The Round of 16 at EuroBasket 2022 concluded with four games on Sunday in Berlin.
EuroBasket: Finland, Greece, Italy, Poland to quarterfinals
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Slaughter shines as Poland rises
In Sunday’s first game, Poland outlasted Ukraine 86-94 to set up a quarterfinals duel against Slovenia. A.J Slaughter led the way with 24 points, his Gran Canaria teammate Aleksandar Balcerowski posted 14 points and Mateusz Ponitka tallied 22 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists to lead Poland. After Prometey Slobozhanske swingman Ivan Tkachenko’s three-pointer gave Ukraine a 76-74 lead early in the fourth quarter, Ponitka scored 10 points in a 2-13 run that gave Poland control for good. Ukraine rallied to within 2 in the final minutes, but was unable to complete the comeback. Vyacheslav Bobrov scored 15 to lead Ukraine, Prometey guard Issuf Sanon accounted for 13 points and 8 assists and Gran Canaria center Artem Pustovyi also scored 13.
Finland rides Markkanen's big game
Finland took charge late to eliminate Croatia with a 94-86 victory. Lauri Markkanen poured in 43 points and grabbed 9 rebounds to lead Finland, which will face Spain in the quarterfinals. Sasu Salin added 17 points for the winners. With the score tied at 77-77 with less than 5 minutes remaining, Four different players scored for Finland in a 10-0 run that put Croatia on the ropes. After Croatia drew within 5, a triple by Markkanen with 28.5 seconds remaining proved to be the knockout punch. Bojan Bogdanovic led Croatia with 23 points and ALBA Berlin guard Jaleen Smith added 17.
Italy rallies past Serbia
Italy punched its ticket to the quarterfinals by rallying past Serbia 86-94. Marco Spissu of Umana Reyer Venice shined with 22 points and 6 assists, Nicolo Melli of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan netted 21 points and Achille Polonara of Anadolu Efes Istanbul produced 16 points and 8 rebounds for the Italians, who will face France in the next phase. Serbia led 68-66 through three quarters before Italy turned the game on its head with a 2-16 tear to open the fourth. Spissu and Polonara combined for 14 points in that run. Nikola Jokic led the Serbian attack with 32 points and 13 rebounds, two-time defending EuroLeague champion Vasilije Micic of Efes paired 16 points with 8 assists and FC Barcelona’s Nikola Kalinic added 12 points in defeat.
Sloukas helps Greece KO the Czechs
Greece set up a quarterfinals showdown with Germany after holding off the Czech Republic 94-88 in their Round of 16 matchup. Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead Greece, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul playmaker Nick Calathes added 14 points and 6 assists, Ioannis Papapetrou of Partizan NIS Belgrade scored 13 and Olympiacos Piraeus’s Kostas Sloukas had 10. The Czechs held a 63-67 advantage entering the final stanza before Kostas Sloukas took over with 6 points in an 11-2 run that gave the Greeks an 80-72 lead with less than 5 minutes remaining. The Czech side was able to get within 4 in the closing seconds before Sloukas iced the game from the line. FC Barcelona big man Jan Vesely scored 21 for the Czechs and his Barcelona teammate Tomas Satoransky dished 17 assists in defeat.