BRATISLAVA (FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Pre-Qualifiers) - Slovakia collected their first win of the campaign, defeating Switzerland 88-83 at home. That result saw both teams end their run in the First Round.

Turning point: Slovakia seemed to be cruising towards the finish line, leading 74-66 with five minutes left to play. But Switzerland had one last run in them, even taking a 77-76 lead on a Roberto Kovac three-pointer with three minutes on the game clock. Andre Jones saved the day for the hosts, hitting from beyond the line on the next possession, then picking up an assist for Pavol Losonsky layup that put Slovakia back in the driving seat. They never looked back after regaining the lead.

Game hero: Andre Jones was not only hitting when it mattered most, he was scoring all game long, finishing with 22 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds. However, he did lose the one-on-one duel with Patrick Baldassarre, who had 30 points for Switzerland, Jones ended up on the winning side on Sunday.

Stats don't lie: Ivan Rudez and Peter Torda will be extremely proud of their team and the composure they kept from start to finish. Slovakia turned the ball over just 2 times in 40 minutes, in such a close encounter, Switzerland's 8 turnovers were costly at the end.

Game notes: Switzerland end in second place of Group A, right behind The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, but at 2-2 and -11 points difference, they have no chance of reaching the Second Round as the best second-placed team. Slovakia will join Switzerland in the Third Round, which will start in August 2019, where they will have another chance of reaching FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Qualifiers.

They said: "Congratulations to Switzerland, it was a tough battle all 40 minutes. In the last quarter they managed to get back into the game. We are happy that we won. It is a good way to end the Pre-Qualifiers. Congratulations to my players, they played as a team, they played good in defense, that's why we won." - Ivan Rudez, Slovakia head coach

"Worst news is that Luxembourg won their game. If we had won, we would have been in the next phase. But we had bad decisions in the last minutes." - Patrick Baldassarre, Switzerland

FIBA