By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Despite starting the tournament with three defeats, New Zealand may just squeeze its way to the second round in the nick of time. The first step was made with a 73-61 win over Ukraine (2-2) which lost the chance to secure a place in the 16 best teams of FIBA World Cup. Kirk Penney with 17 points was the top scorer of the winners which got the lead in the second quarter and kept it until the end. To be exact New Zealand was on the driver’s seat for most of the second half, getting a 16 points lead (66-50) with five minutes to go.
In a do or die game, Finland played a great first half and got a 41-27 lead over Turkey, but in the end the game was decided after overtime. “Dev Adam” made an epic come back and tied the score at 68 thanks to a three pointer by Cenk Akyol as Finland decided not to foul in order to avoid the extra time. Peteri Koponen lost at the buzzer the potential winning shot and in the last three minutes of overtime the score was 4-0 in favor of the Turks (77-73) who have now a 2-2 record, while Finland dropped to 1-3.
In the last game of the night, Team USA demolished the Dominican Republic (106-71) which played without injured Francisco Garcia. The players of “coach K” after a slow start (25-22 in the first period) imposed their will against a weak opponent. Once again Kenneth Faried with 16 points was the top scorer of the winners
Standings
USA 4-0
Dominican Republic 2-2
Ukraine 2-2
Turkey 2-2
New Zealand 1-3
Finland 1-3