This is the first defeat for Croatia in this EuroBasket tournament.
The Croatian basketball team lost to the current European champion Spain 79:73 in a fantastic and dramatic fourth round match of Group C in the EuroBasket tournament, reports Gol.hr on September 5, 2017.
This is the first defeat for Croatia after they opened the competition with three wins against Hungary, Romania, and Montenegro.
.@Juanchohg14 IS CLUTCH!
His rejection on @44Bojan secures the W for Spain!
?? 73-79 ?? Final Score#EuroBasket2017 @BaloncestoFEB @CbfHks pic.twitter.com/IVO8ENuG80— FIBA (@FIBA) September 5, 2017
Croatia will take second place in the group after losing to Spain, regardless of the outcome of the last match against the Czech Republic, while Spain, along with Slovenia, are the only unbeaten teams in the competition.
Croatia opened the game strong, first leading 8:0, then 10:1 and 13:3. However, by the end of the first quarter, Spain had compensated for 21:20, and in the second quarter, the Spaniards had a plus of 10 (38-28). At the half, they led with a score of 38:32.
The start of the second half started strong again for Croatia who came back from -6 to find the lead again at 44:43. At one point, Croatia even had a 54:50 lead, and just before the last quarter, they led 54:53.
In the fourth quarter, Croatia held the lead for four minutes until Spain came back for 62:63 and then led 68:63. One minute and 32 seconds before the end, Spain brought Croatia back to life with two technical fouls (Pau Gasol, Sergio Scariolo) which Dario Šarić turned into four free-throw shots, making the score 67:68.
#Clutch #Boomshakalaka#EuroBasket2017 pic.twitter.com/UFKaga5veb
— FIBA (@FIBA) September 5, 2017
Rodriguez then scored for 70:67, and Bogdanović scored for 69-70. Rubio then made two shots for 72:69, and Bogdanović nearly equalized for 71:72. San Emetrio brought the score to 74:71 in the next attack, and the final score finished 79:73 for Spain.
The most efficient players for Croatia were Dario Šarić who scored 18 points and 13 rebounds, Bojan Bogdanović who scored 15 points, Marko Popović who scored 11 points, and Marko Tomas who scored 10 points. The Spanish side was led by Ricky Rubio with 13 points, Fernando San Emetrio with 12, and Pau Gasol with 11 points.
?? made it interesting, but you can't take the champion down just like that! Amazing game! #EuroBasket2017
? https://t.co/rmF4s2MP14 pic.twitter.com/vWztwgI35m
— FIBA (@FIBA) September 5, 2017
On Wednesday, Group C will take a day of rest. On Thursday, Croatia will face the Czech Republic, Spain will face Hungary, and Montenegro and Romania will meet.
Translated from Gol.hr
