Slovenia beat Latvia to advance to EuroBasket semis

By Satuk Bugra Kutlugun

ANKARA (AA) - Slovenia defeated Latvia in a EuroBasket 2017 quarterfinal match Tuesday with a score of 103-97.

Fans at Istanbul's Sinan Erdem Dome saw the competition's most scoring teams go head-to-head and weren’t disappointed.

Slovenia, under NBA-patented point guard Goran Dragic's leadership, led the first quarter 34-23. But fellow NBA star Kristaps Porzingis and his teammates erased the deficit and headed to locker room leading 55-51 after the first half.

The third quarter was all about Slovenia as they reopened the margin by starting the quarter with an 11-0 run, eventually leading by 10 after the third quarter at 76-66.

For Latvia, Bertans brothers Davis and Dairis helped Porzingis get back into the game and they managed to narrow the deficit to one point (93-92) with 1:51 to go.

But Slovenia never gave up the lead by sinking the clutch free-throws and managed to defeat Latvia to advance to the semifinals.

Dragic finished with 26 points and 8 assists and center Anthony Randolph scored 16 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, while Luka Doncic added 27 points and pulled 9 rebounds in the victory.

Porzingis' 34 points and the Bertans brothers' combined 35 points were not enough for the losing side.

Slovenia will face Spain in the semifinals.

Here are the other quarterfinal matches that will be played Wednesday:

Serbia - Italy

Greece - Russia