BOTEVGRAD (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - Czech Republic overcame a second-quarter slump against Bulgaria to stay perfect in Group F, moving to a 3-0 mark with a 78-76 road victory on Friday.

Having trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half following a 28-4 run for the hosts, the Czechs stabilized the situation in the third quarter and turned the tables around in the final frame.

Turning point: Blake Schilb came up big for coach Ronen Ginzburg's side in the clutch, scoring a go-ahead basket to make it 76-74 with 19.4 seconds remaining. After getting his defender up in the air, the 34-year-old veteran swished a cold-blooded turnaround jumper to bring his overall tally to 13 points.

Game hero: There was no stopping Jaromir Bohacik in Botevgrad, with the CEZ Nymburk shooting guard catching fire from beyond the arc en route to a game-high 24 points on 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range. He also made all 8 of his free-throw attempts, including the last two right at the death to seal the win.

Stats don't lie: Despite turning over the ball over 10 times more than Bulgaria, Czech Republic got more points on the board thanks to their hot shooting from deep. The Bohacik-led guests made 10-of-20 attempts from deep, while also picking up more freebies at the free-throw stripe.

Bottom line: It was another heart-breaking loss at home for Bulgaria, who also came up short by a couple of points against Finland, 82-80, back in November. The only silver lining for coach Lyubomir Minchev is the fact the head-to-head point differential could swiftly be overturned in both instances with positive results on the road.

They said: "We didn't start well obviously, as we were down by 16 points in the first half. But it was very important for us that we fought back in the second half and we were able to win. Even though it's luck to win by 2 points, it still counts. Now we need to get to Iceland and repeat it again." - Czech Republic guard Jaromir Bohacik.

"After a second loss of just 2 points at home, we don't have any choice but to forget this game, because we have another one in 48 hours. We have to forget it and move on." - Bulgaria head coach Lyubomir Minchev.

FIBA