OPATIJA (Croatia) - When we published our Team Profile for Croatia, the burning question was who will make up for all the points that Bojan Bogdanovic brought to the team for the past 14 years. If their final checkup before the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament is anything to go by, Mario Hezonja could be the answer to the question.
Croatia defeated Brazil 91-81, as Real Madrid star scored a game-high 39 points, his personal career high for Croatia, edging out the previous mark of 37 points, set in a friendly game with Slovenia in June 2021.
The story of the game
While Brazil head coach Aco Petrovic balanced out his team's minutes among 12 players, and entered this one with Yago dos Santos unavailable, Croatia's playcaller Josip Sesar decided to go all in with his strongest lineup.
Hezonja played 34 minutes, Dario Saric and Jaleen Smith were out there for more than 32 minutes, while Ivica Zubac played 27 minutes. The final quarter belonged to a lineup with Smith at the point, Hezonja and Filip Kruslin on the wings, while Saric and Zubac took care of the middle, something we could see a lot of at the OQTs in Piraeus, Greece next week.
Brazil were in charge of the first half, dictating the rhythm of the game with Marcelinho Huertas and Raul Neto, and Gui Santos outside shooting.
They opened up a lead of 47-39 before Saric and Hezonja decided they've had enough. The two Croatian stars put together a 15-2 run to take control of the game, and they kept the foot on the gas pedal the rest of the game, opening up a 15-point lead in the second half.
The player of the game
Hezonja became the second highest game scorer for Croatia in a single game. Drazen Petrovic still holds the throne, having scored 48 points against Estonia in the FIBA EuroBasket Qualifiers in 1993. Hezonja's 39 put him in the second spot at this moment, overtaking Bojan Bogdanovic's 38-point game against Germany at the OQTs in 2021.
The 29-year-old shot 16-of-26 from the field, 5-of-11 from beyond the arc, and grabbed 6 rebounds as well. Safe to say he warmed up nicely for the adventures in Greece next week.
The stats of the game
Even though Hezonja knocked down five triples, Croatia were actually more effective inside the arc, winning the points in the paint 42-32, largely thanks to Saric's 20 points on the day.
Brazil can be happy about their depth. They got 34 points off the bench, meaning their second unit was up 19 against Croatia's bench.
The takeaways from the game
Croatia need more of the same after a game like this. They will be up against Slovenia and New Zealand in Group A at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Greece, a couple of teams similar to Brazil in terms of size and physicality, which means coach Sesar has a plan how to get to the Semi-Finals.
Brazil are still fine tuning their lineups and style of play. Marcelinho Huertas showed no signs of rust after joining the team earlier this week, he had 11 points in 18 minutes, and Brazil were a +6 team with him on the floor. Bruno Caboclo played the center position most of the time, he ended the game with 16 points and 6 rebounds to lead the stats for Brazil.
Coach Petrovic and his guys still have one major preparation game coming up, facing Slovenia on Friday, before flying to the OQT in Latvia, where they will play against Cameroon and Montenegro in Group B.
FIBA