Stojanovski and Hendrix too much to handle for Slovak Republic
POPRAD (FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Pre-Qualifiers) - The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MKD) used their one-two punch to get a 74-66 win away at Slovak Republic. Now, they have a chance to go 2-0 on Sunday, when they host Switzerland.
Turning point: Richard Hendrix was amazing throughout the game, and when Vojdan Stojanovski joined him midway through the second quarter, MKD became unstoppable. Stojanovski fueled an 18-3 run with 10 points, a steal and an assist, as his team climbed to a 44-30 lead at the half. Slovak Republic had a 12-0 start to the fourth quarter, but Hendrix and Stojanovski kept them at bay.
Game hero: It could have been Stojanovski with his 20 points and 6 assists, but the captain won't mind us opting for Richard Hendrix. The big man was dominant on the inside with 21 points, 14 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks. In particular, it was his outside shooting touch that sealed the deal for MKD, after he made a three-pointer and two free-throws to stop the rot in the fourth quarter.
Stats don't lie: Got to make your free throws! MKD were doing just that, making 15-of-18 from the charity stripe, whilst Slovak Republic struggled to get the easy points, connecting on just 6-of-14 from that same distance. Those 8 misses were the exact margin in the final score.
They said: "Before this match we knew, that in this Pre-Qualifiers group we will be with Slovakia the best teams. We played very well on defense, on offense it was not so good, because we missed some open shots. My players did everything on the court, which we have been practicing in these past days. We turned on Kuric and we stopped him. He scored a few points. I'm satisfied with the away win, especially after not so good results in the Pre-Qualifiers of 2019 World Cup" - MKD head coach Jordancho Davitkov.
Game notes: Slovak Republic committed more turnovers per game (19.3) than any other team during the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers. They were right up there on Thursday, too, losing possession on 18 occasions, which led to 15 steals for MKD.
FIBA