Saric finished with five points, seven rebounds and five assists in addition to his lone blocked shot.
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The two National Basketball Association big men battled in the pain on the decisive play after an inbounds pass to Gasol under the basket. In the end, it was Saric that saved a two-point lead at the buzzer with a block on Pau Gasol, securing the Croatia victory.
“We need to keep our heads up and move forward”, Mirotic said. I will do my best to bring a medal, to do a good job for all of us.
Bojan Bogdanovic of the Brooklyn Nets paced the Croats with 23 points while Darko Planinic and Krunoslav Simon combined for 21 points. That block was like cherry on the cake, Saric said, via The Vertical, because the team fight all the time.. “I think that right now he’s an National Basketball Association player, it’s good for him”.
Rubio and Spain will next play on Tuesday against Brazil at 2:15 p.m. Brazil fell 82-76 to Lithuania on Sunday afternoon. “We can not be satisfied with this victory”. If things hold to form, the final spot in the quarterfinals could come down to a game between rivals Argentina and Brazil, who play on Saturday. “But it’s only one victory”.
Even without Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol on the roster, Spain were the prohibitive favorites to defeat Croatia in their Rio opener, and they appeared well on their way, up 12 with under three minutes left in the third.
“We managed to be in control until the fourth quarter”, said Scariolo, who cited five turnovers and five offensive rebounds by Croatia as last-quarter blunders. He did almost force a turnover in the final minute on an inbounding play.
“When we tied the game, the Spanish team entered into the panic”, Petrovic said.
With Spain’s depth at point guard, which includes Ricky Rubio and Jose Calderon also vying for minutes at the position, along with their superior talent level, overall depth, and experience, Saric will be asked to carry a much heavier burden for Croatia than Rodriguez will with Spain, giving Sixers fans a great opportunity to see what Saric can do.
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Simon added two free throws to stretch the margin, Mirotic answered with a 3-pointer for Spain and Saric added a free throw to create the final margin.
