BERLIN: Rudy Gobert scored 20 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as Olympic silver medalist France advanced to the EuroBasket quarter-finals by beating Turkey 87-86 in overtime on Saturday.
Gobert dunked a comeback dunk with 2.7 seconds left in regulation to tie the game, then scored the first four points of extra time, and France never trailed in the extra session.
“Crazy game,” Gobert said.
Craziest finish.
Turkey had what appeared to be complete control of the game with 12.2 seconds left in regulation time. They had the ball, two ahead, headed for the foul line for two free throws and would retain possession after those shots as France had been whistled for an unsportsmanlike foul.
But Cedi Osman missed both shots, a scene reminiscent of when he did the same at the end of what became a one-point loss to the United States at the Basketball World Cup in 2019. France ended up forcing a turnover on the ensuing possession, and Gobert’s dunk leveled the game.
“A really tough spot for us, but we were lucky he missed both,” Gobert said. “Then we were able to fly the out of bounds, get a bucket and work overtime. We never stopped. We never stopped fighting. We have always believed. Obviously it’s not our best game, but what I’m really proud of is that we never gave up. Many teams would have given up in this position.
Thomas Heurtel and Evan Fournier had 13 points each for France, which led by 16 midway through the second quarter.
But Turkey ended the third quarter on a 19-0 run, turning an 11-point deficit into a 57-49 lead before the final 10 minutes of regulation time. France have missed 11 consecutive shots in this sequence.
Turkey had a chance to win on final overtime possession, but Furkan Korkmaz lost his dribble with about 2 seconds to go and his team never got a shot.
Bugrahan Tuncer scored 22 for Turkey, while Korkmaz added 18.
“I don’t know what to say, really,” Tuncer said. “I’m so angry. I’m so sad. If I can’t find kind words, I’m sorry. It’s unacceptable.”
France will face the winner of Sunday’s Serbia-Italy match in the quarter-finals. That game is scheduled for Wednesday.
“This is possibly the worst emotional loss of my 26-year career,” Turkish coach Ergin Ataman said. “Congratulations to France. I hope they continue on a good path in the quarter-finals. That’s all.”
SLOVENIA 88 BELGIUM 72
Luka Doncic scored 35 points and defending champion Slovenia used a 17-0 run in the fourth quarter to eliminate Belgium.
Doncic and Goran Dragic combined to score or assist on Slovenia’s first 40 points in the second half.
“Belgium were playing great basketball,” said Doncic, who is averaging 28 points in six tournament games so far – 39.3 per game in his last three games. “We knew it would be a tough game. They fought until the end. But in the end, I think we played a little better.
Doncic had five rebounds, five assists and four steals for Slovenia, while Klemen Prepelic scored 13, Mike Tobey finished with 12 and Dragic added 11.
Manu Lecomte scored 16 points and Pierre-Antoine Gillet had a game of 15 points and 10 rebounds for Belgium.
Slovenia have reached the line 25 times, against only eight for Belgium.
“I have been listening to the word ‘equality’ for many weeks now. But equality does not exist in basketball,” said Belgian coach Dario Gjergja.
Next up for Slovenia is a quarter-final match on Wednesday against the winner of the Ukraine-Poland encounter. These teams will play on Sunday.
GERMANY 85 MONTENEGRO 79
Dennis Schroder scored 22 points and Germany lost most of a 27-point second-half lead before hanging on to oust Montenegro.
Germany led 51-24 early in the third quarter before Montenegro scored the hosts 53-29 in the next 19 minutes.
But Germany sealed victory with five free throws in the dying seconds – three of them on an unsportsmanlike foul and a technical foul.
Maodo Lo and Franz Wagner each scored 14 points for Germany. The Germans will face either Greece or the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals on Tuesday; those teams meet in the round of 16 on Sunday.
Kendrick Perry scored 25 for Montenegro, who got 22 from Bojan Dubljevic, 13 from Marko Simonovic and 12 from Vladimir Mihailovic.
SPAIN 102 LITHUANIA 94, OT
Lorenzo Brown scored 28 points, Willy Hernangomez added 21 and Spain survived frantic moments to hold off Lithuania in extra time.
Rudy Fernandez and Juancho Hernangomez each scored 13 goals for Spain, who will face Finland or Croatia in the quarter-finals on Tuesday. Finland and Croatia will play in the round of 16 on Sunday.
Brown scored the first five points of extra time and Spain never trailed in the extra session.
Ignas Brazdeikis gave Lithuania a chance, earning a tip for shaking the edge and falling when regulation time expired. But Lithuania blew an eight-point lead in the final 5:56 of the fourth quarter, and Spain eventually tied the game on a Brown layup with 2:23 left in the fourth.
Mindaugas Kuzminskas led Lithuania with 18 points. Brazdeikis scored 17, while Domantas Sabonis and Lukas Lekavicius netted 15 each.
Rokas Jokubaitis added 13 for Lithuania, who lost despite shooting 51%, 7% better than Spain.
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