February 04, 2012
World Championships eighthfinals: September 4
September 4: Serbia 73-72 Croatia, Spain 80-72 Greece

Aleksandar Rasic - Serbia (Photo: FIBA.com)Serbia became the first time to reach the 2010 FIBA World Championships quarterfinals by edging archrivals Croatia 73-72 in Istanbul on Saturday. Serbia is set to face Spain, that downed Greece later on tonight, in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Aleksandar Rasic of Partizan was the game hero by hitting the game-winning free throw with just a second left. Nenad Krstic led the winners with 16 points. Rasic added 15 while Kosta Perovic of Regal FCB had 10 for Serbia. Marko Popovic of Unics Kazan led Croatia with 21 points. Roko Ukic of FB Ulker added 11 while Marko Banic had 10. Ukic and Cibona forward Bojan Bogdanovic stepped up early in the game to force Serbia to call timeout at 9-12. Croatia kept playing up-tempo and free throws by Bogdanovic soon made it a seven-point game, 13-20. A long jumper by Banic and a three-pointer by Khimki big man Kreso Loncar boosted the Croatian margin to 19-27 after 10 minutes. Perovic dunked it twice in a 6-0 run that kept Serbia as close as 25-27 early in the second quarter. Popovic followed his trademark stop-and-pop triple with a driving layup to keep Croatia ahead, 34-36, at halftime. Rasic downed a triple and Krstic added free throws to give Serbia a 39-36 edge immediately after the break. The third quarter, however, saw as many as 11 lead changes but Euroleague MVP Milos Teodosic of Olympiacos struck from downtown and fed Hemofarm Stafda big man Milan Macvan for a layup in transition that gave Serbia a 54-50 edge after 30 minutes. Croatia struggled to score early in the fourth quarter, as it tried to run its offense through Real Madrid center Ante Tomic without much success. Rasic followed a fast break layup with a three-point play to get Serbia closer to the quarterfinals, 61-54, with 6 minutes left. Popovic buried back-to-back triples and Ukic fed Banic for an easy layup that made it a two-point game, 67-65, with a minute left. Krstic split free throws and Popovic got Croatia even closer, 68-67, with 24.3 seconds to go. Rasic and Popovic traded free throws and Fenerbahce forward Marko Tomas collected a key steal that allowed Popovic to return to the line. He made his second shot for a 70-70 tie with 11.6 ticks left. Rasic found space for an uncontested layup and Serbia fouled on Popovic, who tied it again at 72-72 with 5.9 seconds to go. Rasic had time to draw a foul, make his first shot for the win and miss the second attempt on purpose to run the clock down.

Juan Carlos Navarro - Spain (photo Rodolfo Molina, Euroleague)In a rematch of the 2006 World Champs title game, Spain advanced to the quarterfinals by knocking off Greece 80-72 in Istanbul on Saturday. Spain is set to face Serbia in the next round on Wednesday. All-Euroleague guard Juan Carlos Navarro of Regal FCB paced the winners with 22 points on 5-of-5 two-pointers and 6-of-6 free throws. Former Rising Star award winner Rudy Fernandez added 14 while Felipe Reyes of Real Madrid pulled down 10 boards for Spain. Nikos Zisis of Montepaschi Siena and former Final Four MVP Dimitris Diamantidis led the winners with 16 points apiece. Sofoklis Schortsianitis of Maccabi Electra added 13 while Vassilis Spanoulis of Olympiacos and Antonis Fotsis of Panathinaikos each had 12 for the Greek national team. Zisis and Diamantidis got Greece going with back-to-back baskets, as Spain focused on double-teaming Schortsianitis in the low post. Navarro stepped up with consecutive 'bombas' and a layup by Marc Gasol soon gave Spain its first lead, 8-7. Greece kept finding easy points on penetrations and a fast break dunk by Fotsis gave his team an 11-15 edge. Alex Mumbru, Real Madrid guard Sergio Llull and BC Khimki playmaker Lopez struck from downtown and Reyes added a tip-in to put Spain back ahead, 22-19, after 10 minutes. Regal FCB big man Fran Vazquez followed a jumper with a put-back dunk in a 6-0 run that boosted the Spanish lead to 28-21. Zisis rescued Greece with back-to-back jumpers and Schortsianitis scored twice in the paint to get Greece as close as 30-29. Navarro and Gasol gave Spain some fresh air, 37-31, at halftime. A jumper by Zisis ignited a 0-7 run that Fotsis capped with a corner triple to force Spain to call timeout at 37-38. Fotsis stayed on fire and got some help from Diamantidis and Zisis to make it a six-point game, 45-51. Spain shut down the Greek offense with a 2-3 zone defense and Llull led a 6-0 run that restored a 52-51 edge after 30 minutes. Greece started to power the offensive board against the Spanish zone defense and Schortsianitis kept his team within 58-57. Spain found a go-to guy in Fernandez, who had 5 points in a 9-0 run that Reyes capped with a tip-in to break the game open, 67-57, with over 2 minutes left. Spanoulis, Diamantidis and Schortsianitis got Greece as close as 72-68 but free throws by Rubio and Navarro sealed the outcome.
Saturday, September 04, 2010
Euroleague.net
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