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Macedonia extends surprise Euro run
Source: Agencies |
September 16, 2011, Friday
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DEFENDING champion Spain and surprise package Macedonia advanced to the European championship semifinals in contrasting fashion on Wednesday after beating their respective opponents.
Spain, which won its first title at Eurobasket 2009 in Poland, blew away Slovenia 86-64 while Macedonia, playing in only its third tournament as an independent nation, stunned hosts Lithuania 67-65.
The two will meet in today's opening semifinal while the winners of the Russia vs Serbia and France vs Greece quarterfinals will clash in the other semifinal.
Macedonia entered the 24-team tournament in Lithuania with slim hopes of advancing from its preliminary pool, but instead shocked one more heralded rival after another to send its colorful band of supporters into raptures.
Lithuania, the 2003 champion, was one of the favorites for a podium finish but will now have to work hard to secure even an Olympic qualifying berth available to just two of the four losing quarterfinalists.
American point-guard Lester Bo McCalebb again inspired the Macedonians, who now have a 7-2 record in the tournament, with a game-high 23 points but it was Vlado Ilijevski who emerged as the match-winner in a dramatic climax.
Ilievski capitalized on a turnover with 11 seconds remaining and slotted an audacious three-pointer as the Lithuanians watched in disbelief before failing to score on their last possession.
"I've never had emotions as strong as these in my entire career, we were written off as complete underdogs before the tournament and now we have the whole nation behind us," Macedonia centre Pero Antic said.
"We have silenced our critics and 14,000 home fans in Kaunas, we dedicate this victory to the Macedonian people after playing our hearts out for our country," he added.
Thousands of fans thronged the central square in Macedonia's capital Skopje to celebrate after watching the game on giant video screens, sporting national flags and team shirts.
Unlike Macedonia, Slovenia never looked capable of springing an upset against classy Spain which produced its best performance of the tournament to stay on course for a second successive title.
Having weathered an early seven-point led by the Slovenians, Spain quickly regained its composure as centre Marc Gasol dominated in the paint and Juan Carlos Navarro found his shooting range.
The Spaniards led 35-31 at halftime and opened the third quarter with a 19-2 run which effectively sealed the contest, with Navarro scoring nine points in that rally.
He finished with a game-high 26 points, Pau Gasol poured in 19 and collected 16 rebounds while Jose Luis Calderon added nine points for the Spaniards, who had 15 rebounds and seven assists more than their rivals.
Slovenia, which has never enjoyed a podium finish as an independent nation, will now enter the 5th-8th place playoff along with the losers of the other three quarterfinals.
The winners and runners-up here will qualify automatically for next year's Olympics in London along with hosts Britain, while the next four teams in line will enter an inter-continental, 12-team playoff for another three berths.
Spain, which won its first title at Eurobasket 2009 in Poland, blew away Slovenia 86-64 while Macedonia, playing in only its third tournament as an independent nation, stunned hosts Lithuania 67-65.
The two will meet in today's opening semifinal while the winners of the Russia vs Serbia and France vs Greece quarterfinals will clash in the other semifinal.
Macedonia entered the 24-team tournament in Lithuania with slim hopes of advancing from its preliminary pool, but instead shocked one more heralded rival after another to send its colorful band of supporters into raptures.
Lithuania, the 2003 champion, was one of the favorites for a podium finish but will now have to work hard to secure even an Olympic qualifying berth available to just two of the four losing quarterfinalists.
American point-guard Lester Bo McCalebb again inspired the Macedonians, who now have a 7-2 record in the tournament, with a game-high 23 points but it was Vlado Ilijevski who emerged as the match-winner in a dramatic climax.
Ilievski capitalized on a turnover with 11 seconds remaining and slotted an audacious three-pointer as the Lithuanians watched in disbelief before failing to score on their last possession.
"I've never had emotions as strong as these in my entire career, we were written off as complete underdogs before the tournament and now we have the whole nation behind us," Macedonia centre Pero Antic said.
"We have silenced our critics and 14,000 home fans in Kaunas, we dedicate this victory to the Macedonian people after playing our hearts out for our country," he added.
Thousands of fans thronged the central square in Macedonia's capital Skopje to celebrate after watching the game on giant video screens, sporting national flags and team shirts.
Unlike Macedonia, Slovenia never looked capable of springing an upset against classy Spain which produced its best performance of the tournament to stay on course for a second successive title.
Having weathered an early seven-point led by the Slovenians, Spain quickly regained its composure as centre Marc Gasol dominated in the paint and Juan Carlos Navarro found his shooting range.
The Spaniards led 35-31 at halftime and opened the third quarter with a 19-2 run which effectively sealed the contest, with Navarro scoring nine points in that rally.
He finished with a game-high 26 points, Pau Gasol poured in 19 and collected 16 rebounds while Jose Luis Calderon added nine points for the Spaniards, who had 15 rebounds and seven assists more than their rivals.
Slovenia, which has never enjoyed a podium finish as an independent nation, will now enter the 5th-8th place playoff along with the losers of the other three quarterfinals.
The winners and runners-up here will qualify automatically for next year's Olympics in London along with hosts Britain, while the next four teams in line will enter an inter-continental, 12-team playoff for another three berths.
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