Poland end 52-year World Cup absence by sending Croatia crashing

VARAZDIN (Croatia) - Poland qualified for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 with a thrilling 77-69 victory over Croatia on Friday, knocking out the European powerhouse.

In riveting Group J action, Poland started slowly as Croatia scored the first 14 points before storming back into the contest at Arena Varazdin. They held their nerve during a topsy-turvy fourth quarter to move closer to their first World Cup berth in 52 years. 

The Poles' ticket to China 2019 was confirmed after Italy convincingly beat Hungary in the day's last game to secure their own berth at this summer's showpiece event.

Mateusz Ponitka was superb with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks, while A.J. Slaughter scored 15 as Poland claimed heir 7th win in 11 games. Filip Kruslin led Croatia with 16 points and Hrvoje Peric scored 14.

Turning point: This engrossing game came down to the wire with Poland narrowly in front 71-69 with two minutes left but they ramped it up on defense as Croatia couldn’t muster a bucket when they needed it the most.

Game hero: Ponitka was everywhere for Poland and was clutch with two made free throws and the dagger bucket in the dying stages to lift his team to the brink of ending their long drought.

Stats don’t lie: Poland made up for being sloppy with the ball (17-9 in turnovers) through stifling defense as they limited Croatia to just 31% from the field. Although they were aided by some poor finishing at the rim from the Croatians, who could only hit a miserable 24% from two.

Bottom line: Poland have clinched a historic FIBA Basketball World Cup berth, while fancied Croatia will be playing for pride when they play Hungary on Monday after their dreams of booking a ticket to China ended. 

They said: "The beginning of the game was really rough for us. We were feeling the pressure. We didn't start well but coach believed in us as he's done for the past 5-6-7 years. He didn't put any pressure on us, just believe in us. Maciej Lampe and Adam Hrycaniuk played great defense against Miro Bilan. That defense kept us in the game. We came back in the second half with big 3s and Mateusz Ponitka was great for us in the end and AJ Slaughter. So in the end I think we deserved the win." - Poland guard Lukask Koszarek 

"I just want to say how proud I am of our team. What I love the most about it is that it will bond us forever, all the players, the coaches, the team, these guys. The effort, the heart, you know Mateusz Ponitka with the chase down blocks, the multiple effort hustle plays, the big shots." - Poland head coach Mike Taylor

FIBA