Center Timofey Mozgov had 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead defending champion Russia past Macedonia 71-69 and into the quarter-finals of the European basketball championship.
Macedonia had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds after Russia threw the ball away with 5.9 seconds to play, but Macedonia guard Dimitar Mirakovski’s runner in the lane bounced out at the buzzer and Russia hung on for the win, despite shooting just 1 of 15 from behind the arc.
“We needed to look really far down deep in ourselves to win that ballgame because it was looking pretty bleak,” Russia coach David Blatt said. “But in the end, we found it, and I am proud of what we have done and am looking forward to next stage.”
PHOTO: REUTERS
Power forward Pero Antic scored 19 points and pulled down 10 boards to lead Macedonia, which was eliminated with the loss.
Macedonia coach Jovica Arsic said his team couldn’t find an answer for Mozgov in the paint.
“We had a lot of problems stopping Mozgov on his offensive rebounds,” Arsic said. “We played tough for 40 minutes. But the better team is going to the quarter-finals.”
In another Group E matchup, France beat Greece 71-69 on a jumper at the buzzer by reserve guard Nando De Colo to stay unbeaten in the tournament.
De Colo, who was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs last year, hit two free throws to put France ahead 69-66 with 20 seconds to play.
Greece guard Vasileios Spanoulis then drained a 3-pointer with 8 seconds left to tie it up before De Colo’s winner as time expired.
“I think in this game we had a really strong start — offensively and defensively — but later on we stopped playing a clear-headed game,” Spanoulis said. “We’re done with this round of games and now heading for some very big games.”
France had already clinched a spot in the quarter-finals, and coach Vincent Collet limited the playing time of three of his NBA stars — Tony Parker, Doris Diaw and Ronny Turiaf.
“I’m happy we managed to give them rest and win, which were our two goals,” Collet said.
The win keeps France atop Group E, and Greece in second.
Croatia grabbed the fourth and final quarter-final spot from Group E with a 70-68 win over Germany.
Center Kresimir Loncar hit a three with the shot clock winding down to put Croatia up 65-59 with just under two minutes to play.
Despite two 3-pointers from Germany guard Heiko Schaffartzik in the final minute, Germany couldn’t close the gap.
The top four teams in Group E and Group F advance to the quarter-finals starting in Katowice, Poland, today.
South Korean giants T1, led by “Faker,” won their fifth League of Legends (LoL) world championship crown in London on Saturday, beating China’s Bilibili Gaming (BLG) in a thrilling final. The teams were locked at 2-2 at a packed O2 arena, but T1 clinched game five to make it back-to-back titles after nearly four hours of tense action. China’s BLG started strongly, taking the first game before T1 struck back to level. The Chinese team pulled ahead again at 2-1 only for their opponents to hit back again and go on to take the decider. Faker, who won the Most
The Major League Baseball World Series trophy is headed to Los Angeles, but the party is extending all the way to Japan. People milled around local train stations yesterday morning in Tokyo as newspaper extras were ready to roll off the presses, proclaiming Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto as world champions along with their Dodgers teammates after a stirring Game 5 victory over the New York Yankees. The 30-year-old is a national hero in Japan whose face adorns billboards and TV adverts all over the country. Ohtani this year became the first player in history to hit 50 home runs and
Amber Glenn overcame a fall and her own doubts to win a maiden Grand Prix figure skating title on Saturday at the Grand Prix de France. The American skater had the lead from Friday’s short program. That and the support of the crowd got her through a tough free skate in which she fell on a triple flip and put a hand onto the ice to steady herself on two other jumps. “I didn’t feel that great out there today, but I really tried, and the audience really got me through that last half when I was doubting myself,” Glenn
WORLD SERIES: ‘The individuals that were involved in that last night was a very small segment of the east Los Angeles community,’ the Los Angeles county sheriff said Rowdy crowds took to the streets of Los Angeles after the LA Dodgers won the Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series, setting a city bus on fire, breaking into stores and lighting fireworks. A dozen arrests were reported by police on Thursday, but officials said that most fans celebrated peacefully. Video showed revelers throwing objects at police in downtown LA as sirens blared and officers told them to leave the area on Wednesday night after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the MLB World Series at Giants Stadium in New York. Another video showed someone standing atop
RSS