Belgium goes to the playoffs, keeps Georgia's hopes alive / News - Basketnews.com

Retin Obasohan scored 25 as Belgium overcame Bulgaria's comeback efforts and Sasha Vezenkov's 26-point performance to advance to the playoffs and keep Georgia's hopes alive.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Belgium (3-2) overcame Sasha Vezenkov's 26-point effort and beat Bulgaria (1-4) 89-80 (20-19, 21-11, 25-30, 23-20) to advance to the EuroBasket 2022 playoffs.

Bulgaria / Schedule

Spain Bulgaria114-87 Bulgaria Turkey87-101 Bulgaria Montenegro81-91 Georgia Bulgaria80-92 Bulgaria Belgium80-89

Belgium held a slight lead throughout the entirety of the second half. However, Bulgaria seemed to always be within reach.

With teams separated by four and just under three minutes to go (79-75), Maxime De Zeeuw made a layup, Pavlin Ivanov missed a wide-open triple, then fouled Johnathan Tabu.

Frustrated with the situation, Sasha Vezenkov even received a technical foul with a minute left to play. Bulgaria missed one opportunity after another, while the Belgians converted all of their free throws.

With the win, Belgium guaranteed a place in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Bulgaria has been eliminated as at least four other teams already have at least 2 wins in their accounts.

Belgium's win keeps Georgia's (1-3) hopes to advance to the playoffs alive as well. Georgia's only win came against Turkey. Having lost to both Belgium and Bulgaria, Belgium's loss would have meant the end of the tournament for the host team.

Bulgaria: Sasha Vezenkov 26 (3/9 2PT, 3/10 3PT, 11/11 FT, 13 REB), Dee Bost 18 (3/12 3PT, 6 REB, 4 AST), Dimitar Dimitrov 11 (4/6 2PT), Chavdar Kostov 11 (3/4 3PT).

Belgium: Retin Obasohan 25 (5/7 2PT, 3/9 3PT, 6/7 FT, 7 REB), Emmanuel Lecomte 20 (9/10 2PT), Maxime De Zeeuw 13 (3/4 3PT).

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