By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Poland earned their first victory in the 2015 Eurobasket by beating Bosnia and Herzegovina 68-64 after a nailbiter.
”It was not a pretty game. It was a hard fought game. I’m pleased with how our team competed. But this is not about playing “pretty” basketball. It’s about playing winning basketball,” Poland’s head coach, Mike Taylor, said.
After a close first quarter (16-18), Poland outscored their opponents 24-12 in the second period (behind a 17-6 run) to take a 10-point lead at the end of the first half (40-30). but in the second half everything changed. Bosnia got back into the game and after a three-point shot by Marco Sutalo, Poland was leading by just two (66-64) with eight seconds to go. A.J.Slaughter was fouled, he made two free throws and that was the end of it.
Dusko Ivanovic, Bosnia’s head coach, said afterwards: ”They scored 40 points in the first half which is way too much. We played good defence but it has to last 40 minutes. If we play good defence for 40 minutes, we can win.”
Adam Waczynski with 15 points was the top scorer of the winners, while four more players scored in double digits. Andrija Stipanovic had 20 points for the losing side.