SPLIT (Croatia) - It seemed Croatia were going to defeat Tunisia easily after a 14-point lead at the half. But they needed late game heroics from Mario Hezonja, Bojan Bogdanovic and Pavle Marcinkovic to win 75-70 in Split, keeping the 1,000 fans happy in Spaladium Arena.

Croatia will now face Germany in the Semi-Finals on Saturday, while Tunisia end their run in Croatia with a pair of defeats to Brazil and Croatia. Brazil will take on Mexico in the other Semi-Final.

Turning point: It went down to the wire as Tunisia poured on 29 points in the third quarter, to take a one-point lead with ten minutes to play. Croatia got back in front thanks to clutch shots by Bojan Bogdanovic and Mario Hezonja, but the game was still a one-possession encounter in the final minute. That's when Bogdanovic drove and found an open Pavle Marcinkovic on the wing, for a three-pointer that made it 72-67 with just over 30 seconds to play.

Coach Dirk Bauermann tried to get back by sending Croatia to the free throw line, but even when Mario Hezonja missed his free throw, Marcinkovic was there to grab the offensive board and give Roko Ukic the chance to end the drama with 2.0 left. The captain did so, setting the final score at +5.

Game hero: Mario Hezonja had 27 points and 8 rebounds, enjoying the open floor basketball that was given to him by elite Croatian defense in the first half especially.

Stats don't lie: Seven. That's the amount of the offensive rebounds Pavle Marcinkovic grabbed by himself, the same as the entire squad of Tunisia.

Bottom line: Croatia got their much needed win, but did not look good in the second half. Maybe the win wakes them up for the Semi-Finals, but Germany must feel confident heading into that matchup. As for Tunisia, Salah Mejri signs out with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. For now.

They said:

FIBA