Game Summary

Turning point: The half time break divided the game to two. After 20 minutes Croatia were down by 14 and couldn't find their way in the game. In the second half the made two big runs that totally changed the face of the game, and sent them to the Qualifying Round with a key win and more confidence.

Hero: Zoran Planinic took over the game for his team in the second half and showed great leadership. It wasn't only the nine points without a miss and the five assists on a single turnover, but also the leadership and confidence he bestowed his team-mates.

Stats: Croatia won the second half 47-23 thanks to great accuracy from the field in 68%, which showed they finally released some pressure off and show why they were considered medal contenders coming here.

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After two and a half games Croatia, the medal contender, the big force, the talented deep group is finally here with an 81-71 win over F.Y.R. of Macedonia in Group A in Poznan.

The win allows Croatia to advance to the Qualifying Round with a win in their pocket after finishing the current group with a 2-1 record.

Vrbica Stefanov and his teammates very nearly pulled the upset.

F.Y.R. of Macedonia on the other hand will start the next round with an 0-2 record, but didn't expect much more than that coming here.

Nevertheless it wasn't far from being the other way around.

The group of Jovica Arsic held a 39-22 lead in the second quarter and entered the break with a 14 point lead.

"In the locker room coach told us we must believe in ourselves and play with confidence and that's what we did," shared Zoran Planinic about the half time talk with Coach Jasmin Repesa.

Planinic led Croatia on a beautiful ride in the second half when they erased the gap in the first minutes of the third quarter, and took over the game completely in an impressive team display in the last period with a 27-2 run.

"I'm happy we finally showed our quality here and hope our fans aren't too frustrated with us after the first two games.

"From now on we'll play with more confidence and hope to write better results," added Planinic.

No less than nine Croatian players scored between seven and 12 points led once again by Nikola Vujcic. Marko Banic added 11 while Planinic had nine points second half points without a miss and seven assists.

Three players - Vrbica Stefanov, Darko Sokolov and Jeremiah Massey - scored 12 each.

Croatia won the second half 47-23 in a one sided show that give them great momentum towards the Qualifying Round.

FYROM missed a chance for a huge upset, but can gain confidence from dominating Croatia this way in the first half.

Vrbica Stefanov scored eight points already after 5:30 to make it 16-11 in favor of his team.

Banic and Vujcic were the only ones to make it happen for Croatia but when Sokolov found his spot and took over Stefanov's streak with eight of his own until the buzzer, FYROM led 26-20 after ten minutes.

Gecevski and then Stefanov scored from distance and Massey finished a fast break to shock the Croats with a 34-20 lead and cap a total of 13 unanswered points.

The gap reached already 39-22 but Croatia was just about to strike back.

Ukic and Davor Kus scored from distance to write a 13-2 run, but lack of focus around the rim and a technical foul on the Croatian bench, stopped the momentum.

FYROM converted it to five points in a row and entered the break up 48-34.

Croatia came back from the locker-room with a different spirit, and after four minutes it was already a 48-46 game.

Vojdan Stojanovski with a lay up and Pero Antic with a big alley-hoop dunk shook up the Macedonian offense, to set the ground for Vrbica Stefanov to nail a three ball and set the margin on nine, 61-52.

Croatia added four more points inside before the fourth quarter kicked in, and continued their run with ten more points, capped with a corner three by Marin Rozic, 66-61.

After five minutes with no points Massey finally broke the drought from F.Y.R. of Macedonia after an offensive board but Planinic dished another assist and Popovic completed an additional three point play to regain the Croatian run.

A technical foul and a big play by Planinic capped the run on 27-2 and showed Croatia is finally here, before the margin was cut in the closing minutes.

Vrbica Stefanov, F.Y.R. of Macedonia:

"What can I say? I can only congratulate to the Croatian team. That's all."

Marko Popovic, Croatia:

"It was a hard game. They had so many shots and were very efficient. After the first half, when we had minus 14, we were really surprised. But then we showed character and won. Now we are more confident before the next round."

Jovica Arsic, F.Y.R. of Macedonia Coach:

"I have to congratulate our rival. We had a good first half, but then Croatia absolutely dominated the game. They had tough defense and we couldn't do anything."

Jasmin Repesa, Croatia Coach:

"There were many mistakes that we cannot repeat in the next round. We have to think it over. Psychologically this game was much more difficult for us then yesterday's match against Greece.  Today there was more pressure on my team, while they were relaxed and confident."

The opening game of the last day in Group A at Poznan will feature Croatia and F.Y.R. of Macedonia in a head-to-head battle on the second spot in the group.

Both teams hold a 1-1 record after big losses to Greece and edging Israel.

That's enough to secure the spot in the next round, but not enough to be satisfied.

Whoever wins today will carry a key win in their pocket to the Qualifying Round, while the loser will face tougher times having an 0-2 record before the battle on the Quarter-Final spots starts.

Three points were enough for Macedonia to jump from the floor in Poznan to the top of the world.

Not only had they written their first ever win in EuroBasket final round history, eventually it was enough to reach the Qualifying Round, and from there everything else is a bonus.

"I'm so proud of my team-mates and wish to thank them for giving me this opportunity in the last games of my career, and also for the great honor we bestowed our country" said Vrbica Stefanov after yesterday's win.

Having the whole nation pushing them and also the biggest and loudest fans support in the arena, made this win special for them.

Croatia at the other end arrive to the game after two uncomfortable games.

They expected to beat Israel easily but almost dropped the game. They expected to make a statement with a win over Greece, or at least put up a big fight, but found themselves with no answers to the Greek intensity for most of the game.

In order to regain confidence and get on the highway to Katowice Croatia need today's win badly, and it better be in an impressive way.

Head-to-head: The two sides met only twice during the 2003 EuroBasket qualifications. In both games Croatia won - first a 93-85 road win followed by a 91-72 victory in front of their fans. Like several times in this tournament F.Y.R of Macedonia will look for their first time.

Last time out: F.Y.R of Macedonia earned their first ever EuroBasket win in history after bettering Israel 82-79, and taking the spot in the Qualifying Round. Croatia suffered a 76-68 defeat against Greece after being down by 21 points already at the end of the first half.

Stats: Croatia arrived with a very deep and impressive front court but so far only one player - Nikola Vujcic - showed up. He is the only inside player who scored so far in double-digits, and showed some consistency in his game. In order to make big things Croatia need more contribution from the other five bigs, and against the big size of the Macedonians they have a good chance to get things going.

Key Match-Up: Vrbica Stefanov isn't writing a great stat line so far - only 4.5 ppg while hitting four in 23 attempts, but he is the living spirit of his team, and what makes the wheels of F.Y.R. of Macedonia go round. Zoran Planinic is the Croatian equivalent. His numbers are more impressive with 8.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 4.0 apg - pretty normal for such a versatile big guard. Eliminate one of them and the win will be in reach.

X-Factor:  Predrag Samardziski, the 2.15m Macedonian big guy, is producing 8 ppg, 4 rpg and 1.5 bpg in less than 15 mpg in the first two games. He missed just a single shot in nine attempts and has been an impressive presence for his team on defense and offense. If he steps up a bit higher tonight, his team will take a step closer to the get their second win in a row.

Sounding-Off: "we can't allow ourselves to be afraid of F.Y.R of Macedonia. If we want to do something big in this championship, we must be able to handle teams in such level, and if we do we don't deserve" - Marko Popovic isn't worried about the next game.