Finland lost to Germany 81-87 in its last match of the World Cup qualifier in Espoo. At the same time, Germany won the World Cup qualifying group ahead of Finland.
The best corinthians in Finland were Mikael Jantunen (20 points), Alex Murphy (16) and Topias Palmi (16).
– We can stand tall. Germany was very good and scored quite hard baskets from a distance. That’s the sign of a good team. On the other hand, we had a shot in the air to win the game, which is also a bit sad. We should be proud, emphasized Susijeng’s head coach Lassi Tuovi.
Finland dominated the opening minutes. Sasu Salin missed his first three three-point attempts, but led by Jantunen, who scored eight points in the opening quarter, Finland led 22-17 after the first ten minutes. At its best, Susijengi led with 11 points (30–19).
– The will to fight was strong again. We were ready from the start. Sure, we let Germany shoot a few free throws, but at a high percentage they made threes (15/24, 62.5%). We can be proud that we are in the World Cup and still with a pretty good performance, praised captain Salin.
Germany went into halftime with a 46–43 lead by David Krämer sank a three just before the halftime buzzer.
In the third quarter, Germany took a 12-point lead, but Germany went into the last break with a 69–62 lead. Kauhajoki Karhu Basket Severi Kaukiainen played the first minutes of his career for the men’s national team in the second half.
At the end, Finland rose alongside Germany – “It wasn’t enough”
In the last quarter, Finland tried positional defense and got up again to play for the win. Palmi’s third equalized the situation at 81-81 minutes before the end.
The best statistics of the match totaled 23/9/9s Johannes Voigtmann after the second one Edon Maxhuni drove to the basket, but Jonas Richter rebuffed him bluntly. Voigtmann sank two free throws with 12.4 seconds left to give Germany an 85-81 lead. After Finland’s timeout, Salin couldn’t get hold of Jantunen’s pass, and Voigtmann scored the last points from the free throw line.
– Germany is a tough team and it is difficult to come back (from a losing situation) against a team of that level. We did a good job and we were even at the end, it just wasn’t enough to win. We played well for 35 minutes, although there were a few dozes. We have to give ourselves credit as well, Jantunen stated.
The fact that the Espoo arena was sold out shows the loyalty of the national basketball team’s supporters, even though Finland’s place in the World Cup was secured already last August.
The World Cup will be played in August-September in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan. The initial blocks will be drawn on April 29.
MEN’S WC QUALIFICATION / GROUP J
Germany 12 10 2 960-854 22 p.m
Finland 12 9 3 978-934 21
Slovenia 12 7 5 994-958 19
Sweden 12 5 7 919-939 16
Israel 12 4 8 944-948 16
Estonia 12 4 8 870- 977 16
The best three of the group go to the World Championships.