And the EuroBasket 2009 winner is...Spain!!

Spain ran away from Serbia 85-63 to claim the 2009 EuroBasket crown. the win completed a mid tournament reversal of fortunes for the Spanish squad after early tourney jitters and poor play. Greece edged Slovenia 57-56 for third place while France topped Croatia 69-62 for fith placing and Russia slammed Turkey 89-66 for seventh. Here are the final day match reports from Poland via http://www.eurobasket2009.org.

Seventh Place Game:

Russia Rebound to End On High Note

Game Summary

Turning Point: After Russia used eight three-pointers to open a 14-point mid-second quarter gap, Fridzon drained two more and three foul shots in a 12-2 third quarter spurt as Russia surged ahead 63-47. Turkey did not get closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Hero: Fridzon hit one big shot after another the entire game and gave his teammates confidence in their shooting as well.

Stats: Russia made 16 of 24 three-pointers in the game.

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Russia rebounded from their disappointing loss in the final qualifier for the 2010 FIBA World Championship to knock off Turkey 89-66 to claim seventh place at EuroBasket 2009.

Vitalii Fridzon buried seven three-pointers in scoring 26 points and leading five Russians in double figures in Russia's final game as 2007 reigning champions.

Anton Ponkrashov had 16 points, nine assists and four rebounds. Aleksey Zozulin also each had 16 points, Nikita Kurbanov added 13 while Sergey Monya chipped in 11 points in helping Russia shoot 16 of 24 from long range.

"This was a great finish. That was the Turkish national team. We beat them bad. And that's a good team. They came to win. They didn't want to lose. We played a great game. We got a great performance from just about everybody," said Blatt, whose team must now hope for a wild card to play next summer in Turkey.

"I felt this was an excellent performance, a very respectful showing and something to look forward to for the national team. That is what I had hoped."

Turkey finished eighth with four straight losses to close the tournament despite 24 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks by Omer Asik. Semich Erden added nine points in a losing effort.

"We finished our competition in eighth place. We fought, we were ready to go. We played the first five games very well, but losing the other games was very hard," said Turkish coach Bogdan Tanjevic.

"We lost ambition to play down the stretch. We finished under the level we wanted to. But overall I am satisfied with the performance of this team."

Asik scored four points in helping Turkey jump out ahead 9-0 in the first three minutes. But Russia used the long ball to get back into the game and build a lead.

Zozulin and Fridzon both nailed two three-pointers in the middle of a 23-7 run for a 23-16 lead. And Zozulin's three-point heave from about 30 feet went in at the buzzer for a 26-18 advantage after one quarter.

The Russian barrage continued in the second half with Zozulin and Fridzon both hitting again and Anton Ponkrashov joining the party with a triple to make it 37-23.

Engin Atsur hit a long ball of his own to bring Turkey back into the game and Asik scored eight points the rest of the quarter as the Turks closed within 51-40 at the break.

Turkey scored the first five points out of the locker room but Fridzon sandwiched triples around a Sergey Monya three-ball and then made three foul shots to extend the lead to 16 points, 63-47.

Turkey answered with the next eight points but still trailed 68-59 after three periods.

Asik refused to let Turkey go down without a fight scoring six points in the fourth quarter. But the Russians were just too motivated and too hot from long range with Fridzon nailing two more treys in the fourth quarter. And the lead swelled to 23 points.

20 September 2009 Quotes Turkey vs. Russia David Blatt (Russia Coach): "We came here as a champions, but we didn't come here with the same team. Only three players were here comparing to last year's Olympic Games and all were non-starters there. That's why I called Kelly McCarty and asked him for a personal favor. He agreed to help us and he led a young and inexperienced team to an excellent performance." Kelly McCarty (Russia): "We wanted to continue a good performance from yesterday's match and to finish strong this tournament. Coach prepared us really well for this game and every player stepped in today and contributed. We won and for me playing here for Russian national team was a great experience." Bogdan Tanjevic (Turkey Coach): "So we finished this tournament in eighth place. I thought we were ready to take one of the medals, but when we lost to Greece in the Quarte-Finals after overtime, we lost ambition to continue. We also had an injury problem. At the end I can't be happy with the final result, but I'm generally satisfied with the performance of our team." Baris Hersek (Turkey): "I want to thank the hosts for a good work with the organization of this championship. We started this tournament really good, but it stopped after the Quarter-Final game. Hopefully next year, with the support of our fans, we will finish in a medal position."

Fifth Place Game:

France Finish Fifth

Game Summary

Turning point: With under three minutes left to play, Yannick Bokolo drove baseline and fed a cutting Nicolas Batum for a double-pump dunk and a 65-56 lead. Special mention for Diot's banked halfcourt three-pointer that beat the second quarter buzzer and gave France a 34-24 advantage at the break.

Hero: Antoine Diot and Nando de Colo, With Vincent Collet resting key players such as Tony Parker, Florent Pietrus and Ronny Turiaf, the young guns stepped up and finished with 18 and 15 points respectively.

Stats: France hit nine of 18 three-points attempts. Diot was four of seven from beyond the arc.

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France held off Croatia for a 69-62 win to take fifth place at EuroBasket 2009 in Katowice on Sunday.

Antoine Diot scored 18 points and Nando de Colo added 15 as the French used a 9-0 run in the first quarter to break a 9-9 score and they did not relinquish the lead the rest of the way.

Davor Kus had 18 points for Croatia, who made several runs but could never edge in front as France made key baskets to put an end to their spurts.

Both teams had already secured their places in next year's World Championship in Turkey on Saturday with Vincent Collet's men beating Turkey while Jasmin Repesa's side outlasted Russia.

Therefore, both coaches used this game as a chance to rest some key players and let others showcase their skills.

Tony Parker, Boris Diaw (sprained ankle) and Florent Pietrus did not play for France, while Roko-Leni Ukic (groin injury), Zoran Planinic and Mario Stojic sat out for Croatia.

Marin Rozic buried a three-pointer to tie the game at 9 before de Colo - who had 12 points in the opening quarter - and Diot combined for nine unanswered points.

Marko Popovic ended the spurt with a short jumper and Rozic made a free-throw to cut the deficit to 18-12, but De Colo converted a three-point play in the closing seconds of the period for a 21-12 advantage.

Croatia came back in the second period, using an 8-0 run to get within 23-22 on Sandro Nicevic's basket with 3:44 to go before the break.

Diot then hit a three-pointer to end a scoreless drought of almost four minutes for France but the Croats stayed close after Mario Kasun made two free-throws for 25-24.

Les Bleus pulled away once more as they accounted for the last nine points of the first half. Some good ball movement led to an Ian Mahinmi dunk before Batum hit a pair of foul shots.

Diot then closed out the second quarter in style, burying a wing three-pointer and then banking a halfcourt shot that beat the half-time buzzer to give France their first double-digit lead, 34-24.

Collet's side extended their lead to 41-27, when Diot hit his fourth long bomb midway through the third quarter. They had their biggest lead of the game, 46-31, when De Colo buried a long bomb from the corner, but Croatia scored the last 10 points of the period to cut the deficit to 46-41 on Kus' three-pointer in the closing seconds.

The Croats made it 14 unanswered points when Banic and Kus scored the first four points of the final quarter to get within one, 46-45. France responded by scoring nine of the next 12 points courtesy of Ali Traore, Yannick Bokolo and Nicolas Batum.

Repesa's men did not relent and closed within 60-56 when Kresimir Loncar converted a three-point play with just under four minutes remaining.

Once again though, France answered right back as Batum connected from beyond the arc. Bokolo then drove baseline and fed the cutting Portland Trailblazers swingman for a double-pump dunk and a 65-56 lead and that pretty much wrapped up the win for Les Bleus.

20 September 2009 Quotes France vs. Croatia Jasmin Repesa (Croatia Coach): "It was a hard game for us, because it followed two very important matches we had - against Slovenia in the Quarter-Finals and yesterday against Russia, when we won and qualified for World Championship. I had less players available today, so our rotation was shorter than usual and it's difficult to play like this against such an athletic team as France." Roko-Leni Ukic (Croatia): "It was a hard match, mostly because this game had no importance. Some teammates today got more minutes than usual because of a shorter rotation. Before tournament started we definitely expected more, but we made progress and advanced to World Championship for next year. It was a very tough championship, because teams were very equal. We had our chance to do more in the Quarte-Final game, but we didn't take it." Vincent Collet (France Coach): "We played today without Boris Diaw and Tony Parker, and Ronny Turiaf played for only nine minutes. But other players did their best, worked hard and once again showed the spirit of our team. We gave our best here, but unfortunately we had to play against Spain in the Quarter-Finals. We also didn't play well that game. We have to keep working hard and try to improve our game, especially offensively." Ian Mahinmi (France): "It feels great to finish this campaign with a win. We had a great chemistry on the team here. For me playing here was something new, it's a different game, different referees and you just have to try and adjust to it."

Bronze Medal Game:

Greece Capture Bronze

Game Summary

Turning point: It wasn't the best night for Nikos Zisis, who got in early foul trouble, but the winning plays came from his hands. Up by two with less than a minute to play he missed a jumper that could have given Slovenia the upper hand, but quickly recovered with an offensive board, and later on the play kicked out a pass to Antonios Fotsis who scored a three ball to set the margin on five, with 31 seconds on the game clock. Enough for a Bronze Medal.

Hero: Schortsanitis came off the bench early after Ioannis Bouroursis got in early foul trouble, and from the minute he stepped on court he was the dominating force under the boards. He scored 23 points and drew 12 fouls to carry his team to the podium.

Stats: After several good shooting nights Slovenia lost their accuracy tonight. They hit only 30% of their field goals and wrote a tournament low of 56 points.

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60 years after winning their first, and last, bronze medal the Greek team will take the podium tonight in the third position after edging Slovenia 57-56 in the bronze medal game on Sunday in Katowice.

This is the second time Greece will go home with a medal in the last four years after winning the gold at EuroBasket 2005.

Nick Calathes saw significant minutes for Greece, with a team-high three assists in 22 minutes.

Slovenia came close to capturing a historical moment and winning their first ever EuroBasket medal, but will have to settle for the fourth and respect will have to do in place of a medal.

"For us it's an amazing result," said the Greek guard Nikos Zisis.

"When we came here nobody gave us a chance to win a medal, so I'm very happy to go back home with the bronze."

Zisis got in early foul trouble, and wasn't at his best, but did get a chance to take part in the winning plays.

His offensive rebound, following a big kick out pass to Antonios Fotsis made the difference between a possible Slovenian lead, and a five point margin in favor of Greece with 31 seconds in the game.

Greece led throughout the last three quarters, but Slovenia never allowed them to get too far ahead.

Jaka Lakovic, in a big fourth quarter, brought his team within touching distance, but never more.

He scored a team high of 16 points, 13 of them coming in the last quarter.

Vasilis Spanoulis had his worst shooting night in the tournament with only three points and one made shot in 11 attempts, but kept leading his team even when things didn't work out.

After Spanoulis missed twice from the free throw line, it was Bostjan Nachbar who missed a desperate three-point attempt with the buzzer to spark the Greek celebration.

Both teams carried fatigue from the enormous effort they have put in the last few days, and it showed in the shooting percentage.

After several good shooting nights it was time for Slovenia to slow down as they settled for only 30% from the field.

Erazem Lorbek was struggling as well with 12 points on 28% from the field.

One of the main reasons was Sofoklis Schortsanitis who was everywhere on court today with 23 points, on 78% accuracy, six rebounds, two blocks and 12 drawn fouls.

"I've been working very hard," said the big Greek, "but the most important thing is that this is a great moment for a national team.

"To win a medal against the odds is a fantastic feeling."

Schortsanitis was the only Greek player to reach double-digits.

"I am very proud of my players," said Coach Jonas Kazlauskas.

"In this short time we did a great job with a new team that had only three players with experience at such a level."

Jaka Lakovic led Slovenia in scoring with 16 points.

Greece scored the first five points in the game but saw Ioannis Bourousis grab two quick fouls and take a seat on the bench, which hurt them down the road.

Nachbar hit twice in a row from distance, to even things out, but went silent after that only to feel a new power rising in Greece.

Schortsanitis, who took over for Bourousis, scored eight points without a miss in the first period, but Slovenia wasn't far behind with a 16-13 deficit after ten minutes.

Greece used the softness of Slovenia around the rim to score seven in a row and write a ten point lead, but a big drive by Uros Slokar, finished with a big dunk, stopped the run and put things in perspective again.

Zisis and Uros Slokar got in foul trouble with three each, before Erazem Lorbek led a small 5-0 run, to cut the margin to five and finish the break behind 31-24.

Greece continued to score inside and keep Slovenia far from the rim.

Today the three-pointers didn't fall in for Slovenia, until Lakovic fired his first and added a steal, followed by another arc bucket by Slokar to make it just a 38-33 game after 28 minutes.

Spanoulis didn't find his rhythm but Schortsanitis was there first with a big block on Lorbek and then on the offensive glass to connect two and calm things down for Greece.

Three turnovers in a row by Greece gave Slovenia a chance to finally tie or take the lead but missed shots and turnovers put a hold on that thought.

Schortsanitis was a dominant force on both ends and with a power move pushed the margin to five, 51-46 inside the last three minutes of the game, only to see Bourousis take his spot for the last two minutes of the game.

Lakovic scored from the perimeter to lift the thousand Slovenian fans to the dome with 2:03 to play, but that didn't last for long.

After missing a defensive board, Slovenia saw Fotsis score a catch-and-shoot three ball with 31 ticks on the clock, and make it a five point difference again.

It seemed like a done deal, but Lakovic had other plans. He scored a quick two from the line and added a big three to cut the margin to one, 57-56 to leave his team some hope for the last nine seconds, but that was the end of the dream.

20 September 2009 Quotes Greece vs. Slovenia Jonas Kazlauskas (Greece Coach): "I am very proud of my players, they did great in the short time we had. I had only three players here with experience at this level, but they still did a great job winning a bronze medal. Today's game wasn't maybe very nice for the fans, but it was a match where the result was the most important thing." Antonios Fotsis (Greece): "It was a very hard game. We usually struggle in this kind of game, because of the disappointment of being eliminated in the Semi-Finals. But this time the team was very focused in winning a bronze medal, and we got the result we wanted." Jure Zdovc (Slovenia Coach): "I want to congratulate Greece for their win. I also want to congratulate my players, because they found the energy after a very tough game last night. It was a great 14 days and we can be proud of our performance. With Dragic and Smodis we would be on a different level, but we'll have to wait and see, who will be available for us next summer." Uros Slokar (Slovenia): "Despite our injuries we went into the game against Greece brave and tough. Unfortunately we did not make it to the third spot and did not win any medal, but we must not forget that we made a step forward in comparison to the previous championship. I would like to say thank you to all our fans who supported us here. We could not have made it this far without you."

Gold Medal Game report:

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

Game Summary

Turning point: Spain had a 15-point first quarter lead and it was 24 points late in the first half before Serbia went on a 15-6 run in the third quarter to trim the margin to 58-44. But Spain answered with a 9-0 surge to re-establish domination of the contest.

Hero: Pau Gasol was unstoppable inside for the Spaniards as he out-rebounded Serbia by himself 8-7 in the first half. The star center dominated the paint at both ends.

Stats: Spain out-rebounded Serbia 44-23, including 18 offensive rebounds, while committing just nine turnovers and holding Serbia to 6 of 19 from long range.

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Spain tore apart Serbia 85-63 to capture their first-ever EuroBasket gold medal in Katowice, Poland on Sunday night.

World champions in 2006, silver-medal winners at EuroBasket 2007 in Madrid and runners-up to Team USA at last year's Olympics, the Spanish underlined their status as the dominant side on the continent.

On Sunday Juan Carlos Navarro finally got to hoist the EuroBasket trophy.

They will travel to Turkey next year for the FIBA World Championship as one of the gold-medal favorites.

Pau Gasol, who won an NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers in June, finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds and also blocked three shots - all game-highs.

"This is an amazing feeling," said the seven-footer, who was voted MVP of the EuroBasket.

"It's been an unbelievable year for me - first the NBA title and now a gold medal at the EuroBasket, something that we had never achieved before.

"We have played great and we truly deserve to enjoy this."

Serbia had won the first meeting between the two sides, 66-57, on opening night in Warsaw and they were sky high after edging Slovenia in overtime to reach the final.

Their coach, Dusan Ivkovic, had led the former Yugoslavia to three gold medals in as many finals.

But Spain entered the contest red hot, riding a four-game winning streak and they delivered a first-half knockout with a couple of decisive scoring surges.

With the game knotted at 5-5, Ricky Rubio buried a three-pointer right in front of the Spanish bench to ignite a 15-2 run.

Six different players contributed points in that scoring burst.

Serbia dug in their heels and fought back, twice reducing the deficit to eight points.

A Novica Velickovic jump shot closed the gap to 24-16 at the start of the second quarter and, after Marc Gasol tapped in Felipe Reyes' miss for Spain, Ivan Paunic and Velickovic each split a pair of free-throws to make it 26-18.

However, that proved to be as close as Ivkovic's team would get.

Led by Gasol, Spain blew the game wide open.

Spain answered with an electrifying 9-0 spurt that began when Raul Lopez penetrated into the lane and lofted an alley-oop pass that Pau Gasol grabbed with both hands to dunk.

After Rudy Fernandez made a pair of free-throws, he scored on a fast break and Reyes also scored in transition for a 34-18 lead.

Following two Uros Tripkovic free-throws, Spain grabbed a stranglehold on the game. Gasol, who missed two foul shots, made amends quickly when catching an alley-oop pass from Navarro and dunking again.

Rubio went to the charity stripe and made both attempts before Gasol scored down low for a commanding 40-20 advantage.

The final blow in the first half came after a Milos Teodosic three-pointer for Serbia with six seconds remaining.

Jorge Garbajosa quickly grabbed the ball and hurled a pass up the floor to a streaking Gasol who laid the ball in

Milos Teodosic struggled, scoring only five points, but was named to the All-Tournament team.

right before the buzzer for a 52-29 lead.

Serbia closed the gap to 58-44 with 3:22 to go in the third quarter, but Rudy Fernandez had two baskets on fastbreaks to spark a 9-0 run and take a 67-44 advantage heading into the final frame.

Kosta Perovic cut the deficit to 21 but Carlos Cabezas answered with a three-pointer and Serbia got no closer than 22 points the rest of the way. Spain's lead grew to 29 midway through the period.

Serbia did not win the gold medal yet they went much further than anyone expected and the disappointment was quickly forgotten.

"It was important for us to bring respectability back to Serbian basketball after what happened two years ago. We did that at this tournament," said Perovic.

Milenko Tepic predicted a bright future for this young Serbian team.

"Today was a tough game for us. We were still tired from last night's win over Slovenia. But the future is bright for us. We were the youngest team here and that means we will have a lot of time in years to come."

Pau's younger brother Marc thought Spain's success was that much sweeter as they had their share of troubles in the tournament.

"We struggled in this tournament, but that makes the gold medal even better," he said.

21 September 2009 Quotes Spain vs. Serbia Sergio Scariolo (Spain Coach): "It's a day we've been dreaming about since July. The most impressive thing is not that we did it, but how we did it, dominating the last few games. My players showed great professionalism, commitment and trust in this tournament. I want to thank also my coaching staff for their advice, as well as the Spanish federation, for letting me driving this Ferrari." Pau Gasol (Spain): "We are extremely happy with this outcome. For the last five and a half games we've been playing amazingly well. We worked very hard to win this championship and I am super proud of my teammates, as well coaching staff. We played this game exactly how we wanted - starting with intensity, confidence and just being happy to play basketball." Dusan Ivkovic (Serbia Coach): "The Spanish team was better tonight and they absolutely deserved this win. They are playing so many years together, which gives them a big advantage. I'm very happy and satisfied with our performance here, I can say that we won a medal earlier than we expected it to happen. Today I think for the first time my players felt the pressure of the final game. For example we rebounded the ball only seven times during the first half, compared to 24 for Spain. The other reason was that our bench players didn't help us tonight as they did in previous games." Nemanja Bjelica (Serbia): "Spain deserved their victory, they controlled the game for the full 40 minutes. Our goal here was to qualify for the World Championships in Turkey, we did it, and we also a silver medal. Everybody in Serbia is satisfied and we are satisfied too."

Defending Champs Russia and Undefeated France fall in first two EuroBasket Quarters

Defending champions Russia and France who went undefeated in previous rounds have fallen in the first two games of the EuroBasket 2009 Quarter Finals.

In the first match, Serbia went on a 17-0 tear when trailing 24-21 early in the second quarter to bolt to a 38-24 advantage and held on in the second half to beat Russia 79-68, thus ending any back to back title aspirations from the Russian side.

Here is a further report from: http://www.eurobasket2009.org

Serbia Run Past Russia And Into Semis

Game Summary

Turning point: Serbia came out like gangbusters in the second quarter, reeling off a 17-0 run to turn a 24-21 deficit into a 38-24 lead. The advantage swelled to 20 points in the third quarter and Russia never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

Hero: Kosta Perovic. The Serbian center scored 11 of his 13 points in the second quarter and nine of them in the decisive 17-0 surge.

Stats: 8 of 18. Serbia shot 44 percent from three-point range as they continually drained long balls in the second half to keep Russia from getting back into the game.

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Two years after bowing out in the first round in Spain, the youngest team at EuroBasket 2009 Serbia booked the first berth in the semi-finals by dethroning the defending champions Russia 79-68 in the first quarter-final.

Serbia used a 17-0 second quarter run to take control of the game and never looked back with Uros Tripkovic leading five Serbs in double figures with 18 points.

Uros Tripkovic led five Serbians in double-figure scoring with 18 points.

Kosta Perovic scored a personal tournament-high 13 points for Serbia off the bench. Novica Velickovic also had 13 points while Milos Teodosic collected 12 points and four assists and Nenad Krstic chipped in 10 points.

"This is a great result for us. We came into the tournament with a goal of booking a place into next year's world championships and now we are in the semi-finals. It's a fantastic effort," said Kristic, who is the oldest player on Serbia at 26 years of age.

Krstic also praised his center back-up Perovic, who scored nine points in the big 17-0 run in the second quarter.

"He played great. He was unstoppable for a while and it goes to show that this team really does go 12 deep. Every one of our players can be a key contributor," said the NBA big man.

"I think we deserved this victory tonight. We have reached our first target, which was qualifying for Turkey. The key of the game was our bench players. We really played as a team. Also keep was the defense in the second quarter," said Serbia coach Dusan Ivkovic

Serbia - who in this tournament have now knocked off reigning world and European champions - will next play the winner of Friday's quarter-final between Slovenia and Croatia for a spot in Sunday's final in Katowice.

Russia lost despite 15 points from Vitalii Fridzon but David Blatt's men could not overcome the 17-0 surge. Sergey Monya scored 12 points and Timofey Mozgov had 10 points.

"There are some games when you can come and make statements and excuses. But this was one not of them. They dominated in every category. It was pretty clear who was the better team today," said Blatt.

"Serbia pretty much did what they wanted against anything we did. And we couldn't handle the things they threw at us in the second quarter."

The first quarter was a back and forth affair with neither team leading by more than four points with six lead changes. The game was also tied eight times.

Krstic scored nine points in the quarter as Mozgov could not afford to get in foul trouble. Russia, however, shot 67 percent from the field and led 24-21.

But Blatt's men could not do anything offensively in the second quarter. They turned the ball over on three straight possessions and went scoreless for the first 7:29 of the period as Serbia reeled off a 17-0 run for a 38-24 lead. Perovic scored nine points in the big run - matching his highest game total of the tournament.

In the end, Serbia led 41-28 at intermission.

Russia looked dead in the water, trailing 52-32 with 5:32 left in the third quarter. But Blatt's men allowed just one basket the rest of the period, finishing on a 9-0 run with Sergey Bykov hitting a layup just before the buzzer to make it 54-43.

Russia continued to come back in the fourth quarter but Tripkovic nailed a triple and Teodosic knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to keep the Serbs ahead 66-51.

The champs refused to give up but could not get closer than 10 points the rest of the way - 66-56 on Fridzon's trey with four minutes to play.

17 September 2009 Quotes Russia vs. Serbia Dusan Ivkovic (Serbia Coach): "We deserved this victory and I want to congratulate all players, staff, and our small group of fans who was with us today. We reached our first goal which is advancing to World Championship in Turkey next year. The key for us was our bench players - they played great defense in the second quarter and we won this quarter 20-4. Now in the Semi-Finals everything is possible." Milan Macvan (Serbia): "Congratulations to Russia for a good game and for my teammates for a win. I think it was the second quarter which made the difference, we also didn't allow Russia to come back later in the game, when they tried to do it." Sergey Monya (Russia): "We didn't play good in the second quarter, and we made a lot of mistakes. In the second half we've played quite well, but Serbia showed great experience that we don't have." David Blatt (Russia Coach): "I want to congratulate coach Ivkovic and his team, they have now qualified for World Championships and they are on their quest to qualify to the final of Eurobasket. They dominated today's game, and everything more I would say about it would be useless. Serbia has a very good mix of inside and outside players. It's hard to focus on one aspect of their game. Because of it, they can attack you on both ends of the floor."

France also falls

Pau Gasol ( 28 pts/9 rebounds ) of Spain proved too much for fellow NBA players Ronny Turiaf, Boris Diaw and Tony Parker of France as Spain waltzed into the Semi Finals with a comprehensive 86-66 thrashing of France. The following press report from the game was filed.

Spain Ride Gasol Past France

Game Summary

Turning point: Spain pretty much dominated from start to finish so there was no turning point as such. The Spaniards though did send a strong message of intent when, late in the third quarter, France guard Nando de Colo thought he had an easy fast break lay-up only for Marc Gasol to appear out of nowhere and swat the ball into the crowd.

Hero: Rudy Fernandez. His three three-pointers in the first quarter got Spain rolling and they rode that momentum until the end.

Stats: Tony Parker, who came into the game averaging 18 points a game, was held to just six points on one of eight from the field.

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Spain got off to a quick start and never looked back as they crushed France 86-66 to book their place in the semi-finals of EuroBasket 2009 in Katowice.

Pau Gasol had a stellar performance, going for 28 points, nine rebounds and three blocks - all game highs - as the

It was a frustrating night for Tony Parker, who managed just one field goal.

world champions handed the French their first defeat of the tournament.

Afterwards, Spain head coach Sergio Scariolo praised his team's much-improved fitness as the reason why his team ran France ragged.

"Our physical condition is so much different that we can now work however we want to," he said. "We beat an excellent team. They have heart and pride and never gave up."

Alex Mumbru pointed to the Spaniards' mindset from the tip-off as the reason for such a big win.

"We were very focused from the start. We played at a high tempo and now we are in the semi-finals which is where we want to be," he said.

Spain hit five of nine three-pointers to take a 25-15 lead by the end of the first quarter and the closest France never got closer than nine the rest of the way.

Rudy Fernandez buried three of his four attempts from beyond the arc and Ricky Rubio and Juan Carlos Navarro hit one each for a 21-12 advantage.

The Spaniards were also doing an excellent job defensively forcing France into turning the ball over six times and putting the shackles on Tony Parker, who was held to a tournament-low of six points, 12 below his average.

Pau Gasol made a lay-up with 47.6 seconds left in the first quarter for a 23-12 score and their first double-digit lead of the night.

Vincent Collet's charges got within 27-19 on four quick points by Ali Traore, but Spain then made the most of their opponents' 11 first-half turnovers, getting seven steals which led to seven fast break points.

Antoine Diot's pass was stolen by Mumbru who went the other way for an easy lay-up and a 31-19 advantage.

Ball handling wasn't France's only downfall as they failed to box out and were being manhandled in the paint. Mumbru got better position inside of a blue crowd for an offensive rebound to make it 37-21.

Pau Gasol then got the better of his match-up with Florent Pietrus. The Spanish center used some of his fancy footwork to get around his defender. He also had an emphatic reverse dunk over the entire French defense that brought cheers from the crowd. Navarro then hit a runner in the last minute of the half for a 47-32 lead at the break.

Spain picked up where they left off in the third quarter, with Rubio scoring five quick points early in the third quarter to put Spain up 55-38.

France made somewhat of a charge, cutting the deficit to 62-49 on Traore's jumper, but that just motivated Spain to tighten their defense furthermore as they held them to just three points the rest of that period.

Nando de Colo tried a finger roll in transition but saw his shot swatted into the stands by Marc Gasol who then made a pair of free-throws at the other end, giving Spain their first lead of 20, 69-49, with 1:13 to go in the period.

Up 73-52 to start the final frame, Spain let their guard down temporarily, allowing their opponents to get within 77-66 on Antoine Diot's three-pointer with 4:55 left to play.

Fernandez then made a lay-up and Pau Gasol scored four quick points to put the game to bed.

Afterwards, France's Boris Diaw admitted that chasing the game was always going to be hard against a talented team like Spain.

"We just got behind them and they are a great team. So once you get behind them, they're not going to let you back in," he said.

"We can't get a medal but we can qualify for the world championship next year."

Collet knew Spain would be tough to beat after seeing them raise their level of play over the last few games.

"I think they dominated the game from the beginning and never let us come back," he said. "After showing improvement in the last two or three games, they made us fall back. We had problems moving and swinging the ball against their defense. We had problems finding solutions. In the second half we got down to 11 but they were too good for us."

Ronny Turiaf was France's only player to score in double-digits with 12 points.

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Croatia Punch Last Ticket To Quarter-Finals

Game Summary

Turning point: Germany led 57-54 but committed turnovers on six straight possessions and went nearly five minutes without a score to hand Croatia the momentum.

Hero: Ukic. The Croatian star continually broke down the German defense, getting to the lane and converting.

Stats: 12 of 26, 20 and 13. Germany made 12 of 26 three-pointers but shot themselves in the foot with 20 turnovers. Croatia grabbed 13 offensive rebounds.

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Roko-Leni Ukic scored 18 points as Croatia earned the last Quarter-Final berth from the Qualifying Round Group E by holding off Germany 70-68.

The Croatians had four players in double figures and took advantage of Germany making 20 turnovers - including six straight turnovers in the fourth quarter - as they secured fourth place in the group with a 2-3 record.

"Even though we didn't play great basketball, we showed character and we're going to the quarters," said Ukic.

"It was a tough game as both teams wanted to make the quarterfinals. At the end of the game we got a couple of stops and Kresimir Loncar hit a big three-pointer to give us confidence for the next couple of possessions."

Croatia coach Jasmin Repesa praised his team for keeping their nerves when they trailed 57-54 midway through the final quarter.

"We expected a tough game. When we were losing 57-54 we didn't lose our head and in the end we played some tough defense," said Repesa, whose team out-scored Germany 27-6 in points off turnovers and second chance points.

Croatia also received 11 points each from Marko Popovic and Zoran Planinic while Sandro Nicevic added 10 points.

Germany bow out of the tournament despite another spirited fight from Dirk Bauermann's young team.

Heiko Schaffartzik led the way with 18 points - on perfect 6 of 6 shooting - while Patrick Femerling scored 15 points and Jan Jagla had 11 points.

"It was just a bad ending to a great, wonderful summer. I thought that we would have deserved to win the game.
But they deserved to win the game because they made the big plays offensively and defensively," said Bauermann.

"I am very proud of this team. We gained a lot of respect with this young team. We very positively surprised a lot of people. Today we are extremely disappointed. We can be proud of what we achieved."

After Germany scored the first basket of the game, Croatia scored 10 straight and led 14-3 after five minutes. It was 16-7 when Schaffartzik and Jagla each hit two three-pointers in a four-possession stretch for a 19-18 German lead.

Croatia however were ahead 20-19 after one period.

Germany again struggled out of the blocks in the second quarter, committing three straight turnovers and not scoring a basket until Steffen Hamann's lay-up nearly four minutes into the period.

Croatia began pulling away again, opening a 37-27 advantage with a minute left in the half. Jagla nailed another triple and a layup at the buzzer to bring Germany within 37-32 at intermission.

In the third period, Croatia were held scoreless for nearly four minutes but Germany were only able to climb within 43-41. Lucca Staiger nailed a triple and then Hamann hit a driving layup just before the buzzer to give the Germans a 50-49 lead after three quarters.

Germany were able to push the cushion to three points after Staiger's triple to make it 57-54. But Bauermann's troops committed turnovers on six straight possessions.

Femerling's free throws ended the nearly five-minute drought and had Germany trailing just 61-59 with two minutes to play. But Loncar nailed a big triple to make it 64-59 and after Planinic pushed the gap to 67-62, Schaffartzik hit an impossible trey. But Demond Greene missed a triple with five seconds left which could have made it 69-68.

16 September 2009

Quotes Germany vs. Croatia

Roko Leni Ukic (Croatia):

"It was a very hard game. We broke the game with a three-pointer in last minutes. I'm proud of my team because we didn't play good basketball but we showed character."

Jasmin Repesa (Croatia Coach):

"I like the German mentality because they never stop, they never quit. Our first goal was to reach the Quarter-Finals. Now we want to go to Turkey for the next championship. To reach this goal and others the way we played is not enough. I hope we will be better mentally in the next round."

Patrick Femerling (Germany):

"Congratulations to our opponents. We played great basketball. In basketball sometimes little things make difference, one three-pointer or a rebound here or there. And in this game it happened."

Dirk Bauermann (Germany Coach):

"First of all I would like to thank the Polish Basketball Federation, organisers and all the people from Poland. You guys were great. Everybody was extremely friendly. It was a bad ending of a wonderful summer. They deserved to win."

France Remain Unbeaten

Game Summary

Turning point: It came down to the very last play of the night with eight seconds on the clock. 22 year old Nando De Colo against a very experienced and a great defender as Nikos Zisis, but a turn around shot sank inside the rim with ease and gave France the big win.

Hero: Alain Koffi and Ali Traore came off the bench to cover for a weak night by starting center Ronny Turiaf and combine 24 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and great defense.

Stats: Both teams were highly focused when marching to the charity stripe as France hit 18 out of 22 shots and Greece connected 19 in 23 attempts.

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Nando De Colo's turn around buzzer-beater bestowed upon France the top spot in Group E in Bydgoszcz behind a 71-69 victory over Greece.

This is the second game in the group today to be decided in the last second and in the exact same score after Russia beat F.Y.R.O.M. 71-69 as well.

France take a 5-0 record in the Qualifying Round to win first place in the group and will enter the Quarter-Finals with big energy.

For Greece this is their second loss in a row, and as a result they dropped to the third spot in the group with a 3-2 record.

Russia was the second team to enjoy the French win as they have climbed to finish the group in the second place after winning all three games in this round.

The 22-year-old De Colo was the MVP of the French league in 2008, when he earned respect as a late bloomer for his shooting and passing.

He entered the last two minutes of the game with no points but then scored six, including the clutch shot to win the game.

De Colo's shot arrived eight seconds after Vasilis Spanoulis hit a big three-pointer to tie the score.

"We wanted to win this game, but also use a chance to give some rest to our main players before the deciding final round," shared Coach Vincent Collet of France.

"We didn't want Tony Parker to play 38 minutes again, and when we saw we can play without him, Boris Diaw and Ronny Turiaf on the floor for long, we continued with that.

"I'm happy we managed to give them rest and win which were our two goals."

Parker played only 21 minutes, Diaw 19 and Turiaf 15.

Coach Collet had the pleasure to see his back up players step up against a strong opponent in Greece.

Alain Koffi scored 14 points, all of them in the first half, but showed his defensive presence throughout the entire game.

The 21 minutes were sufficient for Parker to reach 12 points while Yannick Bokolo and Ali Traore added ten each.

Vasilis Spanoulis scored 16 points including one of the biggest buckets of the championship, while Sofoklis Schortsanitis added 12.

Greece used the arc to take a quick 13-4 lead, but faced more difficulty to score close to the rim, enough for France to cut the margin and finish the first quarter behind by only three, 21-18.

Alain Koffi and Ali Traore challenged the Greek big guys and combined for 12 points to give France a 24-23 lead after 12:30.

Both French bigs collected two fouls, but the first to get in serious foul trouble was Schortsanitis with three after 14 minutes.

Koffi was on fire and after a big shot block added a mid-range jumper to extend the margin to seven and make it a 13-1 run.

Antoine Diot beat the shot clock with an off balance three, but saw Nick Calathes put a stop to almost six minutes without a field goal by Greece with a drive.

Greece seemed to have lost their sharpness and all their points came from the charity stripe while Koffi climbed to 14 first half points and France reached their maximum lead of nine, 41-32 before Bourousis set the half time score with a right hand hook.

France scored the first four points in the half, to take an 11 point lead, but went silent for three and a half minutes.

Greece scored their first field goal in the second half after more than five minutes but was already half way in an 8-0 run that put them back in the game, 48-44.

Ronny Turiaf and Efstratios Perperoglou picked up their fourth foul and hit the bench, before Spanoulis had his treat for the fans.

Inside the last minute of the quarter Greece didn't find the way to the rim and Spanoulis had the ball nearly at half court with the shot clock about to expire.

His big arc slowly made its way to the net for one of the most exciting shots of the tournament that also moved Greece a bit closer, 56-53 and capped the third quarter.

The squad of Coach Jonas Kazlauskas earned several open looks from the arc but missed time after time and entered the last 4:30 minutes down 63-56.

Before it was too late Spanoulis stepped up.

It started with a steal, continued with a three-pointer and when Antonios Fotsis fixed a missed shot Greece was up for the first time in the second half, 64-63 with 2:46 to play.

Coach Collet called a time out and France returned with four points in a row.

Free throw points were exchanged when once more Spanoulis decided it was time to take it on his shoulders.

"It's the second time in a row we lose a close game," commented Coach Kazlauskas.

"Sometimes it's not enough to be strong and play well, but you also need some luck."

With 21 ticks on the clock and his team down by three and took the heat and tied the game with an off-dribble three ball leaving France eight seconds to reply.

More than enough for the French guard.

15 September 2009 Quotes France vs. Greece Nikolaos Zsis (Greece): "Congratulations to France. It was an important game for both teams trying to win the group. We didn't make it. Now we have to prepare to Quarter-Finals to achieve our goals." Alain Koffi (France): "The game was very important for us as well for the same reasons that Nikolaos mentioned. We are now looking forward to the Quarter-Finals." Jonas Kazlauskas (Greece Coach): "Both players told you everything. We are prepared very well. To win such games, apart from skill, you need to be lucky as well." Vincent Collet (France Coach): "We have to wait to know who our opponent is. Perhaps some of them will be easier to beat. We will try to go as high as possible. We played the fourth quarter without Tony Parker because first of all we were playing good in that period and second of all we knew how important the next game would be so we wanted key players to rest."

Russia Clinch Spot In Quarter-Finals

Game Summary

Turning point: Leading 66-63, Russia forced F.Y.R.O.M. into a 24 second violation turnover with 56 seconds left and then Anton Ponkrashov made two foul shots for a five-point lead. F.Y.R.O.M. did not get closer than one point the rest of the way.

Hero: Timofey Mozgov. The Russian big man collected 25 points and 11 rebounds while hitting 11 of 17 shots in the game.

Stats: Russia made 18 of 25 free throws including five of six in the final 33 seconds.

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Defending champions Russia are returning to the Quarter-Finals for the ninth consecutive time after beating F.Y.R. of Macedonia 71-69 in Qualifying Round Group E action for a spot in the final eight in Katowice.

Timofey Mozgov collected 25 points and 11 rebounds while Anton Ponkrashov had 10 points, six rebounds and seven assists and Andrey Vorontsevich chipped in 10 points off the bench for Russia, who improved to 3-2 in the group.

"We needed to look really far down deep in ourselves to win that ball game because it was looking pretty bleak. But in the end, we found it. And I am proud of what we have done and am looking forward to next stage,'' said Blatt, whose team out-rebounded F.Y.R.O.M. 42-32 including 16 offensive rebounds.

"Today was a very, very tough game. Everyone understood that we must win to reach the quarterfinals. (F.Y.R. of) Macedonia also showed very good basketball and it was hard to perform against their tough defense. But in the end we found a way," said Ponkrashov.

Russia could finish second in Group E if Greece lose later Tuesday against France in Bydgoszcz.

F.Y.R.O.M. had a valiant effort, paced by 19 points and 10 rebounds from Pero Antic and 16 points each from Vrbica Stefanov and Todor Gechevski. But Jovica Arsic's team will exit the tournament with a 1-4 record in the Qualifying Round group.

"We had a lot of problems stopping Mozgov on his offensive rebounds. We played tough for 40 minutes. But the better team is going to the quarter-finals," said Arsic.

"We did everything we could to win this game. We tried to play 40 minutes of defense. We didn't forget that we were playing against Russia, but it was great that we were in the game," said Stefanov, who will be retiring from the game.

"You won't see many more like him. I'm glad I don't have to coach any more against him," said Blatt of Stefanov.

F.Y.R.O.M. made just one of their first five shots but went ahead 5-4 on Stefanov's first three-ball. And it was tied at 8-8 after an Antic triple. Russia created three turnovers in four possessions to lead 14-10 after one period.

Jeremiah Massey's three-point play trimmed the margin to 16-14 before Russia went on a 14-7 run with Mozgov and Vorontsevich combining for 10 points to give Blatt's men a 30-21 advantage.

Stefanov and Antic both knocked down triples and F.Y.R.O.M. were within 33-29 at intermission.

Arsic's team received a spark off the bench from Damjan Stojanovski with a long jumper and three-pointer in a 13-5 start to the second half to give F.Y.R.O.M. a 42-38 lead.

Russia reeled F.Y.R.O.M. back in though back-to-back dunks by Sergey Monya and Vorontsevic could not help the teams from being knotted at 49-49 after three quarters.

After Russia had opened a 53-49 gap, Gechevski nailed a three-pointer and converted a three-point play in a single time down the court as Vorontsevich's foul after the triple had given the ball back to F.Y.R.O.M., who opened a 57-53 margin.

Sergey Bykov nailed a three-pointer with the shot clock winding down and Mozgov came up with a follow dunk as Russia remained three points ahead.

Already up 66-63, Russia forced a 24 second violation and Ponkrashov's foul shots opened a five-point gap with 33 seconds left. Antic's three-point play would bring F.Y.R. of Macedonia to within 69-68, but Vitalii Fridzon made two free throws with 11.5 seconds left before Dimitar Mirakovski made just one of two with 7.6 seconds to play and missed a possible game-tying layup at the buzzer.

15 September 2009

Quotes Russia vs. F.Y.R. of Macedonia

Vrbica Stefanov (F.Y.R.O.M.):

"We played a great game. I believe we played great defense. If we had played overtime it would have been great. If we had won it that would have be greater, but I'm still proud of us."

Anton Ponkrashov (Russia):

"Maybe at the beginning of the tournament few people believed in our team, but we made a second step and now we are in the Quarter-Finals. F.Y.R.O.M. played a very good game. Today we missed a lot of three-point shots. But we compensated that with defense."

Jovica Arsic (F.Y.R.O.M. Coach):

"I would like to thank all our fans and friends that supported us during this tournament. We started with Samardzic playing much better on defense but without him we had more options in offense. It's a pity we lost Gacevski in the end. Riste Stefanov and Stojanovski didn't feel good so we had huge problems."

David Blatt (Russia Coach):

"F.Y.R.O.M. deserve a lot of credit. They played a great game. When you make three-pointers it changes a game a lot. F.Y.R.O.M. took advantage of that. But in the end we proved ourselves better. It was a tough game against a very tough team. It was a tricky game for both of us. I'm proud of my team. Vrbica did I hear that you're retiring? I take my hat off to you and wish you all the best for your future."

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FYR - Macedonia/Germany

Game Summary

Turning point: In the 26^th minutes Jan-Hendrik Jagla hit an open three to cut the margin to one, 47-46, only to see his team suffer a 20-4 run which decided the game. Late in the third and early in the fourth Germany committed no less than six turnovers in a row, all of them live balls that pushed F.Y.R.O.M. far beyond reach.

Hero: Vrbica Stefanov of F.Y.R. of Macedonia saved his best performance for the most important game, and won't rest until he helps his team make more history. He finished a huge game with 25 points on 73% shooting from the field and five steals - the second best individual high in the entire tournament. Stefanov scored ten points already in the first quarter and added eight in the third to bring his team 40 minutes from the quarter-finals.

Stats: F.Y.R.O.M. wrote 14 steals on the night against only four of Germany. Stefanov himself had more than the entire German team. Those extra possessions and easy fast break points made the difference.

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A big second half run enabled F.Y.R. of Macedonia to write their first win in the Qualifying Round 86-75 over Germany on the second day of action in Group E in Bydgoszcz.

F.Y.R.O.M. now stand on a 1-3 record, tied with Germany, as both teams still hold a chance to make it to the Quarter-Finals.

Vrbica Stefanov is one of the oldest players in the tournament and one of the most effective, with 25 points on Sunday.

A tied game in the first half saw a much better F.Y.R.O.M. team in the second half who took over the floor on the way to their second ever EuroBasket Final Round win.

"He's probably the best player in his age right now in Europe," said Germany's Coach Dirk Bauermann on Vrbica Stefanov who led F.Y.R.O.M. to the big win.

The veteran point guard scored 25 points on 73% shooting from the field and added five steals, which are the second best individual highs in the tournament thus far.

Jeremiah Massey added 16 while Pero Antic and Dime Tasovski had 13 each.

Tasovski had five steals too and hit three times from distance, to write his tournament high right in the key game for his team.

Lucca Staiger had 14 points for Germany, including four downtown arrows, Patrick Femerling added 13, Tim Ohlbrecht added 13 with two blocks and Demond Greene scored ten.

"I think our young players played well today yet some of the veterans were struggling a bit," admitted Bauermann.

It was a 20-4 run late in the third and early in the fourth that pushed F.Y.R.O.M. from a one point lead to a 67-50 margin in the 31^st minute.

Germany committed no less than six live ball turnovers in a row to allow that run and see the game slip from their hands.

"We played better defense for 20-25 minutes and when we started to shoot good as well we opened a gap to decide the game," commented Coach Jovica Arsic.

F.Y.R.O.M. scored only a single bucket inside the arc the entire first quarter but had four three-pointers to rely on and hold an 18-14 margin after ten minutes, behind ten early points by Vrbica Stefanov.

Lucca Staiger came off the bench and with three downtown hits in three minutes to put Germany on top, 28-26.

Femerling's shot jumped on the rim before going in and in the next play he forced a turnover as the teams continued to go neck-to-neck.

Gecevski attacked the rim with efficiency and created a headache for Coach Bauermann but his team still couldn't gather enough points for a run.

Once again Femerling showed his activity and was the first of his team to go to the free throw line after almost 18 minutes in the game.

His nine first half points and no less than seven three-pointers on 50% shooting made it a 36-36 tie at the break.

F.Y.R.O.M. earned their biggest lead, 47-40 with a big dunk by Massey but Staiger was still on fire and hit again from distance only to see Jagla follow him and cut the margin to one.

A time out called by Coach Arsic changed things in favor of his team.

Two steals in a row by F.Y.R.O.M. capped by a buzzer beater catch and shoot by Pero Antic set the margin on 12 at the end of the third quarter, 62-50 behind a 15-4 run in which four players scored.

If Germany had any plans to come back they were shattered quickly inside the fourth with three additional turnovers, which allowed F.Y.R.O.M. to push it to a 17 point lead, and decide the night.

"We were paralyzed a bit and wanted maybe a little too much and that probably created that series of turnovers," explained Bauermann.

"We had a tough loss two days ago but just like it happened with our tough loss to Greece and then the win over Israel we recovered quickly," analyzed Tasovski.

"Now we need to beat Russia and make it to the Quarter-Finals."

Germany will take on Croatia on the last day of the group while today's winners will fight against Russia.

Russia/Greece

Game Summary

Turning Point: With the game tied at 48-48, Sergey Monya nailed the first of three three-pointers to give Russia a 57-48 lead, which would grow to 10 points before Russia pulled within two late.

Hero: Monya. His big shots gave Russia just enough push to grab a lead and then he made a free throw with 20 seconds left to make it so that Greece needed a trey to tie, which they could not hit.

Stats: 48 and 42-42. Russia shot 48 percent from long range while grabbing 42 rebounds to Greece's 42 rebounds.

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Kelly McCarty and Sergey Monya combined for 33 points as reigning champions Russia took a giant step towards the EuroBasket 2009 quarter-finals by holding off Greece 68-65 in the Qualifying Round Group E.

Monya nailed three big three-pointers and 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and it proved enough as David Blatt's Russians improved to 2-2 in the group while Greece dropped their first game of the tournament to fall to 3-1.

"I think that we controlled the game and we deserved to win the game tonight. There is really nobody younger and more inexperienced than us. And to beat Croatia and Greece in three days and the way we did is admirable," said Blatt, whose team shot 10 of 21 (48 percent) from long range.

Blatt also said his team likely took advantage of having a bigger sense of urgency than Greece, who had already gained a spot in the quarters before the game.

"We had more to gain by this game than Greece and that may have had a difference in this game in the first half. Players are human beings. And I think Greece probably let down a little. And we jumped on it hard."

McCarty scored a game-high 17 points while also grabbing nine rebounds and not committing a turnover in 38 minutes of action. Timofey Mozgov added 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks.

"Defense, defense, defense. We played great today in that sense. Greece is the best offensive team here and we held them down to their tournament low and it says a lot about our game tonight," said McCarty.

Greece were led by 13 points from Sofoklis Schortsanitis while Vasileios Spanoulis and Ioannis Bourousis both had 12 points and Antonios Fotsis chipped in 10 points in a losing effort.

"They took many offensive rebounds (15 for Russia) and that made it tougher for us. The more they took the more nervous we got and we didn't always react as we should have," said Nikos Zisis, who was held to three points.

"Mozgov is a big force in the paint and he changed a lot of shots we took around the rim and that made a big difference"

Blatt's men started very strong on defense, holding Greece to just 3 of 14 shooting in the first nine minutes of the game as Russia began building a lead thanks to two three-pointers by Vitalii Fridzon.

The Russian cushion grew to 11 points on Andrey Vorontsevich's three-pointer to make it 21-10.
Spanoulis scored his first points to make it 21-12 after one period.
Greece scored the first two baskets of the second quarter and tried chipping away at the Russian lead - though the gap was still 10 points after Sergey Bkyov's triple with four minutes left in the half.

Jonas Kazlauskas's Greeks twice pulled within four points but Russia led 39-32 at the break.
The Russians missed their first 10 shots of the second half and watched Greece pull ahead 40-39 with an 8-0 run over the first seven minutes of the third quarter.

McCarty however stopped the drought with a jumper and then Aleksey Zozulin and McCarty knocked down back-to-back triples to keep Russia ahead 48-47 after three quarters.

Monya came up with three big three-pointers in the early stages of the final period to push Russia ahead 57-48. And Blatt watched his men take a 10-point lead at 63-53 with less than four minutes to play despite an unsportsmanlike foul against Anton Ponkrashov.

Greece refused to die and Fotsis's triple cut the margin to 63-61 before McCarty hit two foul shots. Ponkrashov added two more free throws before Georgios Printezis nailed a three-ball to make it 67-65 with 22 seconds left.

Monya answered with a foul shot two seconds later before Printezis missed a three in the waning seconds which would have knotted the game.

France/Croatia

Game Summary

Turning point: In the 28^th minute it was still a two point game in favor of France, but then Croatia's Marko Banic fouled out and Nikola Prkacin followed with a technical. France used that to reach an 11 point lead, and despite Croatia managing to come closer several times, the lead never changed hands again and France remained the dominant force.

Hero: Parker was the main man once again, but not only for the 24 points, six rebounds and six assists but the way he spread it. Half of his points were scored in the third quarter when his team turned a Croatian lead to a ten point game in their favor. In the last quarter he focused on anything but scoring and dished no less than five of his six assists in addition to three of his rebounds.

Stats: Croatia enjoyed a good shooting night with seven three-pointers on 54% shooting, but saw France better them with 12 long distance arrows. When a team like France shoot like that from distance, it's close to impossible to beat them.

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After the second day of games in Group E in Bydgoszcz there's only one team perfect and that is France following an 87-79 victory over Croatia.

The French climbed to a 4-0 record, but still must beat Greece on the last day to secure the top spot.

Nicolas Batum had 18 points to help keep France perfect.

Croatia dropped to an unexpected 1-3 record and must beat Germany on the closing day to avoid a shocking elimination.

There were two different halves to this game.

In the first Croatia played their best basketball so far in the championship, and reached a nine point lead behind great shooting led by Marko Popovic.

The sequel showed a tougher French defense and a big performance by Tony Parker who took over the game, and led his team-mates to a rare performance of eight three pointers on 66.6% shooting.

"At half time we decided to change our gameplan," said winning Coach Vincent Collet.

"We didn't play well in the first half and the fact we were down by just five made us happy.

"We knew that if we step up on defense we can come back and that's what we did."

After Croatia was the dominating force in the first half, France wrote two runs to put them on top.

They used a technical foul on Nikola Prkacin, who fouled out as a result, to open the gap Croatia never managed to beat.

Parker led his team with 24 points, six assists and six rebounds but spread them in a perfect way.

Half of his points came in the third quarter, just when France took over the lead, while five assists and three rebounds joined the stat line in the closing quarter.

Nicholas Batum followed behind with 18 points, half of them from distance, five boards and two blocks.

Boris Diaw added 15 behind four long distance balls in addition to six assists and four rebounds.

Florent Pietrus added 14.

Croatia enjoyed 30 points by Popovic - the second best scoring performance in the competition so far - who spread his points almost equally between the first and the second halves.

He actually started his scoring drive only with the last basket of the first quarter and scored all of his points from either the charity stripe or beyond the arc.

Roko-Leni Ukic added 11 and Marko Banic had ten.

"The first 20 minutes was maybe our best (we played) in this tournament, but we need to play like that the whole game," said Coach Jasmin Repesa of Croatia.

Already in the first quarter France collected three triples.

Diaw started with an air-ball but added two hits from distance down the stretch of the first quarter, and Parker showed his skills with an off-dribble shot.

Croatia at the other end attacked the rim time and time both with the guards and inside players.

Ukic and Planinic drove to the rim while Banic and Prkacin posted up to bring their team to the last possession of the quarter down by a point, 19-18.

Popovic beat the buzzer to give his team the first points behind the arc but kept that momentum into the second quarter.

Kus and Popovic added two more three-pointers and a minute inside the second quarter it was already a 29-20 Croatian lead after an 11-1 run.

Balls were jumping on the rim and out for the French side, while Popovic remained hot reaching 16 points before the break, and his team up by seven, 46-39.

Diaw hit two from the line and saw Batum block a Planinic attempt to beat the clock, as the teams separated by five.

"We missed many free throws in the first half and if we had shot better we could have held a ten point lead at the break," referred Coach Repesa to the seven misses his team committed in the first 20 minutes.

"What mostly concerns me is that our mental strength was very, very bad.

"Once things didn't work for us we lost control of the game," he added.

Just inside the second half France was back on top after Pietrus and Parker led a 10-2 run.

Yannick Bokolo, who did a great job limiting Popovic for some minutes in the third, recorded a big block on Ukic which kept France on top, but the following play got Croatia in trouble.

Banic fouled out and Prkacin's protest sentenced him to the same destiny limiting Repesa's options on the bigs.

Parker hurt Croatia with a three-pointer, Pietrus added some of his own and another 12-1 French run wrote a 63-52 difference late in the third.

The French defense continued to make it tough for the Croats until Popovic woke up with five points in a row and forced a time out by Coach Collet up by only five, 70-65.

Mistakes on both ends of the floor allowed Croatia to enter the last four minutes down 73-69, but a three point by Bokolo and a fast break lay up by Batum pushed it to nine once more.

Croatia cut it down once more to four inside the last minute before Diaw sank the decisive three ball that told the story of the game.

EuroBasket Update

The European basketball Championship has reach the Final 12 Group Stage with France, Greece and Turkey looking strong in the early stages.

Group E consists of:
Greece, who powered through the group, Croatia and F.Y.R. of Macedonia from qualifying Group A. The three are paired with France, Russia and Germany from Group B.

Group F consists of:
Slovenia, Serbia and Spain from the hard fought qualifying Group C. They are joined by Turkey, hosts Poland and Lithuania from Group D.

In action from 11 September 2009, Russia slipped by Croatia by a 62-59 count, Greece held off Germany 86-74 and France spanked FYR-Macedonia 83-57.

Here are the game reports from: http://www.eurobasket2009.org

Russia/Croatia:

Turning Point: After Nikola Vujcic made just one of two foul shots with 14 seconds left, Fridzon two free throws with 13.0 seconds left for a three-point lead 59-56. He made two more with 1.5 seconds left but had to watch Davor Kus's desperation three go just off target.

Hero: Fridzon held the nerves down the stretch.

Stats: Russia shot 65 percent from two-point range while making 20 of 30 free throws.

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Vitalii Fridzon made four free throws in the final 13 seconds as reigning champions Russia remained in the hunt for the EuroBasket 2009 quarter-finals with a 62-59 victory over Croatia.

Russia used a full team effort to improve to 1-2 in the Qualifying Round with five players scoring at least eight points, led by Timofey Mozgov's 18 points and eight rebounds.

Russia as a team shot 65 percent from two-point range to make up for their struggles from long range (4 of 19 - 21 percent).

"Obviously this was a defensive game and we were just a little better defending the post than they were," said Russia coach David Blatt.

"They are a better team than we are but we were a little bit better today."

Blatt's men have struggled on offense, which is the reason the coach said his team shot 20 of 30 foul shots compared to 10 of 14 for Croatia.

"We're having trouble throwing the ball in the ocean now. So, we're trying to pass inside a little bit more. We figure the closer we get to the basket the better," said the coach.

"We played tough today and wanted to win this game very much, because we knew that if we lose today then our chances to make it to the next round are very small. Everybody played great defense. It was very important for us to show that we can beat a team like Croatia," said Sergey Monya.

Croatia shot just 34 percent for the game and could not take advantage of grabbing 15 offensive rebounds.

"We missed some easy lay-ups and made turnovers we shouldn't have, and it made it very difficult to cover for that," said Croatian big man Nikola Vujcic, who made just 1 of 10 from the field.

"Russia played good defense, very tough and every play was difficult to execute. We spent a lot of energy on defense, because Russia is a very strong and athletic team, and maybe that hurt us on the other side of the court."

"If you score 59 points it's very difficult to win against any opponent," added coach Repesa.

Mario Kasun led the way for Croatia with 13 points while Zoran Planinic had 12 points and Marko Banic added 11 points.

Croatia started the game cold, making just three of their first 13 shots while Mozgov scored seven points and Fridzon drained a three-pointer to give Russia an 11-7 lead.

But Repesa's men hit their next three field goal attempts and two foul shots to jump ahead 16-14 and it was 16-16 after one period.

Croatia were in front 21-20 but then tallied just one basket - Kasun's offensive rebound put-back - over a six-minute stretch in watching Mozgov continue his fine game in helping Russia grab a 28-23 advantage.

It was 28-26 at intermission after Planinic's three-pointer late in the half.

Croatia had another dry spell in the third quarter - this time for three minutes - and Russia pushed ahead 36-30. The cushion was 40-34 after Mozgov's alley-oop dunk.

But Blatt looked on in anguish as his offense committed three shot clock violation turnovers in four possessions and Roko-Leni Ukic and Kasun combined for eight straight points in pushing the Croats ahead 42-40.

It was 42-42 going into the fourth quarter.

The game remained tight in the final period with two lead changes before Planinic's triple knotted the game again at 51-51 and his layup tied it at 55-55 with a minute to play.

With 22 seconds left, Mozgov missed two free throws which could have upped the margin to 59-55 and then Vujcic made just one of two with 14.1 seconds remaining for 57-56.

Fridzon made two free throws and then Anton Ponkrashov made one of two and Russia led 60-54 with 5.4 seconds left. After Marko Popovic hit a three-pointer with 3.1 seconds left, Fridzon made two foul shots with 1.5 seconds to play. And Davor Kus's desperation three was just off target at the buzzer.

Quotes Russia vs. Croatia Mario Stojic (Croatia): "It was very defensive game. Our two-point percentage was too low. Mozgov had a great game." Nikita Kurbanov (Russia): "Everybody saw that the game was very tough. We are pleased and satisfied we made it." Jasmin Repesa (Croatia): "They deserve this win 100%. When you score 59 points it's difficult to win a game against any opponent. France will be a tough opponent for us. They are an odds-on favorite of the whole tournament." David Blatt (Russia): "We made it. They're a great team, but today we were a little better. We lost two games in the first round. We missed then a lot of shots. Today we executed much better. This team doesn't have big names but the group never quits." Greece/Germany: Turning point: Up by only six, 74-68, with three minutes to play it was time for Greece to step up, and their two best players of the night delivered. After Sofoklis Schortsanitis scored another power move and got a bonus from the line, he missed his shot but saw his team grab the ball. Vasilis Spanoulis finished that play with an off the dribble three-pointer and in 16 seconds made a close six point game into an 11 point difference. Hero: Vasilis Spanoulis is a silent killer. He finished the game with 20 points on 66% shooting from the field, seven assists and four rebounds but from the outside it seemed like he was nothing more than OK game. The fact he also nailed the three pointer to decide the game, is a cherry on the cream, but one that makes a big difference. Stats: 15 turnovers by Germany, compared to only ten by Greece, were enough to keep the win on the Greek side. Whenever Germany came close, and that happened several times especially in the last quarter, the Greek defense stepped up and forced another turnover to create easy points at the other end and stay on top. ------------------------------------------ Greece booked their place in Katowice with a hard fought 84-76 victory over Germany on the first day of Qualifying Round action in Bydgosszcz. The win lifts Greece to a 3-0 record in the group, while Germany fell to 1-2. The young fighters of Coach Dirk Bauermann of Germany deserve all the credits for a hard-nosed fight throughout the entire game. The last lead for Germany was early in the game in the fourth minute, but for the other 36 minutes Greece never managed to surrender the German spirit and team play. The largest margin was 13, early in the last quarter, yet 20-year-old Robin Benzing with 12 fourth quarter points showed why he was the top scorer of the U20 European Championship earlier this summer, and proved he can execute also against some of the best defenders in EuroBasket 2009. Vasilis Spanoulis scored 20 points on 66% shooting including the three-pointer that secured the Greek win, in addition to seven assists and four rebounds. Sofoklis Schortsanitis added 14 points while Antonios Fotsis and Nikos Zisis added 12 each. Heiko Schaffartzik led the losing side with 23 points, 15 of them in the second half, and Benzing added 16. "We played very well and we could have won the game, but at the end they kept making shots and always had answers for what we did," commented Schaffartzik in the press conference, words that were backed by the other side as well. "Germany played a great game and gave us a lot of problems," confessed Coach Jonas Kazlauskas. "The inside game was very difficult for both sides, and it shows they were very ready for this game. "They controlled the tempo, which made it very difficult for us to play them," he summarized. Once again the first bucket of Greece came from a post up move of Bouroursis, but Femerling answered right away on the other end. Nikos Zisis drew three early fouls from Steffan Hamann after just four minutes, but Germany continued to be in foul trouble, and reached no less than 13 personal fouls after one quarter. "We executed our game plan very well, as we wanted to play as smart and aggressive as Greece does," revealed Coach Bauermann. "Maybe we were too aggressive in the first minutes, and it cost us with a lot of quick fouls that allowed Greece to open a gap, and when you allow Greece to take such lead, it's very difficult to come back. "I think starting too aggressive was the only major mistake we made today." Three point and second chance shots kept the players of Coach Bauermann in the game, but Spanoulis and Schortsanitis scored the last nine points for their team in the quarter to make it 25-19 after ten minutes. Jagla missed open shots from distance and the Greek defense started to create casualties with back to back German turnovers to set the difference on 29-19 after 13 minutes. The young Tibor Pleis added four points before the break and good presence in the paint, and with a huge offensive rebound of Harris carried Germany back into the game, 35-31. Greece answered with back-to-back three-pointers by Perperoglou and Zisis and the teams entered the break divided by eight, 41-33. "In the start of the third quarter for no reason our defense relaxed," shared Zisis. 'We let them score some easy baskets on pick-and-roll and one-on-one situations, and that allowed them to come back into the game." The German bigs added points from inside (Femerling) and on the arc (Sven Schultze) to cut the margin to only four, 49-45 after five minutes in the second half, but things were still under control for Greece. Georgios Printezis and points in the paint by Kostas Koufos and Schortsanitis set the margin on its highest shelf again at 12, 57-45, and after the massive Schortsanitis added a monster dunk it was time for Germany to call for a time out, before things got out of hand, deep in the third. Benzing hit a nice jumper, added two from the line and now it was time for Coach Kazlauskas to ask for a time out, up by only seven, 66-59 with the same amount of minutes on the clock. Benzing was on fire and after a big three pointer finished with great footwork to cut the difference to only four, 70-66, but that was as close as Germany ever came. Up by six Schortsanitis completed another power move, and earned a bonus from the line. He missed the shot, but Greece were first on the rebound, enough for Spanoulis to convert a three pointer and set the margin on 11 with 2:21 to play. Benzing still cut on the lead, but it was already too late for his team. "It was a really good game for both teams," said Benzing to the press. "In the end we made some stupid mistakes that cost us the game. "They just hit their shots in the right time and that's why they won the game," he concluded. On Sunday Greece will play Russia while Germany will try to grab a win against F.Y.R. of Macedonia. France/FYR-Macedonia: Turning point: The opening tip - France started the game on a 17-3 run, setting the tone for the rest of the game. Hero: The French bench. Vincent Collet's reserves tallied 39 points with De Colo leading the way with 14 points while Ali Traore had 13. Stats: France shot 61 percent for the game and held F.Y.R.O.M. to just 35 percent. ------------------------------------------------------ France booked their spot in the quarter-finals with an overwhelming 83-57 victory over the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia to remain perfect at EuroBasket 2009. Florent Pietrus and Nando de Colo led five scorers in double figures for Vincent Collet's team with 14 points each while Tony Parker, Ali Traore and Nicolas Batum all added 13 points. The French improved to 3-0 in the Qualifying Round Group E and join Greece into the final eight, which start on 17 September in Katowice. "We started very strong. We wanted to put a lot of pressure on (F.Y.R.O.M.). We watched their other games and saw that if they could develop their game that they could shoot, including their big men. And we didn't want them to have their position. And that helped us early. And the game was over at half-time," said Collet, whose team used a 17-3 run to start the game and never looked back. "We started the game well, just like the coach asked us too. We knew that we had to start well. Even though they were considered the weakest team in the group, there was no reason to let up," said de Colo. F.Y.R. of Macedonia slumped to 0-3 in the group despite nine points each from Jeremiah Massey and Darko Sokolov while Predrag Samardziski had seven points and eight rebounds for Jovica Arsic's team, whose team shot just 35 percent for the game. "They played much better than my team. We didn't play defense like we should have. They scored almost 50 points (48 points) in our point. And that is unacceptable," said Arsic. Riste Stefanov nailed a three-pointer about two minutes into the game as Arsic's men took their only lead of the game at 3-2. Pietrus and Batum led a 15-0 charge which eventually saw the French lead 24-9 after one period. Parker scored the first seven points of the second quarter for France, who opened the period with a 14-0 surge for a 38-9 advantage. Todor Gechevski finally got F.Y.R.O.M. on the scoring board with four minutes left in the second quarter and Arsic's underdogs trailed 49-18 at intermission. Pietrus's triple to start the second half pushed the gap to 34 points and Collet's team would not allow their opponents any closer than 28 points in the period and led 67-35 after three quarters. The French's final reserves came on in the fourth and watched F.Y.R.O.M. go on a 9-3 run to cut the deficit to 70-44. But France scored the next seven points and the gap did not go lower than 26 points the rest of the way. Today will see Turkey square off against Spain, Poland face Serbia and Lithuania battle Slovenia. I will update all of the action in my next post.