The second phase of Eurobasket 2015 is underway in the Stade Pierre Mouroy in Lille as a capacity crowd of around 25,000 is expected towards the end of the night when France host Turkey. But until then, there are three more games to whet the appetite.
LATVIA OUTGUN SLOVENIA
Latvia have advanced to the quarter-finals of Eurobasket for the first time since 2001 as they defeated Slovenia 73-66 in the first game of the day at the Stade Pierre Mouroy.
Both teams shot the ball woefully from the field throughout the first half, especially the Latvians, who could not connect on seven straight three-point attempts. But a timely triple from Kristaps Janicenoks mid-way through the final quarter sparked a game-changing 8-0 run that gave the Baltic nation a 67-57 lead and put them out of sight.
Janis Strelnieks led the victors with 17 points with Kaspars Berzins adding 13. Zoran Dragic paced Slovenia with 17, but the team shot 36 percent from the field which led to their elimination.
STRONG SECOND HALF SEES GREECE TAME LIONS
Greece breezed past Belgium 75-54 in the second game of the Eurobasket second round in Lille.
Leading 34-31 at the half, the Greeks went up a gear in the third and gradually built up a double-digit lead and from there, Greece went on a 12-0 burst in the final quarter to firmly put the game beyond reach.
Veteran Ioannis Bourousis led Greece with 14 points. Pierre-Antoine Gillet paced Belgium with 14 points as well.
GASOL HITS SIX THREE-POINTERS AS SPAIN PROGRESS
Pau Gasol hit a game-high 30 points including six three-pointers as Spain beat Poland 80-66 to qualify for the quarter-finals.
With the game tied at 55-55 heading into the final quarter, Spain, inspired by Gasol went on a 17-2 tear in the fourth to seal the game.
Damian Kulig led the battling Poles with 10 points.
More on Spain’s win over Poland here
FRANCE SEE OFF TURKEY IN-FRONT OF RECORD CROWD
France breezed past Turkey 76-53 to advance to the last eight in a game witnessed by a new European attendance record of 26,135.
France assumed complete control of a cagey contest after an Evan Fournier steal and subsequent dunk to tie the scores at 25-25 midway through the second period.
This started a 14-1 run into the third quarter that proved too much for the Turks as they faded in the fourth, only connecting on 19 of their 59 total field goals.
Nando De Colo led France with 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Photo: FIBA
