By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Thanks to 33 points by Bojan Bodganovic and also a big game by Dario Saric who made more than his share of crucial plays, Croatia beat Brazil 80-76 in Rio and made a crucial step towards the quarterfinals.
Saric finished the game with 15 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, he made a crucial lay up (77-72) and Bogdanovic sealed the deal with two free throws (80-73) with 16 seconds left. Thanks to a goal foul by Guilherme Giovannoni Brazil cut the lead of Croatia to four points, but couldn’t do much more.
After a close first quarter which ended with Croatia having a two points lead (19-17), the players of coach Petrovic led by 10 (41-31) at half time and Bogdanovic with 16 points led all scorers. Brazil was mediocre on both sides of the floor, they reacted at the start of the second half and made it a four point game (45-41), but couldn’t get things under their control.
Croatia ended the third quarter leading 59-50, Bogdanovic started the last period with a dunk (61-50) and despite the fact that Brazil cut the lead to three points on two occasions (69-66, 75-72), the hosts couldn’t get any closer. Leandro Barbosa with 16 points was their leading scorer.
