By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Belgium almost ran off with the win again, but the Czechs managed to hold them off, getting a 64-66 victory in the first Group D game of the day in Riga. Coming into this game, both teams had two wins and one loss in their previous encounters. Both beat Estonia and lost to Latvia, but Belgium managed to scrape by in a close contest against Lithuania that was tinged with a controversial call by the referees as the clock expired.
Ronen Ginzburg’s team were up by 4 at the end of a close first quarter and managed to retain the lead throughout the second, closing out the half with a 5-point advantage and with a superb Jan Vesely accounting for almost half of his team’s points. The Belgians were a bit better in the third period but not enough to shake off their opponents, trailing by 7 at the start of the fourth and, ultimately, losing the game, despite a dramatic fight near the end when they briefly claimed the lead.
Tomas Satoransky, the 23-year-old point guard for Barcelona – whose three-point jumper and subsequent free throws helped his team secure the win – was the second best scorer with 14, plus a neat 9 assists. Vesely completed a double-double, finishing the game with an impressive 21 points and 12 rebounds. Petr Benda (5 rebounds, 2 assists) added another 13 points, and Blake Schilb contributed 8 points and 3 assists.
“When it comes down to a point here or a point there,” coach Ginzburg said after the game, “you need players with heart, who play on defense, and you need winners. Tomas made the winning shot for us, and sometimes this is the difference between winning and losing. Our goal was to advance to the next level, we did it and we are looking forward to it.”
“It’s a great feeling,” Satoransky added. “I was on the court when we had the partial 0-11 run, so I felt very responsible that I needed to help the team in the last moments and in the clutch plays. I am really relieved that I made those shots and the guys could have me as a huge help and that we won the game in the last minute.”
The driving force of the Belgian team, Axel Hervelle, was good on the boards with 9 rebounds but not as good scoring-wise, with only a scant 5 points. American-born shooting guard, Matt Lojeski – who got that contentious buzzer beater against Lithuania, tipping the ball in for the win – had a quiet game with another 3, plus 2 assists. Jonathan Tabu got the most for the Czechs, with 12 points, and Pierre-Antoine Gillet (4 rebounds) and Quentin Serron (2 rebounds, 2 assists) added another 10 and 8 respectively.