EuroBasket 2007 Quarterfinals Results - Lithuania Beats Croatia & Greece Downs Slovenia

Preserving their unbeaten tournament record, Lithuania slips past the tough Slovenian Basketball Team 74-72. The Team Croatia had one final chance to tie the game & send it to a possible overtime in the last few seconds but Zoran Planinic missed two crucial free throws in the final seconds of regulation play that spelled the end for the Croatian nationals. Lithunia will move on to the semis & will face evenly tough Team Russia Basketball.

On the other game, Greece had a close fight for the win against a formidable Team Slovenia but won the game 63-62. Slovenia had 12-point lead going to the last two and a half minutes of the fourth period but was wiped out by Team Greece at the end of regulation. It was a come from behind victory for the Greeks who will advance to the next stage which is the semifinal game against Champions & Olympics Qualifiers Team Spain.

The top two teams in this Olympics Qualifying tournament will capture a slot for the Olympics Basketball tournament in Beijing 2008.

Here's the full story on the games discussed: Please click the link.

Miracle Greece Edge Slovenia - Theo Papaloukas's driving lay-up with 6.7 seconds remaining completed a furious 14-1 flurry to the finish as Greece overcame a 12-point deficit in the final 2:30 to knock off Slovenia 63-62 and live on for another chance to defend their EuroBasket title. Papaloukas added yet another chapter to his superstar and legendary status with 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, setting up another showdown with world champions and hosts Spain in Saturday's semi-finals. Lazaros Papadopoulos added 10 points for the reigning champs, who forced Slovenia into four turnovers and two missed three-pointers in the final 2:30. Jaka Lakovic had 14 points, five rebounds and three assists but his potential game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer fell well short of its target. "It's heart-breaking. We played a great game until the final 2:30 and Greece are simply more experienced than we are," said Slovenia big man Erazem Lorbek. Radoslav Nesterovic collected 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots, and Matjaz Smodis added 10 points but it was not enough for the Slovenians, who lost their second straight game and face Germany in the 5th-8th place classificiation on Saturday.Both teams came out ready to play and gave the fans a real back-and-forth battle with four lead changes and six ties.

Lithuania Slip Past Croatia, Gets Into Semis - Zoran Planinic missed two foul shots with 1.02 seconds remaining, allowing Lithuania to hold off a motivated Croatia 74-72 and book their spot in Saturday's semi-finals against Russia. Darius Songalia scored 20 points, grabbed seven rebounds and gave Lithuania the winning basket with 46 seconds left. Linas Kleiza collected 19 points and nine rebounds and Sarunas Jasikevicius dished out. Zoran Planinic led Croatia with 16 points but missed critical free throws down the stretch. They had eight assists as Lithuania remained the only perfect team in the competition.The Baltic powers are going for European crown number four. Croatia limped into the quarter-finals having lost their last three games after beating Spain, but Jasmin Repesa's men gave Lithuania all they could handle, especially Planinic, who collected a team-high 16 points as well as three rebounds, five assists and seven steals. The Tau Vitoria guard however missed when it meant most. After Marko Popovic was off target on a three-pointer with three seconds left, Planinic was fouled with 1.02 ticks remaining. He missed the first and then purposely missed the second and Lithuania ran off the clock for the win. Popovic finished with 12 points and Marko Tomas added 10. Croatia, who will play France in the 5th-8th classification games, shot themselves in the foot, making just eight of 19 foul shots (42%) while holding Lithuania to 40% shooting (23-of-58) for the game.

Recommended Hoops Gear:
Spalding 88351 In-Ground Basketball System with 44-Inch PolyCarbonate Backboard
adidas Men's T-Mac 6 Basketball Shoe
adidas Men's KG Bounce Basketball Shoe
Spalding 64-460 Spalding NBA All Conference Basketball (Official Size)
Lifetime 1482 Height-Adjustable Portable Basketball System with 48-Inch Backboard