By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With two wins in the last two games of the group phase, New Zealand got the ticket to the second round, after beating 67-65 Finland. The leader of the losing side, Peteri Koponen had the chance to send the game in overtime with four seconds left, but he coulnd’t make the last shot. However he was the one who got Finland withing three points (66-63) with less than two minutes left and then Sasu Salin with 2/2 free throws made it a one point game. Isaac Fotu with 18 points was the top scorer of the “Tall Blacks” who survived in the nick of time as they flirted with disaster and only Miki Vukona scored just one point in the last 113 seconds.
This result kept also Ukraine out of the second round. The team of coach Fratello, after New Zealand’s win, needed to beat Team USA in order to advance, the score was tied after 15 minutes (27-27) but in the end to scoreboard wrote 95-71. James Harden scored 17 points for the winners, the front line of the Americans had some issues against the big bodies of the Ukrainians, however the quality gap was very big between the two opponents.
Ιn the last game of the night, Turkey got the second place of the group standings by beating Dominican Republic (77-64). Despite the result, the losing side finished the group phase on the third place of the group standings. Ogus Savas scored 15 points for the winners in a game after which both teams were smiling.