By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
The duo of Vojtech Hruban (24 points, 12 rebounds) and Tomas Satoransky (22 points, 12 assists) contributed heavily en route to leading the Czech Republic to a 94 – 84 win over Poland in a World Cup classification game for positions 5 to 8.
The Czech Republic will face Serbia in the game where the winner will claim fifth place in the final rankings. Poland plays Team USA, that comes off its second consecutive defeat in the tournament, in the hands of Serbia.
“We really wanted to win this game. We just had the best result in the history of the country. This game meant a lot to us. We didn’t have as much energy as we used to but we did the best. We were scraping the barrel and in the end, did some runs in the end that worked out. We are really happy because it was a tough game,” Vojtech said in the post-game presser.
Apart from producing the lot for their team, Hruban and Satoransky also scored the baskets that capped their squad’s victory. Satoransky drained a layup for the 82 – 88 with 39 seconds remaining and then Hruban ran in transition for the 82 – 90.
Thanks to Adam Waczynksi (22 points, four rebounds, four assists), Poland was up 79 – 78 with 3:41 minutes left. But a 0-5 run by the Czech team left Mike Taylor’s players behind and they kept trailing for the remainder of the match.
“I don’t think it’s disappointing at all,” Taylor commented after being asked if this was the most disappointing loss of his team in the tournament. “I think the Czech Republic is an excellent team. I think they had a wonderful tournament. They are a Top 8 team. We are playing in the Top 8. So, it’s not disappointing at all. You have to play well to win. They were more consistent than us. They outrebounded us today. And they earned the win.”
“I don’t look at this as disappointing at all. This is a great experience for us. We overachieved. If you look at this as disappointing, you are disrespecting the Czech Republic. They’ve played great basketball. Today they were a little bit better than us and they beat us on the court. I respect them and I respect my players’ efforts.”
Photo: FIBA Basketball