EuroBasket 2017: two Final Phase places left after Gameday 4
EuroBasket 2017 kicked into high gear on Tuesday with the first full schedule of games in the competition so far. Groups A through D took to the courts across Europe on Gameday 4 (Day 6) as the phase entered its penultimate round. After today’s EuroBasket 2017 games, we mostly know the teams competing in the next knockout stage.
Group A
France edged Poland 75-78 to ensure its berth in the next round, moving to 3-1 in the Group A standings. As for Poland, they are fifth out of the qualification places on 1-3 and face a winner takes all clash with Greece on Wednesday. As for the Greek contingent, they fell to co-host Finland 77-89. Victory ensured the Finnish to enter the Final phase, while Greece prepares for tomorrow’s crunch match. Lastly, Slovenia showed its strength in despatching Iceland 75-102. It was a convincing victory that left Slovenia on 100% (4-0) and Iceland on 0% (0-4) for the competition.
Group B
Lithuania swamped Ukraine 62-94 to sweep to the next round of EuroBasket 2017. The success was never in doubt as Lithuania moves to 3-1 and Ukraine is eliminated on 1-3. Georgia needed overtime to down Israel 91-104 to stay in third place on 2-2. That’s the same record as Italy, who fell 55-61 to Germany. Georgia and Italy will meet knowing victory in the next round will guarantee passage. Israel could still progress with a win tomorrow, but needs results elsewhere. As for Germany, victory allowed the team to stay top of Group B on 3-1.
Group C
Defending champs Spain was put to the test by a good Croatia team, but held on for a 73-79 win. The Spanish remain undefeated and are already in the next round, as are Croatia from 3-1 in second place. Montenegro downed the Czech Republic 75-88 and learned after later results victory was enough to progress to the Last 16 on a 2-2 record. That’s the same record as Hungary, who took out Romania 71-80 to also progress to the next stage. Romania is now eliminated, the team needed to win to keep its hopes alive.
Group D
Serbia picked up its third win with a 68-82 win over the United Kingdom. Serbia looked good moving to the next round and in Bogdan Bogdanovic has a game changer in its ranks. The United Kingdom lost its fourth consecutive and is out. Latvia picked up a 25-point turnaround to shock Russia, and progress to the Final Phase on 3-1. Russia is on the same record and is already through, but was dealt its first loss. Turkey ensured Group D is the only finalized group heading into the final round of this phase, collecting a 78-65 win over Belgium to reach the next round.