By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
In one of the most fascinating (and definitely the most intense) games of the Olympic tournament so far, Argentina imposed its will on Croatia, winning 90 – 82 and making the 2-0 in Group A.
Luis Scola provided the lot for the winners with 23 points and 9 rebounds, while Manu Ginobili and Nicolas Laprovittola added 13 points each. Facu Campazzo scored 10 points and dished 8 assists.
For the Croatian side, Dario Saric neared a triple-double (19 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists) with his performance. Mario Hezonja filled the opposing basket with 16 points (4/6 three-pointers).
The “Albiceleste” had already gained a 46-40 advantage at halftime thanks to the unmatched dominance of Luis Scola who scored 16 points in the first two quarters of the game. But it wasn’t until the third period that they truly ran rampant over their opponents.
In the first six minutes of the second half, Argentina was absolutely furious, dropping 18 points (!) while receiving only 5 by their opponents, expanding its lead to 19, 64 – 45.
Croatia made a big effort to come back, applying various forms of full court pressure that paid off enough to give them a fighting chance. First they made it a single-digit game and then they even became quite threatening by reducing their deficit to four, 85 – 81 after a put-back basket by Saric, with one minute left.
They could have even “stolen” the match but Simon missed a wide open downtown shot, that would have made it a one-point game, 33 seconds before the end of the match.