The basketball players said goodbye to their members with a win over Israel, and Greece is waiting for them

Prague – Czech basketball players defeated Israel 88:77 in the final match of Prague Group D at the European Championship and advanced from fourth place to the round of 16. On Sunday, they will face Greece in Berlin, who dominated Milan’s Group C without hesitation. Tomáš Satoranský, who added eight rebounds to 14 points and 11 assists, completed a double double in the O2 Arena in front of 12,174 spectators. The best scorer was captain Vojtěch Hruban with 25 points, Jan Veselý gave 16 points.

Coach Ronen Ginzburg, who has also been a Czech citizen for two years, celebrated advancing in a direct match against his native country. Even Yam Madar’s 16 points did not prevent Israel’s defeat, the Czechs kept scorer Deni Avdija from Washington to 12 points.

The only Czech representative for the next season in the NBA, Vít Krejčí from Oklahoma, just like David Jelínek, did not get into the game. As in the opening duel with Poland on Friday and Finland on Tuesday, Satoranský was not missing from the lineup, who was limited after an ankle injury on his right leg and had two points and 16 assists in two games.

“Today we eliminated a team from my home country, which I love, like its people, but it’s a sport. There was a lot of pressure on both sides, including me, but at the end of the day it’s really just a sport,” Ginzburg said.

“Once again, it was played in a wonderful atmosphere, which is great for Czech basketball. We started well, as almost always, but then it became clear to me that at some point Israel will be able to come back, because it is a good team with a good coach. But I am I’m glad that we showed a lion’s heart and took the match,” said Ginzburg. “It’s important that we overcame all the problems and went into the match with everything today. For all of Czech basketball, I am happy that we advanced. In the past, we have already performed some miracles, so we will see in the playoffs,” he added.

The Czechs entered with black belts due to the death of a family member of one of the members of the implementation team. In the beginning, they led twice thanks to the baskets of Veselý and Martin Peterka, to which Israel responded with two three-pointers by Guy Pnini, and the home team had to catch up, as Yam Madar made the next one to make it 11:8.

Satoranský and Jaromír Bohačík reduced the score with a three-pointer, to which Pnini responded with a third shot from distance, but Ginzburg’s selection with an eleven-point streak, which was started by three-pointers from Satoranský and captain Vojtěch Hruban, won the lead 24:14. It was only interrupted by another Israeli triple played by Rafael Menc.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Czechs led three times already by 12 points thanks to Hruban, who first scored three points and then two, and then Jaromír Bohačík’s triple. The nine-point streak, in which Satoranský was also the best with four points, gave the Czech team a 46:27 lead. The Israelis answered with six points in a row, but their scorer Avdija remained at only four points at halftime, and the Czechs went to the locker room with 16 points after a three-pointer by Tomáš Kyzlinka.

They started the second half with a three-pointer by Menca and the Israelis reduced it, as the Czechs gave almost five only five points thanks to Veselý’s dunk and Hruban’s three-pointer. A six-point streak then put Israel at 50:58, and after Madara’s basket and Avdija’s six, Tomer Ginat was reduced to just five points. Satoranský answered with a three. An unsuccessful third quarter got Ginzburg’s selection into trouble, Madar brought the Israelis even closer to 61:65.

Avdija started the last quarter with a three-pointer and found himself with two points. Right after that, Satoranský had a three-point fly just as accurately and started a 13-0 streak, which included three-pointers by Hruban and Martin Kříž. Ginat started the shootout from a distance and Hruban on the other side. Thanks to a 9-0 run, Israel corrected to 77-83. But Kyzlink’s converted free throw and Hruban’s shot meant insurance. Hruban sealed the result with two sixes.

“We are lucky for this win because it was a tough group for us in the end. We didn’t enter the tournament with the right setup, we had a lot of injuries before the start, a lot happened so it was very difficult, of course we felt the expectations of our fans. But they also kept pushing us forward and were great. To finally reward them with this victory and promotion is a great thing,” said Hruban.

After the second win in five games, the Czechs could celebrate their promotion to the playoffs. “Today we played two different halves, the first was excellent for us, with great energy, but in the third quarter, as almost always, we are a little ahead and Israel managed to come back. But in the end, our will and determination and hard work celebrated success,” he added Chubby.

The basketball players of Greece won for the fifth time, but Adetokunbo was injured

The basketball players of Greece ended the basic European Championship in Milan with a clear 90:69 win over Estonia. Before Sunday’s round of 16 with the Czech team in Berlin, however, he is dealing with an injury to NBA star Janis Adetokunbo.

The 2019 and 2020 NBA MVP injured his ankle following a foul by Kerr Kriisa. Nevertheless, he managed to score 25 points and with nineteen minutes played he was the best scorer of the match.

However, according to coach Dimitris Itudis, last year’s NBA champion is fine with Milwaukee. “He went to the dressing room to rehabilitate and ice, and it was clear that he would not play. However, he is fine,” said the Greek coach.

Greece, which had a full squad available for the first time in the tournament after the recovery of Kostas Adetokunbo, also won their fifth match at the championship. They will enter the elimination battles on Sunday in Berlin against the Czech team.

“The first part is over and the new tournament is starting. We have to be completely focused in Germany,” said captain Kostas Papanikolau, who contributed eight goals to the win over Estonia.

Group C (Milan):

Croatia – Ukraine 90:85 (21:21, 45:42, 67:67), Greece – Estonia 90:69 (27:21, 51:36, 77:49),

21:00 Great Britain – Italy.

table:

Group D (Prague):

Czechia – Israel 88:77 (26:17, 53:37, 67:62)

Lineup and points of the Czech Republic: Veselý 16, Satoranský 14, J. Bohačík 8, Kyzlink 8, Peterka 2 – Hruban 25, Kříž 6, Balvín 5, Auda 4, Sehnal.

Israel’s most points: Madar 16, Ginat 15, Avdija and Menco 12 each.

Fouls: 12:19. Free throws: 13.9. – 11.8. Three-pointers: 13:9. Rebounds: 43:29. Spectators: 12,174.

Finland – Netherlands 88:67 (26:11, 48:31, 76:49),

21:00 Serbia – Poland.

table:

Europe Israel Basketball Men