Slovenia take out Serbia 72 – 68 in a close FIBA EuroBasket tie - Part 1
In a dead rubber on Saturday night, Slovenia came out on top against Serbia in FIBA EuroBasket. Both teams were already out of the race for the championship, but Slovenia brought just a little more to the game to edge out their
opponents 72 – 68.
Goran Dragic was instrumental in Slovenia’s charge as the NBA player dropped 21 points on the night. He was ably assisted by Jaka Lakovic, who was deadly from downtown for his 15 points. Mirza Begic was the other big contributor
to Slovenia’s cause as he grabbed a game high, 9 rebounds.
Begic’s effort on the boards was equalled by Serbia’s Nemanja Bjelica, whose 9 rebounds and 12 points were a driving force behind his team’s assault. Kosta Perovic went one better with 13 in the game while two other players equalled
Bjelica’s effort of 12 points.
Serbia Head Coach Dusan Ivkovic didn’t have too many complaints after the game. He believed that the teams were evenly matched and played a good game. However there has to be one loser and one winner, unfortunately his side ended
up just a little short.
“It was a very high level game. Two teams tried to do their best. We tried to be together tonight. To finish in the 7th spot, but we didn't make it. Slovenia was better today and I'd like to congratulate them. We finished this
championship which I think was very-very strong. I wish to thank my players for the last four years. It was great fun to be with them. They worked very hard and spent their summers for the Serbian team. I think bad luck stopped us from being in the Olympics.”
The game itself was good spectacle. The sides came racing out of the blocks and the first quarter was played at a very high tempo. Slovenia were particularly aggressive at the start and made early inroads. They opened the game
with a 12 – 2 run that put them firmly in the driver’s seat.
It was an uphill struggle from then on for Serbia but they didn’t shy away from the challenge. In fact, after the loose start, Serbia actually outplayed Slovenia for the rest of the quarter, going 18 – 15.
That though was not enough to recover from the early setback and the quarter ended with Slovenia leading at 27 – 20.
The second quarter was a more cagy affair but both sides still got some points on the board. Slovenia again looked to pull away and with 4:35 left on the clock, they stretched the lead to 12 points through a Lakovic three-pointer.
Serbia had to fight their way back again and the first half finished at 44 – 39 to Slovenia.
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