By Rigas Dardalis/ dardalis@eurohoops.net
Greece knew that even with a win, two more results had to go their way in order to qualify to Eurobasket quarterfinals. The players of coach Trinchieri gave a big fight, but finally Croatia beat them in the second overtime (92-88) and secured the top spot of Group F.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 22 points and was the best of the winners, Ante Tomic had a big game with 15 points and 12 rebounds and naturalized point guard Dontaye Draper played a key part with 13 points. For Greece Giannis Bourousis was the top scorer with 21 points and 9 rebounds, Vasilis Spanoulis added 18 points before fouling out in the first overtime, Nikos Zisis tried to win the game with 14 points, but in the end his effort was just one click away from success.
Croatia will face Ukraine in the quarterfinals knock out game, after this result Slovenia secured the second spot of Group F and will face France, while Greece was eliminated from the next Eurobasket round and also missed the chance to fight for a ticket to FIBA World Cup. “We need to find the right individuals and the right chemistry. I will always be present”, said team leader Vasilis Spanoulis.