(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Host nations Finland and Israel both came back from improbable deficits to snatch victories on Sunday at the FIBA EuroBasket 2017, while Slovenia notched up its third win in a row.
Finland trailed by eight points with 50 seconds left in regulation but managed to secure a 90-87 victory in double overtime over Poland in Group A of Europe's basketball championships.
Group B also saw dramatic on-court action, as hosts Israel fought back from 16 points down in the final nine minutes to beat Germany 82-80 for their first win at home in Tel Aviv.
At the Helsinki Arena, 20-year-old NBA star Lauri Markkanen scored 27 points for the Finns, including a dunk with eight seconds left to force the first overtime against Poland. He then hit a jumper with three seconds to play to force double overtime.
'Great heart, great spirit, great effort. We really left everything we had on the court, Finland coach Henrik Dettman said after the game.
'At the same time as I am extremely, extremely happy for the win, my heart is bleeding that there is only one team that can win this. But that's basketball, we were the lucky ones.
Petteri Koponen added 21 points for Finland, who improved to 2-1 with their second win that was not decided in regulation, after they beat France on the opening day of the competition in overtime. Poland got 18 points from US-born shooting guard AJ Slaughter but dropped to 0-3 in the group.
Meanwhile, Slovenia remained undefeated in Group A in Helsinki as teenage sensation Luka Doncic scored a game-high 22 points and veteran guard Goran Dragic added 20 points in Slovenia's 78-72 win over Greece.
'I told him ‘You are the future of the Slovenian national team'... I mean, he's only 18 years old and you can see what he can do, said Dragic, who will be retiring from the national team after this summer.
'I'm really proud of him and the whole of Slovenia is proud to have this kind of diamond in our country. Slovenia are now 3-0 atop Group A while Greece are 1-2 despite Kostas Sloukas picking up 18 points and six assists in the loss.
Earlier in Group A, France secured a dominant 115-79 victory over Iceland for their second win. Nando De Colo led the 2013 European champions with 16 points, while Edwin Jackson and Kevin Seraphin both chipped in 14 points as every France player scored and grabbed at least one rebound.
Les Bleus improved to 2-1 in the group in Helsinki after an opening day loss to Finland. Iceland got 23 points from Jon Stefansson but they were not enough as the team dropped to 0-3. In Group B action, Richard Howell had 23 points, nine rebounds and seven steals for Israel while Omri Casspi picked up 20 points and 11 rebounds and Guy Pnini scored 15 points, including a three-pointer with 28 seconds left to give Israel the lead and the win.
'This is a big win that makes a lot of people happy, said Israeli head coach Erez Edelstein, whose team moved to 1-2 while opponents Germany are now 2-1. Germany were paced by Dennis Schroder's 20 points while Daniel Theis had 15 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.
Group B also saw a battle of basketball giants with Lithuania handing Italy their first loss of the tournament with a 78-73 win to give both teams 2-1 records. Adas Juskevicius came off the Lithuania bench and led the team in scoring with 20 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 13 points and eight rebounds. Luigi Datome top-scored for Italy with 24 points including four three-pointers. Ukraine tipped off the day in Tel Aviv with a surprise as they beat Georgia 88-81 for their first victory of the tournament.
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