CRO/PUR – Croatia dig in, beat Puerto Rico to first place in Group D

ATHENS (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men) – Croatia overcame an early 17-point deficit and pulled away for a 95-81 triumph over Puerto Rico on Wednesday to claim first place in Group D of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Davor Kus and Marko Tomas each poured in 15 points to lead a balanced scoring attack for the Croatians, who now face Canada in a quarter-final on Friday.

The defeat means that Puerto Rico must take on Slovenia.

“We’ve just got to learn how to protect a lead,” Puerto Rico guard Carlos Arroyo said. “We know teams are going to make their runs, but we need to stay true to what we do.”

“When we got up by 17, we thought the game was over,” Puerto Rico’s Larry Ayuso said.

“That was a big mistake.”

Arroyo had 10 first-quarter points, which included a perfect three of three from behind the arc as the Puerto Ricans raced into the big lead.

His lay-up made it 14-2 before an Ayuso three-ball extended the advantage to 26-9.

With coach Jasmin Repesa shouting for more discipline on defense, Croatia started to come back.

A Tomas jumper and a Marin Rozic three-pointer right before the end of the first quarter made it 26-14.

Croatia continued to chip away late in the first half.

When Roko-Leni Ukic made a lay-up and then sank a jump shot on a fast break, Repesa’s team went to the changing rooms in front at 43-40.

Once in the second half, an Ayuso lay-up cut the deficit to 47-46 but Davor Kus drilled a jumper to start a 14-2 run that Marko Banic capped with two free throws to make it 61-48.

Repesa’s team held a comfortable lead the rest of the way.

Croatia finished eight of 17 from long range compared to Puerto Rico’s 11 of 24.

Inside the arc, the Croatians were 23 of 38 while at the free throw line, they did much of their damage by sinking 25 of 28 attempts.

Puerto Rico were 12 of 22 at the stripe.

FIBA