Vlade Divac had
a great fight with
German centers
|
Paris, July 1 - Yugoslav national basketball team qualified for the semi-finals of the European Basketball Championship for Men having defeated in the quarter-finals game the German national team 78-68 (38-35). The opponent in the semi-finals will be the Italian national team which beat Russia in the first quarter-finals match 102-79.
The current world and European champion justified the role of a favorite in the game against the Germans, no matter to all the troubles they have been encountering during this championship, including the last one when they were left without the first play-maker Sasa Obradovic.
Coach Obradovic began the game with the starters: Bodiroga, Loncar, Danilovic, Gurovic and Divac, and after seven minutes the Yugoslav team took the lead 11-3 and then 18-10. Then, the Germans took the advantage of the several mistakes the Yugoslavs made and after making a series of 10-2 equalized to 22-22.
However, as the game progressed, the quality of the Yugoslav team was becoming more noticeable. The two players Vlado Scepanovic and Dragan Lukovski shined with full brightness today. In the first halftime, Scepanovic scored even 11 points (5/7) and much contributed that the Yugoslav team ended the first half with the minimal advantage up. On the other hand, although still not recovered of the injury, Lukovski played his play-maker role, first given to Aleksandar Djordjevic and then to Sasa Obradovic, in the best way possible.
In the second halftime, the result uncertainty lingered only at the beginning. After only several minutes, the Yugoslav basketball players made a difference of about ten points up (58-48) and managed to maintain the difference to the end.
PARIS - Bercy Hall. Attendance: 10,000.
YUGOSLAVIA: Player Statistics
|
Player
|
Min
|
2P FG M/A
|
%
|
3P FG M/A |
% |
FT M/A |
% |
REB(O/D) |
Totals |
Ast |
PF |
St |
Pts |
|
Bodiroga
|
33
|
4/8
|
50
|
0/0
|
|
6/8
|
75
|
0/5
|
5
|
7
|
4
|
1
|
14
|
|
Danilovic
|
35
|
4/6
|
67
|
1/4
|
25
|
4/5
|
80
|
1/1
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
1
|
15
|
|
Divac
|
25
|
3/6
|
50
|
0/2
|
0
|
2/2
|
100
|
2/4
|
6
|
4
|
2
|
2
|
8
|
|
Gurovic
|
13
|
0/0
|
|
0/1
|
0
|
0/0
|
0
|
0/3
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
|
Loncar
|
15
|
0/0
|
|
0/2
|
0
|
2/2
|
100
|
0/0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
|
Lukovski
|
11
|
2/2
|
100
|
1/1
|
100
|
2/2
|
100
|
0/0
|
0
|
2
|
3
|
0
|
9
|
|
Obradovic
|
0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Scepanovic
|
25
|
4/5
|
80
|
3/5
|
60
|
0/0
|
|
0/0
|
0
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
17
|
|
Stojakovic
|
2
|
0/0
|
|
0/0
|
|
0/0
|
|
0/0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Tarlac
|
7
|
0/0
|
|
0/0
|
|
0/0
|
|
0/2
|
2
|
0
|
3
|
0 |
0 |
| Tomasevic |
16 |
1/6 |
17 |
0/0 |
|
0/0 |
|
4/3 |
7 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
| Topic |
19 |
4/5 |
80 |
1/2 |
50 |
0/0 |
|
3/3 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
11 |
| Totals |
|
22/38 |
58 |
6/17 |
35 |
16/19 |
84 |
10/21 |
31 |
18 |
21 |
7 |
78 |
Legend
Min - Minutes Played
2P FG (M/A) - Two Point Field Goals (Made/Attempted)
3P FG (M/A) - Three Point Field Goals (Made/Attempted)
FT (M/A) - Free Throws (Made/Attempted)
REB (O/D) - Rebounds (Offensive/Defensive)
AST - Assists
PF - Personal Fouls
ST - Steals
PTS - Points
After the Game
Zeljko Obradovic, Yugoslav coach
"We expected a tough game, but we also expected to win it. Actually, all the teams which qualified for the quarter-finals are good. We were playing
without our playmaker Obradovic and so we had to find other solutions. Fortunately, Lukovski gave us a ten-minute boost. Our defence was solid against Germany’s top players, Tomic and Nowitzky."
Dejan Tomasevic, Yugoslav player
"Matches in the quarter-finals are always difficult. Out team is much more experienced and did not allow any surprise. This match was like the one we
played against Argentina in the World Championship last year in Athens."
Results of Quarter-Finals (Paris, Bercy Hall, July 1)
YUGOSLAVIA - Germany 78-68
Italy - Russia 102-79
France - Turkey 66-63
Spain - Lithvania 74-72
Semi-Finals (Paris, Bercy Hall, July 2)
- France - Spain
- YUGOSLAVIA - Italy
Previous Yugoslavia's results at Championship
Group A
|
June 21 - Yugoslavia - Israel 81-61
|
|
June 22 - Yugoslavia - Macedonia 83-68
|
|
June 23 - Yugoslavia - France 63-52
|
Group E
|
June 26 - Yugoslavia - Slovenia 71-66
|
|
June 27 - Yugoslavia - Spain 77-63
|
|
June 28 - Yugoslavia - Russia 68-76
|
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