Lauri Markkanen played a great match against Croatia. He scored 43 points, which is a wild performance even by the standards of the entire EC history.
Mika Halonen,
Janne Karinkanta
11.9. 18:53•Updated 11.9. 20:15
Lauri Markkanen was wild when the Finnish national basketball team beat Croatia in the quarterfinals of the European Basketball Championships 94–86.
You can read more about the Finland-Croatia match in this story and about ‘s European Championships team.
Finland advanced to the quarter-finals of the European Championship for the first time. On Tuesday, Finland will face Spain in the quarter-finals at 18:15.
Markkanen was by far the best player in the Croatia match. He scored 43 points, grabbed 9 rebounds and had 3 assists.
Croatia kept Finland at bay especially in the third quarter and even at the beginning of the last quarter, but especially in these moments Markkanen carried Finland along with his strong personal performances.
In an interview after the match, Markkanen himself wondered what had been done.
– Yes, we knew we could do this. Can’t do that… an incredible game from us.
Croatia’s number one star Bojan Bogdanovic scored 23 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Bogdanovic represents the Utah Jazz in the NBA, that is, the club to which Markkanen was traded on the eve of the European Championships.
About other Croatian NBA players Dario Saric scored 12 points and Ivica Zubac remained at zero. Zubac had some kind of injury and played only three minutes.
In the Finnish team, Markkas especially helped Sasu Salin (17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) as well Edon Maxhuni (16/1/3). Salin bravely took three-point shots, sinking them 50 percent (5/10).
Susijeng’s top trio collected 76 points out of Finland’s 94, i.e. a whopping 81 percent of the total.
Koko Markkanen’s interview at the location of the story’s main photo.
Markkanen’s 43 points is a national team record in official Finnish matches at the adult level. The previous record was 42 points: Timo Lampen v Holland 1962, Kari-Pekka Klinga against Latvia 1992, Hanno Möttölä Against Iceland in 2001 and Markkanen in a training match against Ukraine in August.
Markkanen was initially modest in the interview when he was asked if he felt on the field that he could do whatever he wanted.
– I got into the charm pretty well. I was just trying to lead the team to victory. Yeah, that’s not it, quite an indescribable feeling.
But the interview also showed the self-confidence that Markkanen reached on the floor.
– I felt like I was throwing in every time. I just let it burn.
Even in the history of the European Championships, Markkanen’s points balance is wild. Only six players in the European Championships have been able to do harder.
Read more: Comment: These words of Lauri Markkanen in the middle of the match tell everything about Susijengi’s giant bang – a trick that seemed impossible was successful
A new, wonderful chapter was written in Finnish basketball history. Finland has never been to the quarter-finals of the European Championships, although it has advanced from the initial group stage in each of the five European Championships since 2011. Every time, the road has been boring to the next group or the quarterfinals.
In 1967, Finland was sixth in its home games. Then there were 16 countries that were divided into two initial blocks. Finland was third in its group and advanced to play from places 5–8. The best two of the groups advanced directly to the medal games.
Markkanen swore that his stomach was not full.
– No. Here it is, we are hungry. Markkanen announced and showed the cap he got because he was chosen as the hungriest wolf of the match in ‘s vote.
Finland will face Spain in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, September 13. at 6:15 p.m. Broadcast on TV2 and Areena at 6 p.m.
Finland’s score:
Lauri Markkanen: 43 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists
Sasu Salin: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
Edon Maxhuni: 16 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists
Henri Kantonen: 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Miro Little: 5 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists
Shawn Huff: 3 points
Mikael Jantunen: 3 points
Alexander Madsen: 2 points, 4 rebounds
The best of Croatia:
Bojan Bogdanovic: 23 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist
Jaleen Smith: 17 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists
Dario Saric: 12 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists
The percentage of Finland’s shots in the game was 49. Seconds were sunk with accuracy 24/42 and threes 12/32.
Croatia sank 53 percent of its free throws. Twos sank with accuracy 20/31 and threes 8/22.
With quick attacks, Finland got 18 points from Croatia’s turnovers, Croatia got 13 points respectively.
Finland got 7 exploits, Croatia 4.
Read more:
Comment: These words of Lauri Markkanen in the middle of the match tell everything about Susijengi’s giant bang – a trick that seemed impossible was successful
Susigengi made EC history! Terrible performance from Lauri Markkase that broke records – Finland beat Croatia and advanced to the quarterfinals
Lauri Markkanen has constantly jumped into the eyes of Croatia’s hot player – he sent strict greetings to the critics: “Why not?”
See how Susijeng’s fans gave Petteri Kopose and the head coach unique vibes – “This is the moment”
When Shawn Huff was young, he didn’t dare to say out loud his dream, which is now everyday life in Susijeng – Petteri Koponen hated basketball as a child, but grew up to be a star