RIGA, Latvia — Elias Valtonen scored eight points in the final two minutes to help Finland stun Serbia and Nikola Jokic 92-86 Saturday in the round of 16 at the EuroBasket tournament.
Jokic finished with a game-high 33 points, but it was Finland that came up with the big shots late to spring the biggest upset of the tournament so far.
Serbia scored six unanswered points to take a 77-75 lead in the fourth quarter, but Valtonen’s 3-pointer with two minutes left put the Finns up 82-78. He then added a tip-in and another trey to help Finland pull away.
Jokic’s 3-pointer from way out with 16 seconds left pulled Serbia within five, but Finland easily saw out the win.
“They played a great game. From the start we didn’t come ready,” said Jokic, whose team trailed 11-1 early. “I just wasn’t ready from the jump.”
It was Finland’s first win over Serbia since 2009. The Serbs came into the tournament as one of the favorites but exit in the round of 16 for the second straight time.
Finland finished with 20 offensive rebounds, which Jokic called “just unacceptable.”
“We knew what they were doing, we prepared well, we watched film, still they managed to just be better and more physical than us,” the Denver Nuggets star said.
Lauri Markkanen led Finland with 29 points and Valtonen finished with 13. In the quarterfinals, Finland will face either Olympic silver medalist France or Georgia, who play on Sunday.
Earlier Saturday, Turkey, Germany and Lithuania also advanced.
NBA All-Star Alperen Sengun scored 24 points as Turkey held off Sweden to win 85-79. World Cup winner Germany struggled early against Portugal before pulling away for an 85-58 victory, and Lithuania withstood a late comeback attempt to beat tournament co-host Latvia 88-79 in Riga. Arnas Velicka led three-time champion Lithuania with 21 points and 12 assists.
Sengun, a forward with the Houston Rockets, added 16 rebounds and six assists in a stellar performance against Sweden, which drew level at 76-76 thanks to Ludvig Hakanson’s 3-pointer with just under three minutes left.
Hakanson led the Swedes with 16 points, while Panathinaikos forward Cedi Osman chipped in with 17 points for Turkey.
Germany overcomes shooting struggles
Portugal led 32-31 at halftime and trailed by only one point after three quarters before Germany limited it to just seven points the rest of the way.
The Germans struggled to deal with Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Germany captain Dennis Schroder, who faced racial abuse during a game against Lithuania a week ago, and Franz Wagner both scored 16 points despite shooting a combined 0-for-11 from 3-point range. In the first half, Germany made only 1 of 18 attempts from beyond the arc.
A moment’s silence was held before tipoff in memory of the victims of the Lisbon streetcar accident in Portugal.
What’s coming up next?
Turkey will play either Poland or Bosnia-Herzegovina for a spot in the semifinals. Germany will take on either Italy or Slovenia, which boasts the in-form Luka Dončić, and Lithuania faces Greece or Israel.
The remaining last-16 matches are on Sunday.
Defending champion Spain was eliminated Thursday in the group stage by Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Greece.
The quarterfinals begin Tuesday.
Discover more from 6up.net
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
