are now very close to a very big come back. Spanoulis
scores 5 consecutive points and is actually ending the game once and for all!!
Popovic though has a different opinion and is answering back with another three
pointers. The final score is 76-68
Hellas Croatia 76-68 - Sep.
8, 2009 Second Day - Group A: Hellas - Croatia 76-68
An amazing first half, with
Ioannis Bourousis (212-C-83, agency:
FCM)
and Koufos doing nearly everything in the court with the international center of
Olympiakos scoring 17 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists being the stepping stone
of the Hellenic NT to create a deficit of 21 points 52-31. The Hellenes played
the total basketball in the first half and were amazing from the parameter as
they had 5/7 three pointers (Printezis,
Ioannis Bourousis X2, Zisis, Perperoglou) moreover they played very good defense
especially from Perperoglou,
Ioannis Bourousis and Kalabokis, the last one played very well and full of passion
over Kus and Ukic before called his third foul at the mid of the second quarter.
The Croats started the game very well and in the first quarter over scored their
opponents in a couple of times but when Kazlauskas changed Zisis with Kalabokis
and Printezis to Fotsis, the defense became tougher and the Croats suffered a
lot. Even though, the first quarter ended with just 5 points difference (with an
amazing three pointer on a buzzer beeper, from
Ioannis Bourousis) the second quarter was simply dreamful for Kazlauskas and
Giannis Sferopoulos team. The Hellene players were perfect from the parameter and
even though Repesa tried with continuous changes and time outs to change the
Hellenic rhythm, he could do anything, Ukic was fighting alone as
Mario Kasun (213-C-80) and Planinic couldnt help a lot. The amazing situation for
the Hellenic NT is that the super scorer of the team remained into just 4 points
with the minimum of tries (he only tried to penetrate the Croat basket three
times). It is also worth mentioned that the top center of the Croat NT,
Nikola Vujcic (211-C-78)
played only a few minutes as he had faced some pains in his waste from an injury
received in the game against the Israelis yesterday.
The third quarter begun with the Croats trying to cut the deficit by playing
tougher defense, and shooting from the parameter more often but with better
chances, being able to increase their poor percentages (of the first half). The
result was simply to decrease the difference in less than 2 minutes to 52-37
(with a 6-0 from Croats) mainly due to Zisiss false balls. Ukic scored another
basket and cut the deficit even more (54-39) Kazlauskas asked for his first time
out of the game as he realizes that his team was dismantling in a way.The time
out didnt help as the Croats with Ukic (2 steals) and Banic a (goal + foul) cut
the deficit even more in less than 4 minutes (54-42).
Ioannis Bourousis dunk once but Ukic replied back. (Ukic had 15
points).Panathinaikos two forwards, Perperoglou and Fotsis scored 7 unanswered
points and brought the difference to 18 (62-44) with 2.43 before the end of the
third quarter. The game is a derby! The quarter is finishing with the 18 points
(65-47) difference remaining for the Hellenic NT but with Sofoklis
Schortsianitis called his fourth foul 3 seconds before the end of the quarter.
The fourth and final quarter starts with the Croats being more offensive than
ever as they had an 18 points deficit to overcome and a Hellenic NT which was
able to get points from both starters (41 points) and benchers too (24 points).
The Croats with
Mario Kasun cuts the deficit to 15 points but Kalathis is returning the basket
with a difficult drive. The Croats with Planinic and
Nikola Vujcic mainly cut the deficit once more to 13 points with 5.31 to go. The
Hellene guards in the last minutes had 4 false balls and that was the reason why
the Croats cut the deficit.
Nikola Vujcic with one of two from the charity line cuts the deficit to 12 while
Bog Sofo scores also one of two, before
Nikola Vujcic scores another one of two to cut the deficit to 12 once more. After
the fifth personal false ball from Zisis, Kazlaouskas gets another time-out with
4.34 before the end in order to give some more instructions to his player as the
Croats become more and more dangerous. Popovic scores his first basket to cut
the deficit to 10 for the first time since the 13th minute. Planinic scores a
very difficult drive to cut the deficit even more to 9 points, while
Nikola Vujcic is scoring an amazing three pointer to do the scor 71-65 and the
overall game to a big time derby with less than 2 minutes to go. The Hellenic NT
is playing horrible basketball the last quarter and the Croats are now very
close to a very big come back. Spanoulis scores 5 consecutive points and is
actually ending the game once and for all!! Popovic though has a different
opinion and is answering back with another three pointers. The final score is
76-68. MVP of the game was
Ioannis Bourousis
Eurobasket 2009. Day 1 - Sep.
7, 2009
Group A
FYR Macedonia - Greece
54-86
Greece smashed FYR Macedonia in EuroBasket 2009 opener. Both teams are together
with Croatia and Israel placed to Preliminary Group A. Vassilis Spanoulis
top-scored for the winners today with 17 points. Ioannis Bourousis and
Sofoklis Schortsanitis (206-C-85) helped with 11 points each. It is important to
mention that Bourousis had 8 rebounds beside that. In Team FYR Macedonia,
Jeremiah Massey shined with 12 points. Todor Gechevski and Pero Antic posted 9
pts apiece. Tomorrow, Greece will meet Croatia. Macedonians will take on Israel.
Croatia - Israel
86-79
Croatia had a joyful first day of EuroBasket 2009 in Poland.
Nikola Vujcic (211-C-78)
and his teammates were too strong for Israel jumping to 1-0 in Preliminary Group
A. Today in EuroBasket opener Greece smashed FYR Macedonia, meaning that
Croatians and Greeks are currently on top of this pool. Big guy
Nikola Vujcic was a key player for the winners nailing 21 points. Guards Marko
Popovic, Davor Kus and Roko-Leni Ukic provided 13 points each. On the other
side, Lior Eliyahu demonstrated outstanding performance collecting 31 points and
6 boards. Gal Mekel scored 16 and Ido Kozikaro added 4 points less. Tomorrow,
Croatia will meet Greece. Israel will take on FYR Macedonia.
Group B
Russia - Latvia
81-68
The defending European champion had to work hard today in order to beat Latvia
81-68. The teams are placed to Preliminary Group B, where today France
outsmarted Germany 70-65. It means that Russia and France currently share the
first place in this pool.
Kelly McCarty (201-F-75, agency:
Avi Zilberman, college:
S.Mississippi)
was the leading player in victory as he collected 24 points and 9 rebounds.
Sergey Bykov also had very important role netting 22 points, while Timofey
Mozgov was third scorer of the team with 10 pts. In the loosing squad, Kaspars
Kambala shined with 22 points and 4 rebounds. Kristaps Janicenoks delivered 14
points.
France - Germany
70-65
France struggled to
reach EuroBasket 2009 in
Poland, but it seems its players are
in great shape thanks to Additional Qualification Round. Today was a Day 1 and
France managed to beat
Germany 70-65 for 1-0 record in
Preliminary Group B. In the second game of this pool Russia was too strong for Latvia 81-68.
Tony Parker (183-G-80) was the leading player in Team France collecting 19 points
and 6 rebounds. Ronny Turiaf was behind him with double-double, 15 points and 14
rebounds, while Nicolas Batum helped with 12 points and 8 boards. In Germany,
Sven Schultze delivered 13 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Demond Greene scored
12 and Patrick Femerling had 11 points, plus 8 boards.
Group C
United Kingdom - Slovenia
59-72
Slovenia earned the first win at the 2009 EuroBasket. They needed a late surge
to pull away to a hard-fought win over Great Britain.
Erazem Lorbek (210-F/C-84, college:
Michigan St.)
knocked down 19 points to pace Slovenia as they climbed on top of Group C. Jaka
Lakovic knocked down 11 points, grabbed 6 boards and issued 6 assists for
Slovenia. Samo Udrih and Primoz Brezec contributed 8 points each in the win.
Pops Mensah-Bonsu answered with 18 points and 6 boards for Great Britain. Robert
Jr. Archibald had 12 points in the losing effort.
Serbia - Spain
66-57
A loud upset saw one of the favorites of Eurobasket 2009 Spain in the first game
of the tournament in Poland. The Balkan team led by NBA star Krstic demolished
them from the start to the end. Serbia played better in the whole game and
rightfully became the winner of the opener. Although Spain considered to be the
favorite not only in the game, but of the whole tournament as well, Serbia
handed them their first loss right from the start. Spain had even difficulties
to score in the first half and trailed from the very beginning. The first two
quarters belonged to the Serbs and at the end of another period as well.
Nenad Krstic (214-C-83) paced all the winners with 17 points for the stunning
victory. Novica Velickovic collected 12 points and 8 rebounds, while Milenko
Tepic added 10. Juan Carlos Navarro responded with 14 points and Felipe Reyes
netted 10.
Group D
Poland - Bulgaria
90-78
DDavid Logan scored 23 points to pace Poland to the starting win at the
EuroBasket 2009. The hosts of the tournament enjoyed the home fans with a
12-point win over Bulgaria in Group D.
Michal Ignerski (205-F-80,
agency: Stanley International, college:
Mississippi St.)
finished with 22 points for Poland. Maciej Lampe added 17 points, while Marcin
Gortat had 16 points and 10 boards in the win. Earl Rowland answered with 20
points for Bulgaria. Dejan Ivanov contributed 18 points in defeat.
Turkey - Lithuania
84-76
The National team of Turkey opened Eurobasket 2009 with a victory over
Lithuania. Trailing after the first quarter, Turkey bounced back and grabbed
84:76 victory. Turkey started with 4-0 run and had 15:13 lead. Lithuania
meanwhile played better in the end of the frame and took 22:19 at the end of 10
minutes. In the last quarter Turkey tied the game at 28:28 and Delininkaitis
later closed the half at 39:39. Simas Jasaitis kept the Baltic side alive from
the perimeter for 80:76, but Ender Arslan was again perfect from the foul line
to take Turkey 82:76.
Hedo Turkoglu (206-F-79) top-scored for the winners with 19 points. Ersan
Ilyasova ended up with 17, whilst Ender Arslan added 16. Marijonas Petravicius
delivered 21 points for the Baltic side, Simas Jasaitis posted 14 and Linas
Kleiza notched 12.
HELLAS - FYROM 86-54 - Sep.
7, 2009 Eurobasket in Poland - Premiere Game: Hellas - FYROM
86-54
The fresh Hellenic NT and the real Macedonians
thrashed the FYROM NT with 32 points difference.
Vassilis Spanoulis (193-G-82)
and Giannis Bourousis (212-C-83) with SSofoklis Schortsanitis (206-C-85) were magnificent in the first half where the
Hellenic NT played good defense and let the FYROM player in just 28 points. On
the other hand, the Hellenes were very good in offence too so the difference
went up to the 28 points with a double score (28-56)
The premiere of
Jonas Kazlauskas new NT had no problems even in the third quarter to increase the
difference to 32 points 69-37, with
Nick Kalathis (198-G-89,
college: Florida) giving some amazing assists mainly to
Sofoklis Schortsianitis and
Kosta Koufos (213-F/C-89, college:
Ohio St.),
while Perperoglou played also very well. On the other hand Massey scored just 2
points in compare to the 9 scored in the first half. The FYROM players were
playing very bad and they had really bad percentages from the parameter and
especially from the three pointers who had 0/9 in this quarter.
The 4th quarter was a typical case for the Hellenic NT and coach
Jonas Kazlauskas simply used all his players as 6.55 before the end of the game,
Kostas Kaimakoglou (206-C/F-83) and Glyniadakis entered in the court.
Vassilis Spanoulis and
Giannis Kalambokis (195-G-78) played quite some minutes with three centers
and it was obvious that Kazlaouskas was doing some experiments for the next game
against the strong and very difficult team of Croatia. FYROM players had 4/24
three pointers and they were keep shooting without second thoughts with 4.24
minutes before the end and with the score being to 47-79. Pero Antic scored a
couple of baskets to cut the deficit to 28, 51-79, before the steal and the
lay-up of
Vassilis Spanoulis.
Mirakofski scored the first three pointer to fulfill a 5/26 three pointers for
the Skopje players. Glyniadakis scored his second basket against Antic and
Kostas Kaimakoglou scored his first official three points with the jersey of
the Hellenic NT as he is one of six rookies of the Hellenic NT.
Vassilis Spanoulis was the top scorer with 17 points followed by
Giannis Bourousis and
Sofoklis Schortsianitis with 11 points per head, followed. The final 86-54
was 100% fair as the two teams have nothing in common. The record is now 1-0 for
Hellas and 0-1 for Skopje. Kazlaouskas used all his 12 players with the 11
players scoring and only the captain Antonis Fotsis couldnt score, (he only
played 11 minutes) as the Lithuanian head coach used various shapes and really
made many different tactics which will be used in the other phases of the
tournament. FYROM is a very low strength NT and it is not certain whether they
will be able to play for a position more than the 12th-16th.
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Spain tore apart Serbia 85-63 to capture their first-ever EuroBasket gold medal in Katowice (photo: eurobasket2009.org)
