For the first time at EuroBasket 2022, all 24 teams were in action on Saturday.
EuroBasket: Eight perfect teams share group leads after busy third day
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Group A: Spain, Turkey remain unbeaten
Turkey broke open a close game late to eventually defeat Bulgaria 87-101 in Tbilisi, Georgia, and stay perfect after two games. Thanks to a stellar Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos Piraeus, Bulgaria was within 73-77 with less than 9 minutes to play before Turkey (2-0) pulled away steadily to the victory. Back-to-back EuroLeague champion Shane Larkin combined 13 points with 9 assists for the winners, who got 25 points from Cedi Osman and 20 from Alperen Sengun. Sehmus Hazer and Melih Mahmutoglu of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul added 10 and 9 points, respectively. Vezenkov finished with a monster double-double of 28 points and 15 rebounds while Dee Bost had 12 points and 13 assists for Bulgaria (0-2).
Two dominant middle quarters pushed Spain to a 2-0 record on Saturday, too, thanks to a 64-90 win over Georgia. The Spaniards won the game's first and fourth quarters by just 2 points each, but exploded for a 31-53 difference in the second and third to waltz to victory. Willy Hernangomez led the charge with 14 points while Jaime Pradilla of Valencia Basket came off the bench for 12 points. Seven other players scored between 7 and 9 points for Spain, including Pradilla's Valencia teammate, Xabi Lopez-Arostegui, Rudy Fernandez of Real Madrid and Joel Parra of Joventut Badalona.
Earlier, Montenegro notched its first Group A victory by turning back Belgium by 76-70 behind a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds from Valencia Basket center Bojan Dubljevic. Montenegro (1-1) used a 7-0 run starting late in the first quarter to take control at 15-8 and lead for the rest of the game, including by a high of 70-50 early in the final quarter. Kendrick Perry added 19 points and Vladimir Mihailovic 14 for the winners while new LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne guard Retin Obasohan poured in 25 for Belgium (1-1).
Group B: Germany, Slovenia share top spot
It was a tale of two halves as Germany became the first 2-0 team in Group B by downing Bosnia and Herzegovina 92-82 before a delighted home crowd in Cologne. A three-pointer and a dunk by Johannes Voigtmann, signed on Friday by EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, sparked a 12-0 run to open the second half and send Germany clear to the win. Dennis Schroder and Franz Wagner paced the winners with 18 points each. Johannes Theimann of ALBA Berlin added 14 and Andreas Obst of FC Bayern Munich 13 while Voigtmann scored 10. Real Madrid newcomer Dzanan Musa shot 13 for 17 from the field to lead Bosnia (1-1) with 30 points while Jusuf Nurkic added 21.
In a pitched battle for a first win by either, France used defense to break a late tie and defeat Lithuania 73-77. France (1-1) used 4 steals within 58 seconds to turn a 64-64 scoreboard into a 64-71 advantage with 2 minutes left that held up til the finish. Lithuania (2-0) had led by as many as 13 points in the first half and trailed only briefly until then. Evan Fournier led France with 27 points while Guerschon Yabusele of Real Madrid followed with 9. Jonas Valanciunas led Lithuania with 15 points while Rokas Jokubaitis of FC Barcelona added 14.
Defending champion Slovenia took off early and never looked back for a 88-103 win over Hungary that left it tied at 2-0 with Germany for top spot in the group. Luka Doncic, the former EuroLeague MVP, had 20 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in less than 20 minutes to lead the effort. Klemen Prepelic of Valencia followed with 14 points while Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana teammates Zoran Dragic and Edo Muric scored 11 each.
Group C: Greece, Ukraine reach 2-0
Ukraine won its second game in as many days in spectacular fashion, stunning Estonia 73-74 to sit atop the group in Milan, Italy. Illya Sidorov of 7DAYS EuroCup newcomer Prometey Slobozhanske gave Ukraine its only lead of the game – but the only one that counted – with a heads-up put-back of a blocked shot with 55 seconds left that stood as the final points of the night. Sidorov combined with his Prometey teammates Issuf Sanon and Ivan Tkachenko for 31 points while Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk led Ukraine (2-0) with 18 points. Maik Kotsar of Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz paced Estonia (0-2), which had managed to stay ahead or tied for all but the final minute of a tight game, with 17 points and 9 rebounds.
Greece joined Ukraine as group leaders by staying one step ahead of host Italy all night for an 85-81 win and a 2-0 record. The Greek lead peaked at 15 points, 71-56, late in the third quarter, but Italy had a chance to tie in the closing until its pair of three-point tries missed. Giannis Antetokounmpo led Greece's charge with 25 points and 11 rebounds while Tyler Dorsey poured in 23 more points. Simone Fontecchio was Italy's top scorer with 26 points, while Achille Polonara of Efes added 14 and Stefano Tonut of Milan 13.
Croatia made sure to join the Group C win column with a resounding 65-86 win over Great Britain. Mario Hezonja of Real Madrid registered a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds for the winners. The trio of Dario Saric, Bojan Bogdanovic and Ivica Zubic scored 15 points each for Croatia (1-1). The game was as close as 31-37 at halftime, but a 9-35 third-quarter difference decided it for the Croats, who never trailed on the scoreboard. Miles Hesson led Great Britain (0-2) with 18 points.
Group D: Serbia, Israel stay perfect
Serbia improved to 2-0 atop Group D by controlling Czech Republic 68-81 in Prague. Serbia took over with a 2-12 first-quarter run and was never threatened again, holding double-digit leads for most of the remaining time. Nikola Jokic paced the victory with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Vasilije Micic, the back-to-back EuroLeague Final Four MVP from Efes, followed with 13 points and 6 assists. Baskonia's Vanja Marinkovic scored 11 points and Nikola Kalinic of FC Barcelona 10. Vojtech Hruban of London Lions joined Vit Krejci in scoring 13 points each for Czech Republic (0-2).
Israel remained unbeaten to share the Group D lead by turning back Netherlands 67-74. Down 62-61 with less than 3 minutes left, Israel went on a 2-9 run sparked by Deni Avdija to seal the victory. Avdija led all scorers with 21 points while Yam Madar of Partizan NIS Belgrade scored 14 and Roman Sorkin of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv added 10 and a team-high 6 rebounds.
Finland raced away from Poland for a handy 89-59 victory, its first in Group D, early on Saturday. A 26-16 first-quarter edge just kept expanding until the game-high 30-point final margin. Sasu Salin drilled 6 three-pointers for a team-high 18 points and Lauri Markkanen added 17 for Finland (1-1), whose defense held Poland (1-1) to 31.4% field goal shooting.