What does Finland need to do to catch Russia in Group K?

MUNICH (Germany) - With France and Czech Republic already through to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 and the bottom two of Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina out of contention, Group K will be all about Russia and Finland in the last window of the European Qualifiers.

The high-stakes tussle between the two neighboring countries will take place all over the continent, with Russia looking to defend a one-game lead in the standings and Finland playing catch-up and hoping to avoid any further slip-ups to keep their rivals under pressure.

GROUP K

Gameday 11 (Thursday, February 21)

Czech Republic v Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria v Russia Finland v France [/unordered]

Gameday 12 (Sunday, February 24)

France v Czech Republic Russia v Finland (First game: Russia +2, 77-75) Bosnia and Herzegovina v Bulgaria [/unordered]

Qualified: France, Czech Republic

 

Can still qualify:

Russia can still qualify in several ways. They would secure a spot with a win against Finland, but could also go through with a win against Bulgaria depending on other results if: 
a) they win the tie-breaker against Finland and Finland lose to France; 
b) Finland beat France and Czech Republic lose both of their games. 
Russia can also qualify with 2 losses as long as they win tie breaker against Finland (Russia won by +2pts), and Finland lose to France and Bulgaria lose to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Finland would secure a spot in the World Cup with two wins if they win the tie-breaker against Russia but a win against Russia alone could suffice, depending on other results. If Russia lose to Bulgaria, Finland would qualify with a win as long as they hold the tie-breaker over Russia. If Bulgaria win both of their games, Finland would qualify with any win against Russia.

Can no longer qualify: Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina

 

What do the experts think?

Simas Baranauskas and Igor Curkovic have closely followed the qualification process ever since the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Pre-Qualifiers, keeping you close to the action with the Live Blog. David Hein handed you features from all over Europe and Jeff Taylor is the voice behind international basketball, calling the games for LiveBasketball.tv.

Simas Baranauskas: There's a very good chance that all the questions in Group K will be answered by the end of Thursday night - Russia will be big favorites against Bulgaria and Finland will have the odds against them against France. Barring any surprises there, Sergey Bazarevich and his crew should be heading to the World Cup, though I'm sure most neutral fans would love to save the drama for the last day of action, when Russia host Finland in Perm.

Igor Curkovic: Finland. I just didn't want all of us to sound the same here. But still, same kind of logic as with Montenegro and Latvia in Group I - when you're playing the last, vital, crucial, pivotal, all-important game at home, and you miss a shot or two, that home team jersey suddenly starts weighing a ton, and the pressure keeps on piling up. And with Finland already having written some fine history pages at home, maybe it's time for a big triumph outside of the country's borders.

David Hein: Russia will get through because in simplest of terms they will beat Bulgaria and Finland. The Russians will not go into their game against Bulgaria unguarded knowing that France were brought down in Botevgrad - the host city of Russia's first game in the window. And then Russia knows a small army of Susijengi supporters may be coming out for the big game in Perm. But Sergey Bazarevich's team showed what it is capable of in the last window, pulling out a tough victory over Finland in Espoo and then pummeling Czech Republic by 20 points at home.

Jeff Taylor: Russia. This team has impressed in the Qualifiers and could very easily have a couple of more wins. I'm talking about their opening loss at Bosnia and Herzegovina and then their defeat at France. I like Russia's (6-5)  toughness, especially on defense, and the calm of coach Sergey Bazarevich in difficult situations. They have a go-to player in Dmitrii Kulagin, whom the Finns will remember scored 26 points in the first meeting, one that went to overtime in Espoo . Russia won that game, 77-75 . Russia also have an underrated point guard in veteran Dimtrii Khvostov, who has quietly become one of the most lethal shooters from behind the arc in Europe. He's hit 31 of 56 (55.4 percent). I also like the fact that Russia are at home against the Finns (5-5). Russia of course will be looking to win their first game at Bulgaria because that, coupled with a Finnish loss to France, would see Bazarevich's team qualify. What we all hope for is the Russia v Finland game to be a do-or-die affair for both sides because that would be great theater.

FIBA