Bosnia and Herzegovina defeats Israel: Basketball Dragons remain in contention for further advancement

The senior national team of our country defeated the Israeli selection 84:86 on the court of the Park&Suite Arena in Montpellier, thus remaining in contention for advancement to the second round, writes the Patria news agency.

Our boys were defeated in the previous two rounds, and today we needed a win to stay in the race for a spot in the round of 16.

Let us recall, yesterday we were defeated by France 81:54, while the day before we lost to Poland 68:64. Israel recorded both wins, against Finland 79:66 and Russia 76:73.

During the first half of the match, we made too many mistakes in attack with very poor and non-aggressive defense, but in the third quarter we played better, which resulted in that period ending 60:60. The final quarter was also extremely tense, and Elmedin Kikanović sent the match into overtime with a three-pointer. Kikanović hit the three-pointer in the last hundredth of a second at a score of 75:72.

In the extra five minutes, the Israelis already built a seven-point lead early on, but our brave Bosnian basketball players quickly caught up. In the end, our basketball players celebrated with a score of 84:86.

The final attack began with a tied score, and then Renfroe broke through Israel's defense, passed the ball to Kikanović, who scored for the win.

The most efficient player in our national team's ranks was Nemanja Gordić with 22 points, while Elmedin Kikanović scored 17 points, and Andrija Stipanović had 16 points and 18 rebounds. Omri Casspi scored 29 points for Israel.

Even the selector himself, Duško Ivanović, could not believe how many opportunities our basketball players missed, but the extremely dramatic fourth quarter of this match, as well as the overtime, were a shock for both the players and the fans, those watching on small screens, as well as the audience in the hall that supported the Basketball Dragons.

Tomorrow is a rest day for the Bosnian basketball players, followed by a match against Finland.