EuroBasket 2013: Spain downs Czech; Sweden upsets Russia (VIDEOS)

Sunday, September 8, 2013

EuroBasket 2013: Spain downs Czech; Sweden upsets Russia (VIDEOS)

Jeffery Taylor scored 25 points and Sweden upset Russia 81-62 for its first win at the European basketball championship on Saturday.

Russia, the Olympic bronze medalist last year and bronze medalist at the Europeans two years ago, now looks unlikely to make the second round after three straight defeats. Sweden is 1-2.

SPAIN vs CZECH REPUBLIC.

defending champion Spain limited the Czech Republic to two points in the final quarter in Celje and ran away with a 60-39 victory despite its own poor shooting. Spain missed its last seven 3-point attempts and was marginally more effective than the Czechs in the fourth, only outscoring the Czechs 4-2 in the final quarter until less than three minutes remained in the game.

The Czechs shot 24 percent from the field and Spain 32 percent. The Czechs pulled within five late in the third quarter but Spain then clamped down on defense.

Rudy Fernandez had 14 points and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio added 10 for Spain. Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol scored his only basket halfway into the third quarter but pulled down 10 rebounds. Spain is 2-1 in Group C.

Washington Wizards forward Jan Vesely had seven points and 14 rebounds and Lubos Barton had 12 rebounds and five points for the Czechs, who fell to 1-2.

SLOVENIA vs GEORGIA.

Slovenia stayed perfect by edging Georgia 72-68. Slovenia held off Georgia as Domen Lorbek scored eight of his 18 points with the game on the line. Zoran Dragic also made a jumper with six seconds remaining to secure the victory.

Viktor Sanikidze had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Ricky Hickman added 19 points for Georgia, which is 1-2.

GREECE vs TURKEY.

Greece also went to 3-0 by beating winless Turkey 84-61. Playing without the injured guard Vassilis Spanoulis, Greece shot 61.5 percent from the field and made 10 of 15 three-point shots. Center Yannis Bourousis led Greece with 21 points and guard Nikos Zisis had 11 assists.

ITALY vs FINLAND.

Italy cruised past Finland 62-44 in Koper. Luigi Datome had 10 points. Finland fell to 2-1.

CROATIA vs POLAND.

Croatia let a seemingly secure lead slip away before holding on for a 74-70 victory over winless Poland in Celje. Croatia's Bojan Bogdanovic led all scorers with 23 points, while Michal Ignerski had 22 points and 12 rebounds for Poland.

SWEDEN vs RUSSIA.

Detroit Pistons forward Jonas Jerebko added 22 points and 13 rebounds for Sweden in the Group D game in Koper. Sweden pulled away in the final quarter after leading for most of the game. Aleksey Shved had 15 points for Russia and Semen Antonov added 13.