May 25, 2012
EuroBasket 2009 Quarterfinals: Day 2, September 18
Turkey 74-76 Greece

Vassilis Spanoulis – Greece (Photo: FIBA Europe/Ciamillo/Castoria) Greece outdueled Turkey in overtime 74-76 in a thrilling quarterfinal game on Friday in Katowice to advance to the EuroBasket 2009 semifinals. Euroleague Final Four MVP Vassilis Spanoulis came up big on another big stage with 23 points and 7 assists to lead the winners. Turkey forced overtime when Efes Pilsen guard Ender Arslan drove through the Greek defense for a layup at the buzzer and the Turks again went to Arslan down 2 in the closing seconds of overtime, but his time he missed and Greece celebrated a spot in the semifinals, where they will meet Spain in a rematch of the 2006 World Championships final. Montepaschi Siena guard Nikos Zisis added 14 points and 7 rebounds for Greece, Panathinaikos forward Antonis Fotsis produced 11 points and 13 boards and Ioannis Bourousis of Olympiacos added 11 and 7. Omer Onan of Fenerbahce Ulker and Hedo Turkoglu paced Turkey with 13 points apiece. The key stat was Greece outrebounding Turkey 28-47 – including 17 offensive rebounds. Fenerbahce Ulker bug man Omer Asik came out strong as Turkey jumped out to a 7-2 lead, but a Spanoulis triple soon tied the score. Zisis buried a long jumper and a three on back-to-back possessions to cap a 2-10 Greek charge only for Onan to come right back with a three and a layup for Turkey. Spanoulis’s second triple and a Bourousis basket made it 14-17 after 10 minutes. Sofoklis Schortsanitis of Olympiacos came off the bench for Greece and made an instant impact as the lead grew to 8. The Greek dominance of the offensive glass provided extra chances that Bourousis in particular took advantage of to remain ahead. Fenerbahce Ulker center Oguz Savas scored Turkey's first second-chance basket in the final minute of the quarter to bring his team within 26-29 at halftime.

Antonios Fotsis – Greece (Photo: FIBA Europe/Castoria/Metlas)The break seemed to do Turkey good as it tied the game quickly on an Ersan Ilyasova basket and a Savas free throw and later took a slim lead as Savas converted a three-point play. However Fotsis beat the buzzer for a three-pointer and added a tip-in as the Greeks went ahead again. Spanoulis and Onan traded triples as the team’s remained neck and neck. Arslan managed to tie the game at 42-42 with a pair of free throws only for Unicaja’s Georgios Printezis to set up Bourousis with a brilliant pass for a basket-plus-foul. Efes Pilsen guard Kerem Tunceri made it 46-47 heading into the fourth quarter. Greece found its way to the line for easy points, but Turkey stayed the pace with a Tunceri triple before Turkoglu followed an Ilyasova miss for a slam – his first points of the game – and a 53-52 Turkey lead. Still feeling it, Turkoglu pulled up for a long three as Turkey gained momentum. Spanoulis responded with a three of his own, but Turkoglu came back with a long jumper. Spanoulis took the Greek offense into his own hands and sank 2 free throws to get within 59-57 with just over three minutes remaining. Turkoglu was determined to win his duel with Spanoulis adding a free throw and a triple on his next two trips downcourt to stretch the lead to 6. Spanoulis found an open Zisis for three, but on defense Bourousis fouled out. However Asik missed twice from the line and Spanoulis created space for Printezis to bury a go-ahead triple for a 63-64 lead with 36 seconds to play. Turkey used a timeout, but Turkoglu passed the ball away and Zisis, who was fouled, added a free throw. Turkey had the ball down 2 with 18 seconds to go and went to Arslan, who waited for the clock to wins down and then drove for a layup to tie the game at 65-65 and force overtime.  Ilyasova had the first basket of the extra period, but Spanoulis got the Greek support going with his fifth three-pointer of the night and Fotsis added 2 free throws as Greece soared to a 67-72 advantage. An Onan steal led to a Tunceri layup that fueled Turkey's hopes, but Spanoulis had one more trick up his sleeve as he buried a long three to beat the 24-second clock. Ilyasova also made a three and a Greece turnover changed things. Turkoglu sliced through the Greece defense to make it a 1-point game and a poor pass from Fotsis gave him another chance, but this time Turkoglu missed. Zisis made a free throw with 9.8 seconds remaining to make it 74-76. Turkey again handed the ball to Arslan, who pulled up for a three that would have won the game, but it hit the front of the rim and bounced out triggering a Greek celebration.

Slovenia 67-65 Croatia

Erazem Lorbek – Slovenia (Photo: FIBA Europe/Castoria/Parausic)Slovenia stormed back from a 15-point second-quarter deficit to beat Croatia 67-65 and advance to the EuroBasket semifinals for the first time in its history. The Lorbek brothers – Erazem of Regal FC Barcelona and Domen from Benetton Treviso – teamed with Jaka Lakovic, also from Barca, to score all the points in a 23-3 charge that spanned the final 30 seconds of the second quarter all the way through the start of the fourth quarter as Slovenia battled its way to the win. Croatia still had its chances in the end, but Efes Pilsen forward Bostjan Nachbar sealed the win with a clutch jumper with 6 seconds remaining that sealed the win. The win also sends Slovenia through to next summer's FIBA World Championships in Turkey. Slovenia now advances to play Serbia on Saturday for a spot in the finals. Croatia will continue on in the consolation games hoping to secure its ticket to Turkey. Erazem Lorbek led Slovenia with 27 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals. Nachbar added 12 points, Lakovic had 11 points and 5 assists and Domen Lorbek netted 9. Roko Ukic paced Croatia with 21 points and 5 assists, CSKA Moscow’s Zoran Planinic netted 11 and Sandro Nicevic of Benetton had 10 in defeat.

Domen Lorbek – Slovenia (Photo: FIBA Europe/Castoria/Metlas)The tandem of Ukic and Planinic helped Croatia to an early 4-11 lead. Nachbar kept his team in the picture, but an Ukic triple and a jumper by Kresimir Loncar extended the Croatian cushion to 8. Another Ukic three gave him 12 first-quarter points and made it 15-24, however Erazem Lorbek responded for Slovenia with a basket-plus-foul to help narrow the gap to 18-25 after 10 minutes. Lakovic got the largely pro-Slovenia crowd going with a layup followed by a four-point play early in the second quarter. Croatia managed to hang on to its lead though and extended it back to 5 when Planinic scored from downtown. Ukic free throws and another Planinic bucket fueled a 0-9 run as Croatia's lead reached double figures. Erazem Lorbek's triple had no effect on Ukic nor Mario Stojic, the main protagonists as Croatia went up 15. A technical foul on Unics Kazan guard Marko Popovic opened the door for Slovenia to get back within 39-47 after a Domen Lorbek three-pointer at the buzzer. The Lorbek brothers continued to chip away at the deficit in the third quarter, first with Domen making a pair of free throws and then Erazem connecting from behind the arc to get Slovenia within 4. Lakovic continued the Slovenia charge with a three-pointer and the Erazem Lorbek hit a short jumper to give Slovenia its first lead since the opening minutes, 51-50. Erazem Lorbek added a bank shot as the run reached 21-3 dating back to the last 30 seconds of the first half. Erazem Lorbek scored one more baskter early in the fourth quarter before Olympiacos center Nikola Vujcic got Croatia on the board again. Then Ukic hit a jumper as Croatia finally started to show signs of life. Uros Slokar gave Slovenia a bit of breathing room when he drilled a pair triples, but baskets by Nicevic and Vujcic kept Croatia within striking distance. Nachbar sank 2 free throws with just under two-and-a-half minutes to play. Both offenses went cold when it mattered as neither team mustered up any points until Nicevic scored 2 from the charity stripe with 63 seconds left to play. Croatia had its chance to tie, but missed and Nachbar’s jumper with 6 seconds left sealed it as Ukic’s final three-pointer was purely academic.

Last Game, Day 10-11, Thursday-Friday September 17-18, 2009
Quarterfinals , Thursday 17 Results Quarterfinals, Friday 18 Results
Russia vs. Serbia 68-79 F Turkey vs. Greece 74-76 F
France vs. Spain 66-86 F Slovenia vs. Croatia 67-65 F

Next Game, Day 12, Saturday September 19, 2009
Semifinals CET Place 5-8 CET
Spain vs. Greece 18:30 France vs. Turkey 12:00
Serbia vs. Slovenia 21:00 Russia vs. Croatia 14:15
Friday, September 18, 2009
Euroleague.net
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