Croatian handball team won the thriller against Argentina, and the Croatian basketball team lost to the same opponent in a match with many odd events
Croatian handball team was considered a firm favorite to beat Argentina on August 9, 2016, but the task was much tougher than expected. Once more, it was not so much the quality of the Argentine team that was in the way, but the lack of concentration and the real unity in the Croatian defense.
It all went down to the last minute, as the result was all even at 26-26, and Argentina had the attack for the win. They played with no goalkeeper and lost the ball. Domagoj Duvnjak had the ball in his hands and was fouled. Due to the new regulations, it meant the penalty shot for Croatia with nine seconds on the clock. Duvnjak stepped up and scored for the win.
Coach Željko Babić said after the game that Croatia can only raise its game level after this, so we hope that in the matches with Denmark and France we will see that team we have used to watch at the big tournaments.
The Croatian basketball team lost to Argentina 82-90 in a match which is hard to describe. Argentina started better, and the Croatian team lacked the aggression shown in the first game of the tournament.
The first half was not so bad regarding the result, but Argentina started the second half with a 6-0 run, and it was clear that the referees changed the criteria. The Croatian players made a mistake and got into a debate with referees, which never turns out right.
The team got five technical fouls and missed eight free throws, just too many mistakes to get the win versus the Argentine team. Coach Petrović was furious with his players after the match, and said that in the second half, it was not basketball, but Argentine rugby, but pointed out that he is the only one in the team allowed to talk to the referees and to get technical fouls.
The next game for the basketball team is to be played on Thursday, and the opponent will be the Brazilian team, so this advice should be taken seriously by the players, as there is always cutting some slack for the home team by the organizers.
