Croatia still on the Road to Paris 2024 after Saric inspires OQT ticket in Turkiye

ISTANBUL (Turkiye) - Dario Saric produced a masterclass as Croatia downed hosts Turkiye to keep their Olympic dreams alive with an 84-71 victory and stun a near capacity crowd at the Sinan Erdem Arena. 

Led by an aggressive Saric, Croatia stormed out to an early double digit lead and rattled a cold shooting Turkiye in the blockbuster final. They took a big 48-29 lead into half-time then had to withstand a furious rally from sharpshooter Furkan Korkmaz in the third quarter.

But a composed Croatia had all the answers to seal a spot in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments next year - thanks mainly to the super work of Saric.

Turning point: With Korkmaz red hot, Turkiye mounted a furious comeback in the third quarter to reduce Croatia's lead to just six points. But Saric took over with a clutch three-pointer then moments later hit a tough turnaround jumper on the baseline. Croatia stretched their lead to 66-55 by the last break leaving Turkiye with too much work to do. 

Player of the game: In a game littered with stars, Saric shone brightest with a vintage all-round performance. He had picked his spots throughout the tournament, but was in attack mode from the start here and didn't relent. 

Saric hit several key shots throughout and also played tough defense on Sengun. In 35 minutes, he finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds and a leading efficiency of 31.

Stats Don't Lie: Turkiye entered shooting a remarkable 50% on three-pointers, but came out cold. They made just 1 of 13 from deep in the first half as Turkiye found themselves in a big hole. Korkmaz found his range in a spectacular third quarter, but apart from that Turkiye struggled big time nailing just 9 of 29 overall. Croatia, conversely, shot the lights out with 15 of 33 from three. 

Bottom Line: Croatia submitted an almost perfect performance to defy the rowdy fans and an opponent considered the favorite. Their trio of stars Saric,

Ivica Zubac and Mario Hezonja were all crucial during the tournament, but Croatia's role players also impressed to underline the team's impressive depth. Croatia made a first step towards re-establishing themselves as a powerhouse. 

Turkiye had rolled through to the final, but were blown away by a disciplined Croatia. They could never get going with Sengun plagued by fouls and Turkiye didn't have many other scoring options apart from Korkmaz.  A youthful Turkiye will need to learn from this bitterly disappointing performance as their Olympic drought extending to 1952 continues. 

FIBA