A dozen or so points of advantage ended in drama. The Games escaped Polish basketball players

The Poles came out with a slightly changed line-up for the “everything” clash with Finland. Instead of Andrzej Mazurczak, the match was started by AJ Slaughter, who could not count the match with the Bahamas as successful. The duel with the team from northern Europe ended in a victory of the rivals 89:88. This means that the White and Reds are saying goodbye to their dreams of playing in Paris.

The Poles showed a tough game to their rivals in the first half

Even before the referee’s first throw, the stands in the Valencia arena were filled with “Polish people, we are with you”. The fans of the White and Reds must have shouted a lot, because there were many fans of Finnish players in the arena. The match itself began with the ineffectiveness of both teams. After 3.5 minutes, the scoreboard showed 4:4. Later, the White and Reds successfully caught their opponents for fouls. Due to numerous fouls, the Finnish coach had to react with changes, and this fueled the Poles. They quickly took a lead of several points, which at the same time increased the pace of the game. At the end of the quarter, the opponents made up for the losses, provoking the Poles to foul.

The second quarter was more advantageous for the White and Reds. Jeremy Sochan, who was often fouled by the opponents, did well. The opponents attacked the Poles so often that five minutes before the end of the first half they had no limit. Each foul meant personal throws for Milicic’s players. This meant they could score more points and “escape” their opponents. They went into the break with a lead of 47:38.

The Finns’ pursuit ended with a Polish drama

The third quarter began with a fast pace of throws. The Finns immediately rushed to make up for the losses, among others thanks to threes. But the Poles also responded with points. AJ Slaughter entered the third period brilliantly, immediately hitting two three-pointers. After a moment, the Poles had a 13-point advantage. They could have had more, but their free throws were not very good. They were balancing on the verge of 50 percent effectiveness, which with a high number of attempts meant many “unsaved” points. Although the Finns were constantly losing more than 10 points, they constantly made it clear that they did not intend to throw in the towel.

The Poles were leading by 11 points in the last 10 minutes of the game. The Finns were “sitting” on three-point shots, which heralded excitement. The rivals were making up for the losses, so that with 5 minutes left in the game, the advantage of the fourth team of EuroBasket 2022 was reduced to two points. Alexander Madsen was playing well, constantly biting Milicić’s team. With two minutes left, the White and Reds had only a point advantage. Earlier, Mateusz Ponitka had unnecessarily fouled his opponent, which was interpreted as an unsportsmanlike offense.

After a few dozen seconds, the Finns took the lead for the first time at the beginning of the match. After a while, however, the White and Reds were once again one step ahead of their opponent. The end was marked by nervous play by the Poles, who again faced the task of making up for the losses at the end. 18 seconds before the end of the match, Milicić called for a timeout, drawing the final action. It was of no use, because none of the attempts ended in success. The Finns maintained the lead 89:88 and advanced to the semi-finals.

Poland Says Goodbye to Olympic Dreams

The most effective Polish player in the match was AJ Slaughter (21 points). The Finns advanced to the semi-finals of the qualifying tournament from second place. This means that in the clash for the final they will face the host and favorite of the tournament – Spain. Sergio Scariolo’s team had no problems in defeating Angola and Lebanon in Group A. The match will take place on Saturday, July 6. In the other semi-final, Lebanon will play against the Bahamas. The Poles will play in Paris only in the 3×3 basketball version.