Musa leads way, Bosnia and Herzegovina celebrate first EuroBasket win since 2015

COLOGNE (Germany) - Bosnia and Herzegovina  started the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 the best possible way by defeating Hungary 95-85 in a crucial opening game of Group B - the Balkan side's first win at the continental showcase in nearly seven years.

With high calibre teams like France, hosts Germany, Lithuania and FIBA EuroBasket 2017 champs Slovenia also in the group, the stakes were sky high in what many could consider a must-win game. Dzanan Musa and Jusuf Nurkic led the way for Bosnia and Herzegovina with 19 points each as Bosnia clinched their first EuroBasket win since an 86-84 overtime triumph over Israel on September 7, 2015.

 
Turning point: After Hungary led for most of the first half, the game was knotted 56-56 midway through the third quarter when Bosnia and Herzegovina reeled off a 17-5 surge to lead by 12 points. Hungary pulled back within 80-78 with 6 minutes to play but the Balkans delivered the knockout punch with 10 straight points for a double-digit lead with 3 minutes remaining.

TCL Player of the Game: Dzanan Musa was outstanding all game with 19 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and no turnovers in 29 minutes of play.

Stats Don't Lie: Bosnia and Herzegovina dominated the glass with a 42-34 advantage including 17 offensive rebounds. They also only committed 10 turnovers in the game.

Bottom Line: After the ideal start to EuroBasket followed by a day off on Friday, Bosnia and Herzegovina will face hosts Germany with a chance to jump to 2-0 in Group B. Hungary meanwhile will have a day off to regroup from the disappointment of the opening day loss and will try to pick up their first win over Slovenia.

They Said:  "I think our discipline, especially in the defense made the difference. They are very tough to defend. They had two very good games before they came here. We knew they have a very strong system and we tried to play 40 minutes of defense and in the end they caved in and we won the game with discipline and defense." - Bosnia and Herzegovina coach Aziz Bekir

"Hungary is a great team. We knew that we needed to win this game. It was important for us to do whatever the coach said, to stick to the game plan. We did that. We had some ups and downs, but we stayed together, which was most important. At halftime we were talking a lot about what we needed to do in the second half and we did that." - Dzanan Musa, Bosnia and Herzegovina

"The rebounds were really important for us. (Jusuf) Nurkic is a beast on the boards. There were a lot of guys in the hustling to get rebounds - that is one of our strengths. We weren’t playing with a lot of energy in the first half. They were getting a lot of easy buckets. We tried to pick it up in the second half. We dominated the energy in the second half." - John Roberson, Bosnia and Herzegovina

"It was a very good game, very physical, very strong. In the third quarter it was too much for us and it decided the game." - Hungary coach Stojan Ivkovic

"They were much more physical than us. The bad thing is we expected that, but we didn’t react the best way possible. They grabbed way too many more offensive rebounds than we should have allowed. And if you have more possessions you are going to score more points. They scored almost 100 points so this is a lack of toughness and we have to learn from this." - Adam Hanga, Hungary

"We knew that it would be a tough game. They’re a team that plays with a lot of energy defensively, and I feel they had the advantage with that. They caused a few turnovers in the second half. We weren't able to really run our offense. It was a tough game, it was a fun game. We were able to keep it close, but it’s just sad we weren’t able to pull it out." - Mikael Hopkins, Hungary

 
FIBA