Croatia will have a much tougher task of making it through to the quarter-finals of EuroBasket 2007 after they fell 80-75 against Israel tonight.

Jasmin Repesa’s were hoping that a win would all but secure their place in the last eight. However, following this result, they are now feeling the pressure of having to win against the defending champions Greece and/or unbeaten Russia in their two remaining games of the qualifying round.

And after the game, the defeated Croatian players knew all too well that they had let a great opportunity slip away.

“We are really stupid,” said guard Roko-Leni Ukic. “We missed a golden chance to get close to the quarter-finals. I really don’t know how we gave this game away. I’m really disappointed.”

		Kasun admitted Croatia didn't deserve to win this game

“We didn’t deserve to win this game. We were too soft in the first half. In the second half we got back into it but we weren’t on the same page,” admitted Croatia center Mario Kasun. “It’s not the basketball we played a couple of days ago, it’s frustrating but we have two more games to go.”

Zvidic Shref’s side put on an inspiring second-half performance to take a vital win which, all of a sudden, makes Group E a lot more interesting and wide-open.

“We stayed together and are all as one. We’re not like most teams, and I think that’s what got us over the hump,” offered Jeron Roberts who finished with 15 points for the winning side.

“We have the support of the whole country. We really appreciate their support.”

Amit Tamir – who did not play in the first half – was the hero of the day for Israel as he hit three three-pointers, all at the right time.

The 2.10m center made his first shot attempt, from beyond the arc, to tie the game up at 48 a piece with 2:41 left in the third quarter.

And, just over a minute later, he struck again from downtown to give his team their first lead of the second half, 53-50.

Croatia though fought back thanks in large part to the play of Marko Popovic and Mario Kasun.

After Roko-Leni Ukic made a pair of free-throws, Popovic hit a three-pointer in the first minute of the final period to put his team back in front, 56-53.

Israel didn’t relent and stayed close and went back in front, 63-61, on a pair of free-throws by Jeron Roberts.

Shref’s men though saw the momentum swing in their favour for good when Yotam Halperin and Yaniv Green worked the pick and roll to perfection and the latter concluded the play with an emphatic slam dunk that put Israel up by four, 65-61, with 4:15 left in the game.

Tamir then made his third three-pointer of the night to stretch that advantage to 68-61 and even though Croatia came back to within three, 78-75, on Kasun’s dunk with 22 seconds remaining, Israel sealed the result by making their free-throws down the stretch.

Croatia led for much of the first two quarters by using a three-point barrage – they hit seven of 15 attempts before the break – to take a 35-33 half-time lead.

However, Repesa’s side allowed Israel to stay closer than they wanted to, by sending their opponents to the free-throw line where Shref’s men were very accurate.

Accuracy from the foul line proved to be a vital factor in this game as Israel shot a sizzling 23 from 28 (82%) – with Roberts leading the way, hitting 11 of his 12 attempts – while Croatia went a respectable 17 for 25 (68%) but missed some crucial ones in the final frame.

Afterwards, Shref had a lot of praise for his troops.

“I have to tell my players they gave another great game,” he said. “We knew they were dangerous on three-pointers. In the first half, we were unsuccessful stopping them. But in the second half we left Mario Kasun alone in the post and focused on their shooters and did a great job.”

Meir Tapiro, who finished the game with 11 points, seven assists and four rebounds, admitted that the win was made even more special because of the quality of the opposition.

“It was a very, very tough game. They are very, very talented. We knew if we could keep the three-point percentage down we could win the game. We took the lead and never gave up. We still have a chance to reach the quarter-finals. But we have to rest tomororw and maybe have another good game,” he said.

Yaniv Green had a double-double of 17 points and 16 rebounds to lead the way for Israel.

Kasun had 18 points and seven rebounds for Croatia while Ukic chipped in with 10.

Israel take on Portugal on Sunday while Croatia have the daunting task of going up against defending champions Greece on the same day.

Croatia

Coach Jasmin Repesa: "They deserved this 100%. They were calm and controlled. They had confidence and shot three-pointers with more confidence. Defensively we were totally confused. We couldn't stop their game at all. And we missed some open shots. The difference was a lack of concentration and focus on the game. On offense, there were times when they were physically a much tougher team. And we missed more free throws than in the first three games."

Guard Marko Popovic: "It hurts a lot but we have to depend on ourselves now and nothing else. We have to play. We have to focus. We have a day off and have to watch some video and see what happened. But this is horrible."

Center Mario Kasun: “We didn’t deserve to win this game. We were too soft in the first half. In the second half we got back into it but we weren’t on the same page. It’s not the basketball we played a couple of days ago, it’s frustrating but we have two more games to go.”

Israel

Coach Zvi Sherf: "We are very happy and very proud of getting this win. When we were in Grenada, we watched the Croatia and Spain game. And we knew they have very good players. We have a lot of respect for the team.
I have to tell my players they gave another great game. We knew they were dangerous on three-pointers. In the first half we were unsuccessful stopping them. But in the second half we left Mario Kasun alone in the post and focused on their shooters and did a great job.
(Meir) Tapiro and (Yaniv) Green are going to lose their legs. Tapiro especially today was controlling the speed of the game, making great passes, getting big rebounds, and when the big men were stopped, he was taking the opportunity to get into the lane. But I hope we will not be drunken with this win.

Guard Meir Tapiro: "It was a very, very tough game. They are very, very talented. We knew if we could keep the three-point percentage down we could win the game. We took the lead and never gave up. We still have a chance to reach the quarter-finals. But we have to rest tomororw and maybe have another good game."

Forward Jeron Roberts: "We stayed together and were all as one. We're not like most teams, and I think that's what got us over the hump. We have the support of the whole country. Everybody knows that Israel is a small coutnry. And it helps to know that when we we're on the court. We really appreciate their support. "

Croatia can all but secure themselves a spot in the quarter-finals of the 2007 EuroBasket if they can knock off Israel in each team's first game in Group E of the qualifying round later today.

After beating Spain on Wednesday in their last opening group game, Croatia enter the contest with a 2-0 record - tied with Russia - while Israel are back at 0-2.

		Green needs to have another big game to neutralise Croatia's post presence

Zvidik Sherf's side desperately need a victory to boost their chances of even making the final eight.

Last Time Out: Israel beat Serbia 87-83 to advance to the qualifying round while Croatia shocked world champions and EuroBasket hosts Spain 85-84 on a three-pointer in the waning seconds and a blocked shot at the buzzer.

Key Match-up: Yaniv Green had a huge game against Serbia, collecting 26 points and 12 rebounds. But he will need another great game if Israel plan to neutralise Croatia's low-post presence, which is dominated by Mario Kasun, who is the team's second-leading scorer with 12.0 points per game. Shref's side though will be shorthanded inside as 2.08m center Erez Marckovich is to miss out with a broken nose.

Statistics: Israel have turned the ball over an average of 17 times in their three Group A games while Croatia have forced their opponents into 15 turnovers a contest. Israel must do a better job handling the ball.

X-Factor: Israel's backcourt must defend the three-point shot - something they traditionally don't do - as their opponents are averaging 22 attempts from long-range per game. But if Croatia's marksmen - who converted 42% of their threes in their two victories but just 25% in their only loss - get going, it could be a blowout.

Sounding Off: Croatian guard Marko Tomas, who made the game-winning shot against Spain, yesterday reflected: "The first game, we lost against Latvia and everyone had their heads down. After yesterday's game, we got some confidence. We're first in the group. We've got more confidence for tomorrow's game."