Czech Republic, Germany, Greece Soar To The FIBA World Cup
It was an eventful Sunday as the Czech Republic, Germany, and Greece all punched their tickets to the FIBA World Cup 2019, hosted by China. Both Greece and Germany secured their eighth wins to stay perfect in the qualifiers and top Group L. The Czech Republic emerged as the first team to advance out of Group K. Their wins on Sunday secured a top-3 finish of the second stage of the ongoing FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers.
The wins that sealed the deals did not come easy. The games were close and even on went into overtime.
Georgia 85 – 86 Greece
This game was epic. It came down to the wire. Kostas Papanikolaou heroically knocked down a shot at the last second to lift Greece to victory. He may have locked up the win but huge credit goes to Nick Calathes who dropped a monster game with 31 points and seven dimes.
Georgia was in control of the game early. Tornike Shenegalia did his best to carry the Georgian squad and even gave them a slim lead late in the fourth quarter. He posted a 22-point, 13-rebound double-double in a valiant effort.
The loss puts Georgia at 3-5 and on the bubble in Group L, two games behind Serbia.
Germany 112 – 98 Israel (OT)
Dennis Schroder did it again for Germany. This time around the prolific scoring guard exploded for 30 points and 13 assists. He turned up the heat at the right time and saved Germany to force overtime. Not only did he lead the charge in the fourth quarter, he kept the ball rolling in the extra period pushed his team over the top for an impressive finish.
Bosnia and Herzegovina 80 – 85 Czech Republic
Tomas Satoransky and Blake Schilb provided a one-two punch for the Czech Republic as the duo posted 22 and 20 points, respectively.
Dzanan Musa hurt his ankle was limited to scoring 15 points for BIH. Portland Trail Blazers’ center Jusuf Nurkic had a team-high 19 points pulled down 15 boards for the team.
This is the sixth loss for Bosnia and Herzegovina, guaranteeing their elimination from the qualifiers.