Game Summary

Turning Point: With the game tied at 29-29 late in the second quarter, Slovenia went on a 20-3 run over the next nine minutes to pull away.

Hero:  Slovenia center Erazem Lorbek had 10 points in that crucial run and finished with a game-high 20 points. Lorbek also pulled down nine rebounds and dished out five assists while blocking one shot.

Key Stats: Slovenia finished 19 of 33 (58%) shooting from inside the arc while Poland were 15 of 39 (38%).
Slovenia forced Poland into making 15 turnovers.

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Slovenia broke open a close game in the third quarter and stormed to a 76-60 triumph over Poland to clinch a spot in the EuroBasket Quarter-Finals on Monday night in Lodz.

Erazem Lorbek scored a game-high 20 points and also pulled down nine rebounds for the winners, who prevailed for the fourth time in five games at this year's event.

Jure Zdovc had led his troops into the Quarter-Finals.

Jure Zdovc's team led just 31-29 at half-time but held Poland to just one point over the first seven minutes of the third quarter while opening a 46-30 lead.

They went in front by as many as 20 points in the second half and cruised to victory.

"When we went into the break  trailing by two points,  I knew it was going to be very difficult for us," admitted Poland coach Muli Katzurin.

"In the second half we had a bad shooting percentage and we made many turnovers and against a quality team like Slovenia, they make you pay for your mistakes."

Slovenia have faced a lot of adversity this year with numerous players unable to take part due to injury-related problems, including guards NBA guards Beno Udrih and Sasha Vujacic and Lottomatica Roma's Sani Becirovic.

Matjaz Smodis, the captain of the national team, has also been unable to compete because of a back injury and star guard Goran Dragic also missed the Poland game with a knee injury.

Yet Zdovc's team hasn't missed a beat with their only loss an overtime defeat to Spain in Group C.

"I need to congratulate my players," said Slovenia coach Jure Zdovc. "We have struggled with injuries but those players that have gone on the court have given everything they have.  We deserved this win."

Poland started well with a 7-0 run giving them an 8-4 advantage and they had a 17-11 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Slovenia struck back with an 8-0 spurt in the second quarter putting them on top at 19-17.

Five consecutive points by Goran Jagodnik, including a three-ball, and a basket by Uros Slokar increased the lead to 29-22 with 3:14 to go in the first half.

Poland reeled off seven straight points and knotted the game at 29-29 on a lay-up from Szymon Szewczyk before Slovenia took command.

David Logan and Szymon Szewczyk had 15 points apiece for  Poland.

Slovenia will now go into their final Qualifying Round Group F game against Turkey safe gunning for first place.

Jure Zdovc (Slovenia Coach):

"I agree with coach Katzurin that we had a lot of luck in the first half. We were terrible defensively and we executed too quickly on offense. In the second half we were able to find an open man and score, our defense was also better. We deserved this win and I want to congratulate my players."

Primoz Brezec (Slovenia):

"It was a tough game. We didn't start good, we didn't play defense as well as we have been. But later we picked up our game and we stopped their inside players, as well as Logan. I am looking forward to next game."

Goran Jagodnik (Slovenia):

"In first quarter Poland played good on defense - we scored only 11 points. But then we improved our game and in the crucial moment we scored from the perimeter - thus we led by two points before the break. In the second half we played calm and confident basketball. We realized everything that the coach said - we stopped Gortat and the Polish attack. We don't think about the next games, we just want to play good basketball".

Muli Katzurin (Poland Coach):

"After the first half we should have had a 10 point lead, but we didn't finish some situations and I knew, that losing by two points to Slovenia at half time will make the second half very tough.  During the second half our shooting percentage was very low and we had some turnovers, which you can't make against team like Slovenia."

Poland will look to cool off hot-shooting Slovenia and revive their bid to reach the last eight of EuroBasket 2009 in Lodz on Monday.

Erazem Lorbek with have his hands full with Poland's big men.

The hosts are 1-2 and currently lie second from bottom in Group F of the Qualifying Round following a 77-72 loss at the hands of Serbia.

The Poles conceded 13 unanswered points to fall behind 56-40 in the third quarter before making a strong run and cut the deficit to two in the final frame, but the Serbs held on in the end.

Meanwhile, Slovenia used an early three-point barrage to build a double-digit lead against Lithuania and kept adding to it on their way to an 81-59 win that saw them improve to 2-1 in the group, good enough for second place behind undefeated (3-0) Turkey.

In order to beat Jure Zdovc's side, the Poles will need for David Logan and Maciej Lampe to bounce back after sub-par performances against Serbia. The former had 10 points and six assists but shot just four of 12 from the field while the latter was a non-factor with only one basket.

Slovenia have yet to play a poor game so far in the tournament. Their shooting touch has been their big key and, even when they fail to connect from the perimeter, they find ways to create easy scores closer to the basket.

Head to head: Slovenia have beaten Poland in all three of their meetings to date. Most recently, the Slovenians beat the Poles 70-52 at EuroBasket 2007 in Spain.

Last time out: Slovenia crushed Lithuania 81-59 while Poland's late rally was not enough as they fell 77-72 against Serbia.

Key match-up: Erazem Lorbek v Marcin Gortat and/or Maciej Lampe. Poland play two centres, so it's unclear who Lorbek will be matched up against. If he can get the better of either and/or both of them, Slovenia will be unstoppable.

X-factor: Poland's ‘Big Four'. Gortat, Logan, Lampe and Michal Ignerski combine on average for almost 60 of Poland's 79 points per game. When one or two of them have a bad game - as was the case against Serbia - it deals a severe blow to their chances of winning. Therefore, each one of them will have to be at their absolute best against Slovenia.