Just like the German national team, Croatia also struggled to a narrow victory in World Cup qualifying, thereby remaining ahead of Germany in the standings.
The Croatians, led by star big men Dario Saric and Ivica Zubac (24 points each), trailed for much of the game. The Netherlands were practically forced to win if they were to have any realistic chance of qualifying for the World Cup. Keye van der Vuurst took matters into his own hands and scored 23 points—20 of them in the first half!
It was also the 24-year-old guard who capped off the first half with a three-pointer, extending the Oranje’s lead to 14 points (58–44). However, a 10–0 run after the break brought the visitors back within striking distance. A nail-biter ensued, with both teams nearly on equal footing toward the end. Ultimately, though, the home team was unable to recover from Saric’s four successful free throws in crunch time.
Croatia thus prevents Germany from overtaking them in the standings. The Eastern Europeans had narrowly won their head-to-head matchup against the DBB team thanks to a better point differential. In terms of World Cup qualification, however, this makes little difference. Neither team is likely to be denied a spot in next year’s tournament.
