FIBA EuroBasket Roundup Day 5: Israel and Serbia win (Part-3)
Israel 91 – Latvia 88
In a Group B matchup between two winless teams in the tournament on Sunday evening, Israel defeated Latvia 91-88 followed by a dazzling performance from their small forward Lior Eliyahu. The 25-year-old Lior posted a magnificent
double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds and guided Israel towards their first victory.
Although the victory came very late for Israel when their chances to excel in the second round has faded away however, the team has at least managed to eliminate the scare of going out of the tournament winless.
The game had its wavering moments for both the teams with the start of the play however each side managed to keep itself in a competitive position in the first half with Israel leading the game 47-45.
Janis Blums, who scored a game-high 27 points, teamed up with Andrejs Selakovs and Rihards Kuksiks in the third quarter and marshalled Latvia to gain advantage once again in the game. Latvia outplayed Israel 22-19 in the third
period which provided them one point lead before entering the fourth and the final quarter.
Rolands Freimanis surged with a dunk shot early on in the fourth period to give Latvia three points lead. However, Israel romped with 7-0 run and reclaimed their lead 75-71 from where they never trailed and finished off with a
close 91-88 win.
Serbia 75 – Germany 64
Despite of having the NBA Champion Dirk Nowitzki on the roster, who landed a game-high 25 points and 6 boards, Germany fell apart against Serbia in front of 3400 crowds at Siauliai, Lithuania on Sunday night.
Dusko Savanovic, Nenad Krstic and Milos Teodosic combined for 45 points to power Serbia towards an electrifying 75-64 win over Germany. Followed by the victory, Serbia not only won fourth straight game in the tournament, but they
also clinched the top seed in Group B.
Germany experienced a major failure from their bench players who failed to land a bucket even after receiving reasonable playing minutes. Only Johannes Herber connected a single bucket from beyond the arc after consuming 25 minutes
on the court. An extremely poor show from the reserves turned out to be the major reason for Germany’s demise.
Serbia romped with 9-0 run in the preliminary three minutes of the first quarter and went on to wrap up a comprehensive 17-10 lead with the end of the period. The German sharp-shooter Nowitzki scored 10 points of his 25 in the
second quarter including a blistering blow from downtown however Serbia’s trio kept the momentum intact and managed to amplify the lead to 38-28 going into the halftime.
The third frame depicted the same picture in which Serbia further strengthened their position by procuring a massive 57-41 lead, taking the game out of Germany’s hand. Germany finally managed to outscore Serbia in the fourth quarter
by 23-18 however it did not affect Serbia at all as they sealed an effortless win in the end.
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