Mikael Jantunen woke up Susijengi with his excellent moves after the break, when Denmark’s 16-point lead closed in the third period of the EC qualifying match in Espoo.
Timo Uusitalo,
Roope Visuri
The Finnish men’s national basketball team fought through difficulties to win 89–85 against Denmark in their home match in Group G of the EC qualifiers in Espoo.
Mikael Jantunen ignited Susijeng’s wild pursuit after the break with his wonderful offensive and defensive moves, as Denmark’s 16-point lead melted away minute by minute. Finland took the third period 30–14 and rose to 72–72 before the final period, when Elias Valtonen pushed to the level of the home team.
– We talked during the break that we can’t play like this in front of the home crowd. It was a little a question of attitude, we gave more effort after that, Jantunen said.
Jantunen, who scored ten points in the third period, saw one big difference in Susijeng’s play at that stage.
– In the first period, our game was a little static. When the ball moves, it is more difficult for us to defend, Jantunen pointed out.
In the last quarter, Finland was in trouble again. Denmark led by six points 82–76 with 4:44 left in the game, but a turnover found Aatu Kivimäki and Jacob Grandisonwho put Susijeng on top.
In the last minutes, Jantunen and Alexander Madsen pushed the necessary six extra points for the win.
“There was no smile after the first 20 minutes.â€
The most effective of the wolf team were the opening five Jantunen (19/7/4s), Madsen (15/5/3s), Valtonen 13/4 and Edon Maxhuni (14/1/6s).
– After the match, he smiles, but not after the first 20 minutes. At that point there was an application because we didn’t do the things we agreed on. The match again told something about our expression, when we managed to turn the game around with a good duun, Finland’s best in the plus/minus statistic (+13) Sasu Salin inch.
On break Lassi Tuovin the protectors were 16 points down at the break with numbers 42–58. Susijeng’s defense was in the wind at that point, and Denmark created a lot of free scoring chances, which it sank with a high percentage before the break.
– We didn’t play our way when the opponent scored almost 60 points before halftime. However, we are a defensive team. For the second half, we got the kind of defense we want, Maxhuni was happy.
Denmark’s three-point shooting percentage was 58.8 (10/17) and 66.6 (12/18) after two quarters.
The Danish trio Gabriel “Iffe†Lundberg, undercarriage Kevin Larsen and Bakary Dibba was bad for Finland. The trio collected points of 26, 20 and 11, i.e. a total of 57 points.
In the opening game of the qualifiers, Denmark beat Georgia 75–69 at home, while Finland lost to Serbia 61–77 away.
Finland will host the first group of next year’s European Championships, and the team is already guaranteed a place in the final tournament.