The Croatian men’s basketball team has been knocked out of the round of 16 after losing to Russia.
To put it simply, today was not Croatia’s day.
The Croatian men's basketball team suffered a shock defeat by Russia, losing 78:101 (25:23, 21:19, 26:15, 21:29) in Istanbul in the EuroBasket round of 16. Russia will now advance to the EuroBasket quarterfinals against Greece, reports Gol.hr on September 10, 2017.
Welcome back to the Quarter-Finals ??! @russiabasket 101-78 @CbfHks ?? after a dominant performance by @Shved23 and co! #EuroBasket2017 pic.twitter.com/8Zfh1leACo
— FIBA (@FIBA) September 10, 2017
Although Croatia led Russia on many occasions in the first quarter, it was clear that this was not the Croatia we watched in the last two rounds of the group stage in Cluj.
While we knew that Alexey Shved would be the Russia's biggest danger to Croatia, forcing Croatia’s coach Aleksandar Petrović to be well prepared, the Russian team as a whole was quick to control the game, securing significant leads that destroyed Croatia’s hope of advancing further in the competition.
Apart from Bojan Bogdanović, it seemed that no other Croatian player was in the mood for tonight’s game. Particularly noticeable was the absence of Darijo Šarić who averaged 7.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in the five games of the group stage. On Sunday, Šarić collected only two rebounds and one assist.
Croatia v Russia - Live - Round of 16 - Press Conference #EuroBasket2017 https://t.co/cPCIZiUxGa
— FIBA (@FIBA) September 10, 2017
Croatia’s biggest threat Alexey Shved finished the game with 27 points and 12 assists, while Croatia’s Bojan Bogdanović finished the game with 28 points.
.@russiabasket ?? too much to handle for @CbfHks ?? in the FIBA #EuroBasket2017 Round of 16.
— FIBA (@FIBA) September 10, 2017
? https://t.co/dJ80TG0mSO pic.twitter.com/U4NkOzPbRv
This is the second EuroBasket in a row where Croatia has been knocked out by a massive defeat in the round of 16. Two years ago in Lille, the Czech Republic defeated Croatia 80:59, and now in Istanbul, Russia has eliminated Croatia’s chances in the competition.
