By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
There’s drama already at the start of the first day of action in the Olympic Basketball tournament. The Czech Republic got the win over Iran, however, a six-point difference will not be enough for the Czechs to qualify from Group A as one of the two best third teams of the final standings in the three first-phase groups.
As head coach Ronen Ginzburg admitted things would have been better with a big win – and his team led even by 22 points – but now they have to beat France: “We needed to win. It’s better to win than to lose, of course. We are a little bit disappointed because we were up by 22, but I believe we can still beat France. I’m happy with the win. For sure it could’ve been by more points, but I’m happy”.
After all, this was the maiden game of the Czech Republic in the Olympic games and Ginzburg can’t be but satisfied: “We’ve won our first game ever (at the Olympics). We started slow, but played much better in the second and third quarter, before struggling in the fourth, missing shots both inside and outside. In the end, we made the game interesting. We need to play much better against France and the USA.”