By Rigas Dardalis/ dardalis@eurohoops.net
The favorite prevail in the game between Ukraine and Croatia. The team of coach Jasmin Repesa continues to be the hottest in the tournament, having won eight straight games after losing to Spain in the first day and returns to Eurobasket semifinals for the first time since 1995.
The final score 84-72 was as Krunoslav Simon scored 23 points and his team had a 19 points lead (61-42) in the 23rd minute. Ukraine cut the lead to nine points (70-61) in the start of the final quarter, but couldn’t do much else as they shot 3/21 three pointers. Croatia had also the advantage of a loud crowd cheering for them, as many fans have crossed the borders and traveled to nearby Slovenia in order to attend the game.