Croatia hang tough down the stretch to beat Korea 83-75 – FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament for Women
On Wednesday, in the opening game of day 3 of the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament for Women, Korea and Croatia battled it out to gain the top spot in the Group C.
Coming into the game, both teams were assured of their passage into the knockout round, but still played with great intensity. In a high scoring game, it was the Croatians who eventually managed to maintain their poise deep in the game and chalked out an 83-75 over the gritty Korean women.
The European outfit was led by their centre Marija Vrsaljko, who erupted with a game high 26 points and also hauled down 7 rebounds. Marija was brilliant from the floor, slipping in 10 of her 14 two point attempts and going a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line.
Sandra Mandir continued her excellent run in the tournament with 14 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds while Jelena Ivezic finished the game with 13 points and 6 rebounds.
The Koreans were paced 19 points and 6 boards from forward Yeon Ha Beon. Four other Koreans managed to notch up double figures on the day. Yoon-Ah Choi scored 12 points, dished out 5 assists and made three steals; Sun-Hwa Jung had 11 points, while Jung Eun Kim and Jung-Ja Sin had 10 points apiece. Jung-Ja Sin also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
The game got off to fast start with the Croatians taking a 6-2 lead early. The Koreans however quickly regained footing with a 10-2 run which took the scores to 12-8. What followed next were 6 quick points from the Europeans, but by the time the first half ended, the Koreans were ahead by 19-16.
Mandir started the second period with a three to tie the game at 19. That three started a 13-4 spurt which pushed the Croatians to a 29-23 advantage. The Korean response was quick and came in the form of a 9-2 burst. Croatia however had the better of the last few minutes of the half, concluding the segment on 8 unanswered points for a 39-32 lead.
The Asians started the second half aggressively and quickly made it a one possession game at 36-39, but in the ensuing passage, team Croatia pressed the trigger and deep into the third, they were leading by as many as 10 points, 58-48.
The third quarter ended with Korea trailing by 51-58, which quickly became 51-60 in the fourth. At that point it seemed that the Croatians will walk away with a comfortable win, but the Koreans had other ideas. In the next four odd minutes, they launched a 13-4 capped by a three point dagger from Kim, to tie the matter at 64.
Two possessions later the score was 66-all, before the Europeans pulled off a 13-4 spurt of their own to take a decisive 79-70 lead and were never troubled after that.
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