February 20, 2021 - Croatia records their first loss to the Netherlands in the EuroBasket qualifiers. 

The Croatia basketball team lost to the Netherlands 57:65 in the Eurobasket qualifiers on Saturday. However, Croatia has already qualified for the European Championship and will play the final game of the tournament against Turkey on Monday. 

After the Netherlands initially led 2:0, Croatia equalized and only increased their advantage. After seven minutes of play, they led +7, 11:4. Mršić's team also had an advantage of 13 points, 19:6, and they finished the first quarter at 19:11.

Although they were equal in the second quarter (16:16), Croatia managed to keep the advantage from the first quarter and went into halftime with a score of 35:27.

In the third quarter, the Netherlands played harder and reduced the gap to 43:44, and with a three-pointer, they took the lead at 49:48. The Netherlands continued ahead in the decisive quarter in which they lead +6, 54:48.

In the first match of the 5th round in Group D, Turkey defeated Sweden 88:80 in Istanbul and remained in the game to qualify for the final tournament. Sengun with 24 points and Tuncer with 19 was the best for Turkey, while Jerebko led Sweden with 21 points.

Croatia leads the group and has already qualified for EuroBasket 2022. The three best national teams will qualify for the final tournament.

Standings
1. Croatia 5 4 1 364-314 9
2. The Netherlands 5 3 2 345-340 8
3. Turkey 5 2 3 368-389 7
4. Sweden 5 1 4 371-405 6

In the last round, scheduled for Monday, February 22, Sweden-Netherlands (15:00) and Turkey-Croatia (18:00) will meet.

Source: HRT

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

February 29, 2020 - The umbrella organization has recognized the energetic Mateo Dreznjak as a promising young player in European basketball.

Probably the best player of HKK Široki, young Mateo Dreznjak has attracted the attention of the wider sports public thanks to his excellent appearances in Croatia’s first two Eurobasket 2021 qualifying matches against Sweden and the Netherlands, HRT reports.

His performances have certainly not been missed by FIBA, who named him one of the top 10 upcoming Eurobasket stars.

The young shooting guard was truthfully mistaken for his birth date (he was born on March 8, 1999), but was listed as Croatia's best scorer in the first qualifying block, despite being the youngest on the roster.

“Despite being the youngest on the roster, Dreznjak stepped up for Croatia as their leading scorer through the first window in which they came through unbeaten. The 20-year-old opened with 16 points on 88 percent shooting to go with 4 steals and 3 assists in a win over Sweden before hitting double figures again in helping his side beat the Netherlands,” said official media partner of the Euroleague, Eurohoops.net.

While Dreznjak is one of the highlights for Croatia and the future of Croatian basketball, FIBA also recognized Denny Avdi (one of the candidates for the first draft pick this year), Christian Kullamae, Arturs Žagars, Rokas Jokubaitis, Vit Krejci, Carlos Alocen, Rati Andronikashvili, Melwin Pantzar (a young Swede who played against Croatia in the first round) and Keye Van der Vuurst de Vries.

The future is now: 10 rising stars who impressed in the February window #FIBA@deniavdia8@KKullamae
Mateo Dreznjak
Arturs Zagars
Rokas Jokubaitis@v_krejci@carlosalocen@rati_4_@MelwinPantzar@k_vuurst

| Eurohoops https://t.co/SYlcVUDNcf

— Eurohoops.net (@Eurohoopsnet) February 28, 2020

The Croatia basketball team beat the Netherlands away 69:59 in the second round of EuroBasket qualifications and defeated Sweden 72:56 (18: 6, 23:14, 17:25, 14:11) in the first round of the Group D qualifiers. Turkey and Sweden are also in Group D.

With these victories, Croatia has made a big step towards qualifying for the EuroBasket. 

EuroBasket 2021 will be held in Georgia, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Germany. The three first-place teams will qualify for the EuroBasket.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

February 24, 2020 - The Croatia basketball team beat the Netherlands away 69:59 in the second round of EuroBasket qualifications. 

It was a duel of two teams that won the first round of Group D. While Croatia celebrated at home against a weak Sweden, the Netherlands shocked Turkey with an away win.

The Croatia basketball team and the Netherlands played in qualifiers for the last World Cup in China. Croatia's defeat in the first round was the beginning of the Croatian basketball downfall. The Netherlands, on the other hand, has progressed year after year.

After desperate past qualifications, Veljko Mrsic led a team that looked good in their debut against Sweden. Croatia finally had harmony and chemistry between the players again in the locker room. The approach was right after a long time. The defense was perfect, and the attack was played fast and easy. 

The Netherlands led after the first quarter, with Croatia leading 38:35 at halftime, followed by the fall of Veljko Mršić's team in the third leg and a period in which only 9 points were scored.

In the last 10 minutes, however, Croatia rose to the occasion and eventually celebrated by 10 points. 

Croatia's most efficient player was Ukic with 14 points, Dreznjak scored 13 and Planinic scored 12. The most efficient for the Netherlands was Franke with 11 points, while Kloof and Van der Vuurts each scored 10 points.

With this victory, Croatia has made a big step towards qualifying for the EuroBasket. 

Recall, Croatia defeated Sweden 72:56 (18: 6, 23:14, 17:25, 14:11) in the first round of the Group D qualifiers for EuroBasket 2021. Turkey and Sweden are also in Group D.

EuroBasket 2021 will be held in Georgia, the Czech Republic, Italy and Germany. The three first-place teams will qualify for the EuroBasket.

Lineups

Netherlands: Charlon Kloof, Yannick Franke, Worthy de Jong, Mohamed Kherrazi, Jito Kok

Croatia: Roko Ukić, Filip Krušlin, Mateo Drežnjak, Željko Šakić, Miro Bilan

Source: Index.hr

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

February 21, 2020 - The Croatia basketball team opened its qualifications for EuroBasket with a win against Sweden the Drazen Petrovic Basketball Hall in Zagreb.

Gol.hr reports that the Croatia men's basketball team defeated Sweden 72:56 (18: 6, 23:14, 17:25, 14:11) in the first round of the Group D qualifiers for EuroBasket 2021. EuroBasket 2021 will be held in Georgia, the Czech Republic, Italy and Germany.

Mateo Dreznjak scored 16 points and was the top scorer for Croatia, while Tobias Borg scored 11 points for Sweden.

Croatia nearly resolved the game in the first 15 minutes when they gained a significant advantage of +25 (31: 6). During the first 10 minutes, Sweden scored only six points against a motivated Croatian defense, scoring only one of 16 shots in play 1:17 minutes before the buzzer.

In the second quarter, a series of misses and lost balls continued for Sweden, which Croatia used to get up to +25 again.

Up until the middle of the third quarter, Croatia's game was flawless, though they got a bit too comfortable and allowed Sweden to reduce their deficit. With a series of shots from a distance, they ended the third quarter with 12 consecutive points, and the game was 58:45.

However, there was no unnecessary drama in the last 10 minutes and Croatia book a critical win. 

In the second match of this group, the Netherlands surprisingly defeated Turkey 72:65 in Ankara (18:17, 23:21, 13:16, 18:11).

The Netherlands is Croatia's next rival on Monday in Almere.

The three first-place teams will qualify for the EuroBasket.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

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Croatian basketball players have dominated the group stage at EuroBasket.

This is the first defeat for Croatia in this EuroBasket tournament. 

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