PIRAEUS (Greece) - The second Semi-Final of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Greece went down to the wire, but it was Croatia who prevailed, won the game 80-77 and booked a date with the hosts, Greece, in Sunday's Final.
Turning point
Back-to-back threes by Angel Nunez and Victor Liz propelled the Dominicans to a 60-55 lead early on in the fourth quarter, but that only provoked Jaleen Smith's reaction on the other side of the floor.
The Croatia guard put up 10 points in the final stanza, including the go-ahead three-pointer and a layup to make it 74-71 with just over a minute to play.
The Dominican Republic failed to score on their next two possessions, allowing Dario Saric and Mateo Dreznjak to push the gap all the way to 78-71 with half a minute left on the game clock.
You would think that would be enough for a calm finish. You'd be wrong.
Antonio Pena made a quick three-pointer, then Jean Montero stole the ball and drew a foul on a three-point attempt with 7.3 seconds to play. The 21-year-old guard made all three shots from the stripe to cut the gap to just 78-77.
Mario Hezonja remained calm from the free-throw line with 6 ticks on the clock, pushing Croatia's lead to 80-77, but coach Che Garcia had one last timeout. He set a play up for Chris Duarte, the shooting guard got a shot off in time, but it bounced in...and out. Buzzer sounded, Croatia dodged a bullet.
TCL Player of the Game
Ivica Zubac is playing on another level during this entire tournament, and he was perfect for Croatia in this one. He made all ten of his field goals to finish with 25 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks, giving him an efficiency rating of 37.
Reminder, Zubac set the new OQT record in efficiency rating in the previous game, registering a rating of 43 against New Zealand.
Stats don't lie
There was nothing between them in most of the stats, but Croatia won the rebounding battle 39-26, which was a point of emphasis for coach Josip Sesar before the game.
Bottom line
Croatia are back to another Final, after their success in 2008 and 2016.
The Dominican Republic can be proud of their effort, but they fell just short of a historical appearance in the Final.
They said
FIBA