Markkanen's 34 points steer Finland to first win with rout of Cape Verde

OKINAWA (Japan) - Lauri Markkanen showed the way as Finland finally broke through the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 win column following a 100-77 romp of Cape Verde in a classification round matchup, Tuesday evening at the Okinawa Arena.

The Utah Jazz forward finished with a personal tournament-high 34 points, 18 of which he made in the first half alone to lead the Susijengi's early breakaway toward their first win. They had previously suffered tough losses at the hands of Australia, hosts Japan, and Germany in the First Round.

 

 

Now, the EuroBasket 2022 Quarter-Finalists will look to conclude their campaign strongly against the gritty Venezuela on Saturday at 16:30 local time.

Turning point: Markkanen was part of the unit that put together a 9-1 run to end the first quarter with a 28-16 lead, and the Finns would never lost hold of the double-digit lead the rest of the way.

The Blue Sharks showed some signs of life especially late in the second quarter behind Edy Tavares and Anderson Correia, but there was only so much that they can do, Their worn-out legs from a tough match against Slovenia barely 24 hours ago could no longer keep up.

TCL Player of the Game: Markkanen shot an efficient 12-of-19 clip from the floor and went 8-of-10 from the free throw line. He also chalked up 9 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a pair of blocks in almost 27 minutes of action for an EFF rating of 39 on the way to the citation.

 

Stats don't lie: The difference in three-point shooting between both teams was one of the biggest gaps leading to the result of the game. Finland moved the ball so well -  that they racked up 33 assists - and rained down 14 threes, while Cape Verde only made three in 19 attempts.

Bottom Line: Finland are already out of contention to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics, but the team of Coach Lassi Tuovi made sure that they won't go home empty-handed.

Cape Verde, on the other hand, are now in a tighter position as the race for the Olympics spot from Africas will be close. They look to end their run with a bang versus the Japanese on Saturday.

They said: "I'm proud of the guys. They came into the game [focused] especially defense-wise. Cape Verde [only] had 16 points in the first quarter. Great job with Tavares inside, putting bodies in there, rebounding. And, 33 assists tells that we were a team today." - Lassi Tuovi, Head Coach, Finland

"I would like to give a word of appreciation to my athletes, who [played] in less than 24 hours after the game against Slovenia. The Finnish team were fresher, since they had more time to rest. One more day of rest really makes a lot of difference compared to us. It was also a tough game for us because the three-point didn't go in for us." - Emanuel Trovoada, Head Coach, Cape Verde

Press conference:

 

FIBA