The Spanish Basketball Federation announced Thursday that Abrines wouldn’t play in Spain’s critical third Group B game against Nigeria because of a sore left knee. The rest of the red-and-white shot 18-of-50 and the Croatians’ two other National Basketball Association players, Mario Hezonja and Dario Saric, finished with a combined 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting. Three-point shooting was one of the biggest difference-makers in this one, with Nigeria lighting it up from outside to the tune of 17-36 from behind the arc. Croatia roared back but Nigeria held on to lead 43-39 at half time.
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It was a total team performance from the D’Tigers as Mike Umeh ended the game with 19 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists; while Ebi Ere had 14 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds.
The statistics show the problem for the Croatian team: Nigeria had 45 rebounds, while Croats had 34. Former NBA player Ike Diogu was one of the biggest contributors for Nigeria, crashing the glass for a game-high 12 boards.
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Bogdanovic scored 28 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-6 from deep. With the loss, Croatia is no longer in contention for the No. 1 seed, while Nigeria remains alive thanks to their first win of the preliminary round.
