FIBA EuroBasket Day 6 Review: France edge out Serbia 97-96; Germany overcome Latvia 81-80 (Part-3)
France 97 – Serbia 96
With top seed in the Group B on the line, France and Serbia took on each other on Tuesday night. The game that was billed to be the clash of titans certainly lived up to its expectations and the matter had to be decided in overtime.
It was team France, which eventually held their nerves with the winning touches coming from the hands of San Antonio Spurs’ point guard Tony Parker. Parker slipped in two free throws in the defining moments of the overtime and
guided France towards a sensational 97-96 victory over Serbia.
All of France’s starters scored in double figures, led by the Parker with his team-high 24 points. France also did an outstanding job in the paints and out-rebounded Serbia 36-25.
Marko Keselj of Serbia was the top scorer of the night as he racked up 25 points in 35 minutes of playing time. Nenad Krstic also scored 22 points.
The game turned out to be a tight affair from the very starts with Serbia fired on barely managing a 25-24 lead after 10 minutes. In the second quarter, it was France’s turn to take the edge and after some stout defending from
both sides, they managed to take a 43-41 lead going into the halftime.
Keyed by their starters, Serbia bounced back in the third quarter and reclaimed their lead 64-62 by its end. The topsy-turvy flow of the game continued in the fourth quarter. With 10 seconds to go till the end of regulation time,
the French were leading by 80-78. Nenad Krstic however made good on both of his free throws at that point. Parker had a chance to win it for France on the next possession, but he drained the shot as the game proceeded into extra time.
The see-saw flow of the game continued in O.T. before Parker finally redeemed himself with a pair from charity stripe to secure the win and a top seed in Group B.
Germany 81 – Latvia 80
With no hopes left to book a place in the second round of the European Championship, Latvia were determined to end their campaign on a high and go home with a victory.
Standing in their way though were the mighty Germans.
Latvia’s small forward Rihards Kuksiks erupted with a game-high 27 points and 6 rebounds and almost took his team home but some late heroics by Heiko Schaffartzik ruined the Latvian party.
Trailing by 2 points with 6 seconds left on the clock, Heiko buried a dagger from beyond the arc and snatched an 81-80 win and place in second round for Germany. Schaffartzik also handed out 10 assists in the game, freeing up a
number of opportunities for his teammates. Besides his effort, five German players racked up 11 points apiece.
The game started with the teams maintaining parity. Germany won the first frame 15-14, but was downed by one in the second as the teams headed to the locker room with a scores tied at 33. Germany turned out as a different team
in the third and bulldozed its ways through the Latvian defences in the third quarter. By the time, the third quarter ended, Germany held a 56-48 lead and were looking set for a smooth transition into the round.
However, Latvia ensured that the Germans didn’t have it easy. With the first two minutes, the Latvians brought the deficit down to 4 and then kept within a striking distance before making the game even at 67 with 4:34 to go.
Latvia maintained their lead and were ahead by 78-75 with 26 ticks to go, before Schaffartzik knocked down a three and then followed with another to seal the win.
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