Quarter-Finals close out, as Russia and Serbia grab remaining spots

ISTANBUL (FIBA EuroBasket 2017) - Russia will square off against Serbia in the final four after a second-half comeback lifted them past Greece and into their first Semi-Finals berth in six years. 

After a slow start and trailing by 10 points midway through the second quarter, Russia clicked into gear and recorded a 74-69 victory over Greece, whose resurgence ended after two stunning victories on the trot. 

Aleksei Shved had an uneven performance and tired late in the game but scored 22 of his 26 points in the second-half. After an ugly start, Shved started to find his groove and scored 7 points in Russia's 11-2 run to close the gap late in the third.

It gave them the momentum to run over the top of Greece, although they needed a jumper from Dmitry Khvostov with 44 seconds left to effectively seal the result.

In brave coaching, Sergey Bazarevich took out the tiring Shved with a little over 2 minutes left but the move paid eventual dividends

Shved formed a deadly partnership with center Timofey Mozgov, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Nick Calathes starred for Greece with 25 points and 7 assists but the team ran out of puff to end their brief turnaround in the tournament. 

"We wanted to have more muscle in the end, to get stops, and we succeeded," Russia coach Sergey Bazarevich said, in explanation to his decision to bench Shved down the stretch. "He was ready to come in for offense but it worked out."  

In the other Semi-Final, Serbia enjoyed an 83-67 victory over a cold-shooting Italy. 

In a game that perhaps lacked some of the same drama of the other Quarter-Finals, both renowned shooting teams struggled from deep, and Serbia took control in the second quarter to lead by 11 at half-time. 

Despite getting within 8 in the fourth quarter, Italy never threatened and struggled to get into rhythm, especially star Marco Belinelli who scored 18 points but was just 2-of-11 from three.

Bogdan Bogdanovic overcame a slow start to score 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to ensure his team cruised to victory and a Semi-Final date with Russia.   

"It is the most solid defense we have played in this tournament," Serbia coach Aleksandar Djordjevic said. "This is what we worked on and get our strength from. Our players were extremely focused. We knew they are great shooters and we did a great job on their best players."

 FIBA