September 6, 2022 - Croatia barely pulled off a 73-70 victory against Estonia yesterday but tonight's 81-76 (42-34) loss to host Italy in game four makes elimination very likely. The checkered team now need a clear victory against second-placed Ukraine on Thursday during the last group game in order to take place two or three and reach the Round of 16.
After starting the tournament with two good games (a close loss to favored Greece, a clear win against Great Britain) the Croatian national basketball team almost surprisingly lost its third game in Milan against Estonia. The reason for Estonia falling short was a perfect game by Karlo Matković who made all of his 8 attempts from the field and a bonus free throw for 17 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals in just under 19 minutes on the court.
In tonight's game against Italy, coach Mulaomerović's team had a chance to qualify early for the Round of 16 in Berlin but the hosts were facing elimination with only a single victory against Estonia and came prepared for a fight. Bogdanović's 27 points were not enough to make a difference.
Italian coach Gianmarco Pozzecco saw his team take the first half 42:34 before Croatia came back with a strong run at the beginning of the third quarter. The game turned into an open fight with changing leads for almost all of the remaining 15 minutes before Italy, led by Melli's and Fontecchio's 19 points each, edged away and managed to maintain the lead during the last two minutes.
Results by quarters:
CRO - EST
20-16, 13-13, 20-19, 20-22
ITA-CRO
22-17, 20-17, 13-25, 26-17
Box score
