MKD remain perfect, inch closer to the Second Round

SKOPJE (FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Pre-Qualifiers) - The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia rose to 3-0 after a comfy 87-74 win against Slovakia on Sunday. They are two wins clear of competition in Group A.

Turning point: Slovakia had a 29-28 lead early in the second quarter, but MKD went on a 15-0 run and never looked back. Everything was falling for the hosts in that stanza, including a one-legged shot-clock-buzzer-beating three-pointer by Aleksandar Kostoski.

Game hero: Richard Hendrix keeps on dominating opponents in an MKD shirt. This was the first Pre-Qualifiers game in which the big guy did not block more than two shots, but he has done everything else - 23 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, good enough for an efficiency rating of 34.

Stats don't lie: Slovakia entered the game shooting just 53 percent from the free-throw line. The shooting woes continued for coach Ivan Rudez and his team, 6-of-13 from the charity stripe was never going to be enough to pull off an upset in Skopje.

Game notes: MKD are in a perfect position for the June-July window, and only a defeat larger than 15 points in Switzerland could take them out of the top spot. At 0-3, Slovakia are out of the hunt for the Second Round.

They said: "It was more or less an expected victory. Before the match, I announced that I wanted this epilogue. Slovakia played better than the match in Poprad. They were more relaxed after losing against Switzerland, scored a lot of shots for three points that surprised us. We played a good game, I didn't like some oscillations that we had. But basketball is that kind of a sport, it's hard to stick to the level all the time. We remain first on the table which is important for us" - MKD head coach Jordancho Davitkov.

FIBA