Serbia march on, Italy and Spain reap wins in EuroBasket 2015

Serbia extended their winning streak with a 91-72 victory over Turkey while Italy shocked Germany with a dramatic 89-82 comeback win in overtime and Spain edged Iceland 99-73 to close day four in Group B of EuroBasket 2015 here on Wednesday.

Serbia booked their ticket for the knockout stage with one game to spare in Group B. The Serbians cruised to a 91-72 victory over Turkey to earn their fourth victory in as many games.

Aleksandar Djordjevic' s men laid the foundation for the victory over Turkey during the first quarter by establishing a 16-point lead. The Turks gained a foothold into the second quarter but Serbia took nevertheless a 53-35 lead into the half time.

The leaders of Group B retracted at the third quarter allowing Turkey to reduce the deficit to 12 points (59-71). However, Serbia protected their lead to the end (91-72) to defend their first place. Miroslav Raduljica contributed a game-high 20 points to Serbia' s win while Turkey' s top scorer Ali Muhammed donated 16 points.

Serbia encounters Italy while Turkey clash with Iceland at the last round in Group B on Thursday.

Italy reaped their third consecutive victory after turning the tides against Germany in a dramatic overtime. The Germans controlled the proceedings on the court for most of the time but Italy turned up late to force the hosts into the overtime.

Germany started highly motivated and were able to work out a five-point advantage (22-17) after the first quarter. Despite the bright performance by the tournament hosts, Italy closed the gap as Alessandro Melli and Daniel Hackett restored parity (42-42) before the break.

After the restart, Germany earned their highest advantage with 54-45 but Italy was again able to respond and reduced the arrears to five points (54-59) before the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, both teams staged a fast paced seesaw encounter. Germany pulled away with a five-point lead (68-63) before Marco Belinelli' s two three points shot secured Italy' s first advantage since the third minute (69-68).

Nonetheless, Germany fought back and grabbed a two-point lead (76-74), with 20 seconds remaining, thanks to Dennis Schroeder, who provided a game-high 29 points. It was a short-lived joy by the hosts as Danilo Gallinari' s two-point jump shot equalized the scores (76-76), with 4.6 second remaining, forcing Germany into overtime.

In the overtime, Italy worked out an early two-point lead before Belinelli' s three points sealed Germany' s third loss at the fourth game.

Thus, Italy wrapped up their berth for the knockout stage in Lille, France, meanwhile Germany will have to beat Spain to maintain their chances to progress.

The Spaniards meanwhile triumphed 99-73 over EuroBasket 2015 debutants Iceland to conclude day four in Group B. With the victory, Spain maintain their chances for a spot in the knockout stage thanks to their second win at the fourth game.

Spain managed to grab a 20-16 lead after the first quarter before Iceland danced through Spain' s defence working out a four-point lead (34-30) midway through the second quarter. Iceland' s comeback seemed to be a wakening call for the lethargic Spaniards, who bounced back to take a five-point lead (41-36) into the break.

Spain finally picked up the pace after the restart to romp away 74-55 before the end of the third quarter. Hence, Iceland were unable to hold the pace as Spain bring home their second win 99-73.

After today' s results in Group B, Serbia remain atop the standings with 8 points, followed by Italy with 7 points, Spain and Turkey with 6 points, Germany with 5 points and bottom placed Iceland with 4 points. Endi