Dario Saric leads Croatia past resilient Estonia / News - Basketnews.com

Dario Saric led the Croatian national team to their second victory over Estonia, which is still winless, in EuroBasket's Group C.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Karlo Matkovic and Dario Saric combined for 32 points while Croatia (2-1) defeated a resilient Estonian national team (0-3), 73-70 (20-16, 13-13, 20-19, 20-22), to get their second win in Group C.

Croatia could not shake the Estonians, who were just a few points behind almost the entire game.

With 9 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Dario Saric committed a shooting foul on Janari Joesaar, which awarded the Estonian 3 free throws and a chance to tie the game. Joesaar converted on two out of three and reduced the deficit to 1 point (70-69).

After that Kristian Kullamae had a chance to send the game to overtime with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer but it was off.

With 2:58 left in the fourth quarter, Maik-Kalev Kotsar converted on a driving layup to cut Estonia's deficit down to 1 point (66-65).

Dario Saric collected a double-double and was the top performer for the winners with 15 points (2/7 2PT, 3/4 3PT, 5/6 FT), adding 12 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals for 21 EFF.

Siim-Sander Vene had 18 points (1/1 2PT, 5/10 3PT, 1/2 FT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 18 EFF for Estonia.

Croatia: Karlo Matkovic 17, Dario Saric 15 (12 REB, 3 AST), Jaleen Smith 13 (7 AST), Krunoslav Simon 9 (5 REB);

Estonia:Siim-Sander Vene 18, Maik-Kalev Kotsar 17 (5 REB), Kristian Kullamae 14.

Like what we are doing? You can express your gratitude here.