A memorable display by center Lauri Markkanen (43 points and 9 rebounds) finished off Croatia (94-86) and qualified the Finnish team for the Eurobasket quarterfinals, in which next Tuesday they will cross Spain’s path with his star in excellent form.
The giant of the Utah Jazz (2.13 m) will be the main threat for the Spanish team. With his superlative performance at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Markkanen set a new record for points by a Finnish player in a Eurobasket, World Cup and Olympic Games. His success in field goals (66%) put an end to Croatia’s resistance, which lasted until the last quarter thanks to a remarkable performance by Bojan Bogdanovic (23 points).
Finland started the match with more energy. Guided by their star -scorer of 17 points in the first half- and an inspired Sasu Salin, a Lenovo Tenerife player, from the perimeter, the Nordic team posted an 18-10 run in the first seven minutes. The Croatian coach stopped the game and his team reacted. Dario Saric, in the paint, and Bojan Bogdanovic took advantage of their physical superiority to punish the Finnish second unit. A run of 2-11 put the Balkans ahead, from less to more, after the first 10 minutes.
In the second act they sent the attacks. There was an attractive exchange of baskets for the spectators. Finland continued with their colorful basketball, moving the ball quickly, looking for their opportunity from the perimeter and with Markkanen sending under the basket.
Croatia took advantage of the solidity of Saric and Bogdanovic, supported in the direction by a reliable Krunoslav Simon. With the point guard from Anadolou Efes, the Balkan team found the pause that they lacked in the first stages of the match, although Finland, with its success from the outside, reached half-time with a minimal advantage (45-43).
The defenses prevailed in the first minutes of the restart and, in that scenario, it seemed that Croatia was swimming with a little more calm (50-53, min. 24) and with Bogdanovic as the main offensive prop. But the ‘factor’ Markkanen penalized the Balkans. With his shot from the high post and his presence on the rebound, the giant of the Cleveland Cavaliers supported the Nordic team, which entered the last quarter with a two-point lead thanks to a tap on the buzzer by its star (67- 65).
Equality was maintained in the last act. Bogdanovic, backed by triples from Smith and Ramljak, kept the irregular Croatian team afloat (77-77, min. 36). A cemented 10-0 run from the perimeter propelled Finland to 2 minutes and 20 seconds to go (87-77). A triple by the best player of the match with 28 seconds to go sealed the match (94-84). Spain already knows that to advance to the semi-finals they will have to closely control Lauri Markkanen.
94 – Finland (20 25 22 27): Huff (3), Jantunen (3), Maxhuni (16), Salin (17), Markkanen (43) -cinco inicial-, Little (5), Koponen (-), Kantonen (5), Valtonen (-), Madsen (2), Seppala (-).
86 – Croatia (21 22 22 21): Smith (17), Ramljak (3), Hezonja (9), Bogdanovic (23), Saric (12) -cinco inicial-, Simon (11), Matkovic (11), Mavra (-) y Tooth (0).
Referees: Saverio Lanzarin (Italia), Martins Kozlovskis (Latvia) and Lorenzo Baldini (Italia). Sin eliminidos.
Incidents: Round of 16 match played at the Mercedes-Benz Arena before 6,904 spectators.
