Croatia becomes the first semifinalist after beating Canada

(BEIJING, July 18) -- Croatia upset Canada in a blow-out quarterfinal clash on July 18 in the 2008 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men in Athens.

Canada ranks three places higher than 20th place Croatia. However, what was predicted to be a tight game turned out to be a slaughter that went to the underdogs.

In the first half both teams struggled in scoring but made a strong showing on defense. Croatia scored 18 points in each quarter, while Canada only trailed seven points at the end of the second.

In the second half, Croatia made it a totally different game as they found their shooting touch and suffocated their opponents' offense at the same time. In the third quarter Canada essentially lost the game, underscoring 13-26. Although they came back with 20 points in the fourth, it was too little too late to stop the Croatians taking the game 83-62.

Marko Popovic scored 17 points for the winners but he was not the best shooter of the night. Croatian shot an astonishing 62% within the 3-point line and an excellent 39% behind the arc. They had five players with 10 more points, three of which didn't miss a single shot.

Olu Famutimi was the best player on the Canadian team, netting 14 points. However, he shot only 25% from field, worse than the team's miserable overall 27.11%. Canada grabbed 20 offensive rebounds, 10 more than their opponents, but they underperformed on offense, dishing out only seven assists the whole game, while Croatia doubled that.

Croatia becomes the first team to enter the semifinals, and will face Germany on Saturday.