ALLAN THE MAN

FIBA EuroBasket 2013: Tony Parker's late show broke Ukraine's resistance and propelled France to a 77-71 victory on Sunday that puts them on the brink of qualifying for the Second Round of EuroBasket 2013. 

Previously unbeaten, Mike Fratello's side were emboldened by an early run and gave as good as they got for 33 minutes, shooting efficiently from the perimeter and putting Les Bleus under pressure.

Ultimately Parker stepped up and carried his team home. "He made every shot," reflected Fratello, whose side must beat Great Britain on Monday to guarantee their place in the next phase.

The San Antonio Spurs guard, however, was relieved at securing a third consecutive win following another testing examination. "It was a tough game," Parker said. "Ukraine is a very very good team. They play great basketball. They proved it at the very beginning of the tournament and they made it very hard for us. They packed it in the paint. They forced us to take outside shots and we were struggling the whole game."

The Czech Republic's dynamic duo of Tomas Satoransky and Jan Vesely, also put on an unforgettable show in Celje where they led their team past Georgia in Group C to stay alive in the EuroBasket.

CROATIA vs SLOVENIA.

Croatia came up with arguably the biggest result of the day. Jasmin Repesa's team finally managed to let some of the air out of the Slovenia balloon by upsetting the host nation, 76-74, in an overtime classic in Sunday's last game in Celje.

Slovenia raced into a 13-point lead in the second half and looked set to pull away for a big win but Croatia held their nerve, got a huge 24-point, two-block performance from Bojan Bogdanovic and battled back to force overtime. Goran Dragic had 23 points in defeat for Slovenia.

SPAIN vs POLAND.

With Spain winning 89-53 earlier against Poland - they led 25-5 after the first quarter - the two-time defending champions are now on top of Group C on goal differential ahead of Slovenia and Croatia with all three teams 3-1.

Both Poland and Georgia  (0-4) have no chance of making it to the next round.

FINLAND vs RUSSIA.

In Group D, the Finns, after opening the tournament with victories over Turkey and Sweden and a heavy defeat to Italy, prevailed 86-83 in double overtime against Russia on Sunday. Gerald Lee's dunk with 1:27 left put the Finns in front to stay.

Shawn Huff finished with 20 points and nine rebounds for Finland.

"We played against a great basketball country," Finland coach Henrik Dettman said. "We knew we would have it tough since the beginning, but we are improving a bit every day."

The loss has ended Russia's hopes of advancing, which means they cannot qualify for the World Cup.

Only the top six teams in Slovenia will advance to next year's tournament. If 2014 hosts Spain are in the first six, then the top seven sides will progress.

Greece, who sealed their place in the next round on Saturday, began as favorites against Italy on Sunday in Group D's second game but Simone Pianigiani's side won their showdown, 81-72.

Marco Belinelli had 23 points for Italy and Gigi Datome added 19 as the Azzurri stretched their unbeaten start to four victories.

"This is the win of my players and my staff," Pianigiani said. "Not mine. I am very proud of them. They did an incredible job."

The game feature two Italian coaches, with Andrea Trinchieri at the helm of the Greeks.

TURKEY vs SWEDEN.

Turkey defeated Sweden 87-74 in Group D's other game.

ISRAEL vs BELGIUM.

The big surprise on Sunday in Group A came when Israel finally won a game, thrashing Belgium, 87-69.

Belgium will now go after their third win on Monday against France. But if they lose, they can still advance if Ukraine defeat Great Britain.

Israel and Germany have no chance of progressing.

BOSNIA vs HERZEGOVINA vs FYR MACEDONIA.

There have been plenty of fireworks in Group B, and the latest action there saw Bosnia and Herzegovina defeat The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonnia (MKD), 62-54, with Mirza Teletovic pouring in 22 points.

SERBIA vs LATVIA.

Serbia bounced back from their defeat to MKD by winning against Latvia, 80-71

Lithuania won the last game of the night against Montenegro, 77-70.

Macedonia and Montenegro have no chance of progressing.

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