By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Bosnia and Herzegovina registered the first upset on Day 1 of the FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers as they beat Russia at home. Dzanan Musa led the Bosnia with 18 points with a help from his teammate Nemanja Gordic who added 16. Vitaly Fridzon tried to save Russia with 25 points and 6 boards but it was not enough as Dule Vujosevic’s team won the game 81-76.
Perhaps the biggest upset happened with the Netherlands celebrating their first-ever win over Croatia (68-61). Yannick Franke took care of the business with 24 points (9/11 from the field). Zeljko Sakic also scored 24 points, but that was not enough for Croatia as they lost.
Turkey had an easy evening at home against Latvia 85-73, but they lost Semih Erden who hurt his leg and will be sidelined for 4-6 weeks. Melih Mahmutoglu was unstoppable for Turkey as he finished the game with no less than 24 points.
The reigning European champion Slovenia had no problem beating Belarus as they built a comfortable lead after the first half 42-24 and never looked back. Vlatko Cancar was the main force for the Slovenians as he finished the game with 20 points. The final result was 87-74.
The France needed a comeback as they erased a 13-point deficit in order to beat Belgium on the road 71-59. The hosts were the better side in the first half as they had 35-28 lead. Things changed in the second half as the France overtook the control of the game. The visitors dominated the floor in that period allowing their opponent to score just 21 points. Edwin Jackson was the highest scorer for France with 14 points.
In the last match of the day, Greece beat Great Britain on the road after overtime (95-92). It wasn’t easy for the visitors as they needed additional five minutes to break the hosts. Ioannis Bourousis was putting the show with 32 points and 8 rebounds. However, Bourousis almost cost the Greeks as he turned the ball with 9 seconds left. Tarik Phillip took that gift as he forced the game to an overtime. Fortunately for Bourousis Ioannis Athinaiou scored a game-winning triple sealing the victory for Greece.
The national teams will continue their qualifications games on Sunday.
World Cup Qualifiers – Results Day 1
Turkey v Latvia 85-73
Sweden v Ukraine 76-84
Poland v Hungary 70-60
Kosovo v Lithuania 61-99
Netherlands v Croatia 68-61
Italy v Romania 75-70
Bosnia and Herzegovina v Russia 81-76
Belgium v France 59-70
Bulgaria v Finland 80-82
Czech Republic v Iceland 89-69
Germany v Georgia 79-70
Serbia v Austria 85-64
Israel v Estonia 88-68
Great Britain v Greece 92-95 (OT)