EuroBasket - Belgium stun Latvia, Ukraine advance

LJUBLJANA (EuroBasket/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Ukraine are a step closer to the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup after sealing a spot in the Quarter-Finals of EuroBasket 2013.

Mike Fratello's team, which put in a stirring performance to defeat Serbia on Friday, reached the last eight of the competition when Belgium upset Latvia, 60-56, in Sunday's first Group E game.

Ukraine then fought Lithuania in a terrific encounter before falling, 70-63.

Serbia finished the day's play with a 77-65 victory over France.

The day's results have left the Serbians first in Group E with Lithuania second, France third and Ukraine fourth.

The biggest smiles of all were on the faces of the Ukrainian players, coaches, officials and fans.

If Ukraine win their Quarter-Final, they will seal a place in next year's big event in Spain.

They will also qualify if they finish in the top six - top seven if Spain are in the first six.

Oleksandr Volkov, the legendary player from Ukraine who turned out for the former Soviet Union and is now the president of the country's basketball federation, was ecstatic about the qualification and the chance to now play for a spot in the World Cup.

He said to FIBA.com: "I went to the locker room (after the Lithuania game) and said, 'Guys, sometimes, it's only one time in your life. Use it. Get rest, be prepared, be confident, be concentrated.'

Ukraine won four of their first five games in Slovenia, starting with a thrilling 58-57 win over Belgium, before finishing runners-up to France in Group A.

The squad had a nightmare start in the Second Round, crashing to an 85-51 defeat in Group E to Latvia, a result that put their progression to the next phase in jeopardy.

They bounced back with an 82-75 triumph over Serbia.

When the Ukrainians woke up on Sunday morning, they believed a victory over Lithuania would be needed to advance in the tournament but Belgium did them a huge favor by surprising Latvia.

"That team that we beat, I am talking about Belgium," Fratello said, referring to their Group A meeting that Ukraine won on opening night, 58-57, "wound up doing us a favor today by never giving up."

Belgium had no chance of reaching the last eight on Sunday.

"They lost their first two games yet they were professional enough, their coaching staff and players, to play hard enough to get a win that benefitted us," he said.

"You don't know with fate, if we had lost that game on the opening night, what would have happened."

Belgium coach Eddy Casteels was proud of his team.

"It's a simple thing to say all over Europe," he said, "that we give a lot of respect and hopefully in situations like this we receive respect in return.

"You cannot afford, as a country, to show up at this kind of level and this kind of tournament, if you want to be there and stay there, and walk on the court for 40 minutes.

"It would not be correct towards the opponents, it would not be correct towards Latvia, it would not be correct towards Ukraine and most of all, it would not be correct towards basketball fans."

In Belgium's win over the Latvians, Sacha Massot poured in 14 points, Wen Mukubu 13 and Axel Hervelle 10.

"It was clear from the beginning was that it was going to be a difficult game for us, because the Belgians are really experienced and had no pressure for the result because they could not qualify," said Latvia coach Ainars Bagatskis.

"We did a lot, we controlled offense, we got more rebounds, more blocked shots, more assists, all our statistics were better except the shooting percentage.

"Probably we did not control our emotions, we did not play calm, maybe the pressure was too much, too strong for us.

"Congratulations to the Belgian team."

In Lithuania's win over Ukraine, Linas Kleiza connected from the arc with 1:03 remaining for a 67-63 lead and the Baltic side held on for a thrilling win.

Sergii Gladyr had 18 points in defeat for the Ukrainians while Kleiza had 15.

In Serbia's triumph over France, the victors went on a key run at the end of the first half that put them in control to stay.

They led by as many as 14 points and France never put them under serious pressure in the second half.

Nenad Krstic led the Serbians with 19 points and Nemanja Nedovic had 17.

Bogdan Bogdanovic was in scintillating form with 14 points while Nikola Kalinic was terrific with eight rebounds, a couple of steals (both team highs) and a sensational block of a Nando De Colo fast break lay-up attempt in the closing minutes.

Vladimir Stimac also came off the bench to give Serbia an emotional lift. He finished with eight points and six rebounds.

For full and in-depth coverage of EuroBasket 2013, go to the official website http://www.eurobasket2013.org.

FIBA