By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
At the beginning of the 2023 FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament, with Group A hosted in Tallinn’s Tondiraba Ice Hall, nobody was expecting Estonia to advance against two traditional powers like Israel and the Czech Republic.
However, being forced to beat the former in front of its fans, Estonia miraculously pulled the upset to get the 67-65, coming back from a 12-point deficit in the third quarter against the Israeli national team.
Dinamo Sassari’s own Kaspar Treier was crucial in Estonia’s win with 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists, closing things up at the end with a clutch two-point play. On the other side, Roman Sorkin went close to a double-double with 18 points and 9 rebounds, while Bar Timor added 15 points.
Despite North Macedonia’s defeat against the Czech Republic earlier in the day, Estonia, and Israel managed to therefore advance to the semifinals, likely waiting for Poland and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final phases of the tournament to book a ticket for next year’s FIBA Pre-Olympic Tournaments.
The newest Paris Basketball player TJ Shorts tried his best to keep North Macedonia afloat with 27 points and 5 assists while shooting 10/15 from the field, but Vit Krejci’s all-around game made of 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists was crucial for the final 94-82 win by Diego Ocampo’s team.
PHOTO CREDIT: 2023 FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament