EuroBasket 2017 - Days 7 & 8
The group stage of EuroBasket 2017 ended in dramatic fashion, with the final results in each group leading to some intriguing and exciting picture in the knockout stage.
Behind 22 points from Goran Dragic and a near double-double from Luka Doncic saw Slovenia defeat an otherwise impressive French team. For both Poland and Greece, it was all to play for, and for the Greeks it was a case of 'anything Poland can do we can do better.' With 13 three-point shots and scoring more than 50% from the field, they kept their hopes alive with 95-77 win which saw them through to the knockout round at Poland's expense. Group A concluded with a battle of Nordic nations between Finland and Iceland, which saw the hosts come out on top by four points, finishing a highly impressive group stage performance.
Lithuania halted a rampant Germany to top Group B, with Jonas Valanciunas registering a double-double of 27 points and 15 rebounds for the Baltic Giants in the win. Meanwhile, It all came down to the final game for both Georgia and Ukraine, who faced off against Italy and Israel respectively. Despite 29 points from Michael Dixon, last minute points from Daniel Hackett and Pietro Aradori gave Italy a slender lead at the final buzzer. Later, Viacheslav Kravstov once again led Ukraine's vicious offence to deliver a final blow to heartbroken Israel, who finish in Tel Aviv with only one win. This result also meant Ukraine advance ahead of Georgia.
Behind superb showings once more from Bojan Bogdanovic and Dario Saric, Croatia decimated Czech Republic, leading all the way on to a final score of 107 to 69. Spain's dominance continued with a 23-point win over Hungary, but with wins over Czech Republic and Romania, Hungary still advance to the knockout round. Montenegro advanced from the EuroBasket group stage for the first time, and they did so in style with an 86-69 win over Romania, who bow out of their home tournament winless.
Serbia, Latvia and Russia all finished Group D with a 4-1 record. Defeating Belgium by 20 points, Serbia took the top spot, and yet another exemplary performance from Kristaps Porzingis - who had 28 points - saw Latvia complete a ten-point win over Turkey to finish the group in second place. Turkey, meanwhile, finished in fourth. With an 82-70 win over Great Britain, Russia clinched third place, while the Brits go home without a win.
The Knockout Round match-ups are as follows:
Germany vs France
Spain vs Turkey
Slovenia vs Ukraine
Latvia vs Montenegro
Lithuania vs Greece
Croatia vs Russia
Finland vs Italy
Serbia vs Hungary
For more on EuroBasket 2017 ahead of the knockout stage, head to the tournament's official website.
