RIGA – Level guard Dennis Schroeder scored 26 factors and dished out 12 assists as Germany blazed previous Finland 98-86 to e book their place in Sunday’s Eurobasket last, bringing the outstanding run of the Finns to a shuddering halt.
One in every of 4 co-hosts together with Cyprus, Poland and Latvia, Finland had been showing within the semi-finals for the primary time, and although they began nicely, they had been quickly shut down by the reigning FIBA World Cup champions.
Franz Wagner got here out sturdy with 20 first-half factors as Schroeder carved open the Finnish defence, grabbing eight assists to provide the Germans a 61-47 lead on the break.
The Finns got here storming again, chopping the deficit to 6 late within the third quarter however once more the Germans turned up their defence, shutting down Finnish star man Lauri Markkanen and limiting him to 16 factors as he scored a paltry two of his 9 three-pointers.
Germany will play the winner of Friday’s second semi-final between Greece and Turkey in Sunday’s decider, with Finland taking over the loser within the bronze-medal sport.
—Reuters