Finland rally to beat BiH in FIBA World Cup qualifier

Finland came from behind to beat Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) 81-77 in the second round of FIBA Basketball World Cup European Qualifiers on Monday in Zenica, a city located 75 kilometers northwest of Sarajevo.

In the first minute of the first quarter, Emir Sulejmanovic scored three points for the BiH team, after which Finland missed two times. In third minute, Miralem Halilovic brought a 7-point lead to the host team. In the sixth minute, Halilovic scored his 10th point for the host team. The first quarter saw a win by the host team of 28-11.

In the beginning of the second quarter, Almir Hasandic scores in the 12th minute for 20 points lead for the host team, after which Jamar Wilson scores three points, ending the second quarter with 22-20 for the host team.

The third quarter saw more active play by both teams, following one another, after which Petteri Koponen in 23rd minute from the visiting team scores three points. There were several faults by both teams, after which the third quarter ended with 13-14 for the visiting team.

The fourth quarter saw a better play by the visiting team, with Shawn Huff scoring three points in 33rd minute, narrowing the gap to 16 points. In only six minutes Sasu Salin scores 9 points for the visiting team. Finland got 36 points against 14 points of BiH in the quarter.

Sasu Salin scored a game-high 19 points for Finland, while Miralem Halilovic had 20 points for BiH.

In Group K, France is on the first place with 19 points, followed by the Czech Republic with 17 points. BiH is on the sixth place with 12 points.