Finland won Sweden with 85-69 points. Finland’s most effective scorer was Lauri Markkanen, who returned to the national team.
Riku Porvari,
Heikki Ali-Hokka
30.6.•Updated 30.6.
Susijengi, the Finnish men’s national basketball team, secured a place in the World Cup qualifiers starting in August. Finland beat Sweden 85–69 in the World Cup qualifying match on Thursday night.
In the evening in Espoo, Finland’s best scorer was Lauri Markkanen, who collected 22 points and 11 rebounds. Markkanen, who returned to the national team after a four-year break, said that he “couldn’t be less interested in his own playing”. The most important thing was that the team won.
– Getting into a rhythm was difficult for me and maybe for the team as well. We immediately found ourselves in a losing position, but at halftime we knew that by raising the intensity we would take care of the job at home, Markkanen said after the match.
See Markkanen’s full interview below. The story continues after the video.
Played in a Suomi shirt for the first time Olivier Nkamhouan according to Finland found the right kind of intensity through the defense.
– When we realized how Sweden wanted to play, we started moving to the right places. It helped us a lot.
Nkamhouan admitted that the first match was very exciting.
– It was really nice to play when my mother was on the roof. The fans were also very good – they lifted the mood.
Finland has won four of its five games and thus advances to the World Cup further qualification. New head coach Lassi Tuovi said that he was also nervous about his first match at the helm of Finland.
– Let’s take the Fifth win from the next game and all the points into the further qualification. Let’s develop the team for the future, where the World Cup qualifiers and the European Championships are coming, Tuovi said.
Finland will still face Croatia in its World Cup qualifying group. The match will be played on Sunday, July 3.
– We won’t lose a single game here, and that’s why the Croatia match is important to us, Tuovi summed up.
This is how the match went
Finland was in trouble with Sweden at the beginning of the match, when Susijengi lost the first quarter with 19–29 points.
In the second quarter, thanks to the improved defense and the fast attacks that developed from it, Finland rose to a 43-46 situation at the start of the half.
In the third quarter, Finland outscored the visitors 26–8 and took a 69–54 lead. At the end of the match, Finland played confidently and was able to keep its lead until the end and won the match with a difference of 16 points.
Update 30.6. at 21:51: Markkanen’s, Nkamhoua’s and Tuov’s comments have been added to the article. Updated the title of the story, added Markkanen’s interview.