By Rigas Dardalis/ dardalis@eurohoops.net
Finland (1-2) was impressive in the Eurobasket first round, but its start in second round Group F was very different. Croatia (2-1) got a 39-20 lead in half time and then cruised its way in a 88-63 win, that can prove to be the ticket for the quarterfinals, because of the point difference advantage in possible ties.
Damjan Rudez with 17 points was the top scorer for the winners, Bojan Bogdanovic (photo) added 15 points and the only Finnish player who scored in double digits was Shawn Huff. Playing for the rest of the tournament without injured veteran Hanno Mottola, Finland seems to be having a tough road ahead.
As for Croatia, naturalized point guard Dontaye Draper said: “I like the way we fight, you can come in a game and miss a hundred shots, but if you see that everyone is fighting, diving on the floor, playing with their heart, you cannot ask for anything else”.