EuroBasket

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Story by KL ChouinardTwitter: @KLChouinard

Marco Belinelli scored a team-high 18 points, but Italy lost its EuroBasket quarterfinals match to Serbia by an 83-67 margin.

Italy made a fourth-quarter run to cut the deficit to 8 points with five minutes remaining, but a three by Sacramento King Bogdan Bojanovic stopped the run and helped Serbia keep Italy at bay. Serbia controlled the flow of the game for most of the contest by grabbing 44 rebounds to Italy’s 19.

Belinelli came into the game converting his threes at a scorching 51.1 percent rate, but he made just 2 of 11 in the quarterfinal for an Italian team that made only 8 of 29 overall. 

Bogdanovic led Serbia with 22 points. Ognjen Kuzmic and Boban Marjanovic each collected 7 rebounds for Serbia.

Italy went 0-for-7 from three in the third quarter. When Pietro Aradori finally swished a 50-foot heave at the end of the period, it was disallowed because he released the shot after the buzzer. 

Belinelli was part of a strong defensive effort that held Serbia scoreless for the game’s first four and a half minutes, but Serbia clawed back to take an 18-17 lead after the first quarter. 

Italy fell behind against a larger Serbian lineup in the second quarter, especially as some of the Italian interior players got into foul trouble trying to battle on the glass. By the end of the half, Serbia had 22 rebounds to Italy’s 7.

Serbia advances to play Russia in the semifinal Friday.

For the tournament, Belinelli averaged 17.9 points and 2.0 assists per game. He also ended the tournament with 2.1 steals per game, a number that currently ranks him seventh on the EuroBasket 2017 leader list. 

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Belinelli, Italy Fall In EuroBasket Quarterfinals

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PHOTOS: Hawks In EuroBasket Headed To Quarterfinals

In Wednesday's EuroBasket play, Marco Belinelli contributed 15 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals to Italy's 71-69 win over Georgia.

Belinelli's third steal was one of two key defensive stops for Italy in the final minute as a hard-charging Georgia team tried to lock up a berth in the next round. The other pivotal play was Luigi Datome's win-saving block of a layup right before the buzzer. 

With the win, Italy finishes group play with a 3-2 record and a third-place finish in Group B. They will advance to the single-elimination Round of 16 bracket for a game with Finland Saturday in Istanbul.

In other Group B action, Dennis Schröder scored a team-high 26 points, but Lithuania knocked off his Germany team by an 89-72 margin on the strength of the inside play of Jonas Valanciunas (27 points, 15 rebounds) and Donatas Motiejunas (15 points).

Schröder also added 3 assists and 3 steals for a German team that finished group play in second place with a 3-2 record. With their win, Lithuania (4-1) clinched the top spot in Group B.

Germany had already clinched a spot in the Round of 16 in Istanbul. They play France Saturday.

Aug. 31, Ukraine, Won 75-63Sep. 2, Georgia, Won 67-57Sep. 3, Israel, Lost, 82-80Sep. 5, Italy, Won, 61-55Sep. 6, Lithuania, Lost, 89-72

Aug. 31, Israel, Won 69-48Sep. 2, Ukraine, Won, 78-66Sep. 3, Lithuania, Lost, 78-73Sep. 5, Germany, Lost, 61-55Sep. 6, Georgia, Won, 71-69

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Schröder, Belinelli Set For Round of 16

In a game featuring both of the Atlanta Hawks participating in EuroBasket 2017, Germany ground out a 61-55 win over Italy to clinch a spot in the Round of 16.

With Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer in attendance to watch both Dennis Schröder and Marco Belinelli, it was Schröder who came out on top in a low-scoring game that featured a pair of stingy defenses. Schröder scored a game-high 17 points while making 5 of his 12 shot attempts.

"I think both teams really executed their defensive game plans," German head coach Chris Fleming said after the game in a press conference streamed on the FIBA website. 

Schröder created offense in a number of ways, setting his teammates up for 4 assists and getting to the free-throw line for 9 attempts. 

For Italy, Belinelli scored 12 points on 4-for-18 shooting, while adding 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists. 

In other Group B action Tuesday, Georgia defeated Israel in overtime, 104-91. As a result, Italy (2-2) also advanced to the Round of 16 because of previous wins over Israel (1-3) and Ukraine (1-3). With the tiebreaker based on head-to-head play, Italy is guaranteed to fall no further than fourth place in the final standings, even if they lose tomorrow in their last game of group play against Georgia. 

Germany ends group play tomorrow with a game against Lithuania that will determine who receives the top seed from Group B.

Germany's schedule of games for group play (all times ET):

Aug. 31, Ukraine, Won 75-63 Sep. 2, Georgia, Won 67-57 Sep. 3, Israel, Lost, 82-80 Sep. 5, Italy, Won, 61-55 Sep. 6, Lithuania, 7:45 AM  Italy's schedule of games for group play (all times ET):  Aug. 31, Israel, Won 69-48 Sep. 2, Ukraine, Won, 78-66 Sep. 3, Lithuania, Lost, 78-73 Sep. 5, Germany, Lost, 61-55 Sep. 6, Georgia, 10:30 AM

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Schröder, Germany Advance To EuroBasket Round Of 16

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PHOTOS: Belinelli and Schröder at EuroBasket

Dennis Schröder and Marco Belinelli both put on a show in Tel Aviv Thursday to lead their respective countries to 1-0 starts in FIBA's EuroBasket tournament.

Schröder scored 32 points, dished 7 assists and pulled down 5 rebounds in just under 33 minutes as Germany pulled away from Ukraine late for a 75-63 win.  Schröder led all scorers while going 11-20 (55%) from the field and 5-9 (56%) from three.

Meanwhile, Belinelli led Italy with 18 points, all coming on threes (6-8, 75%) as the Italians gave host Israel a 69-48 defeat.

You can watch highlights from both players' Thursday performances below.  Germany and Italy are both in Group B and will face each other head-to-head.  Here is the schedule:

Aug. 31, Ukraine, Won 75-63Sep. 2, Georgia, 8:45 AMSep. 3, Israel, 2:30 PMSep. 5, Italy, 11:30 AMSep. 6, Lithuania, 7:45 AM

Italy's schedule of games for group play (all times ET):

Aug. 31, Israel, Won 69-48Sep. 2, Ukraine, 11:30 AMSep. 3, Lithuania, 11:30 AMSep. 5, Italy, 11:30 AMSep. 6, Georgia, 10:30 AM

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Schröder Scores 32, Belinelli 18 As Germany and Italy Start 1-0

Story by KL ChouinardTwitter: @KLChouinard

EuroBasket 2017 tips off Thursday, and two members of the Atlanta Hawks -- Dennis Schröder of Germany and Marco Belinelli of Italy -- should figure prominently in the outcome of Europe's most important international basketball championship.

In the 24-nation tournament, both Germany and Italy will compete among the six teams of Group B, a group which also includes Ukraine, Lithuania, Israel and Georgia. 

Schröder will start at point guard and try to help the Germans earn their first Eurobasket medal since 2005. In his first European championship without Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki at his side, Schröder will carry a big offensive load. He will be helped by former Columbia University guard Maodo Lo and incoming Boston Celtics big man Daniel Theis. The team is coached by Brooklyn Nets assistant Chris Fleming.

Two years ago, Schröder averaged 15.3 points and 5.3 assists at the most recent EuroBasket tournament, where he finished first among individual players in free throw percentage (100 percent), 7th in assists (5.3) and 7th in field-goal percentage (57.1 percent), the last of which is a remarkable feat for a point guard. 

On the Italian squad, Belinelli will start on the wing for a team that finished sixth in the same event in 2015. With Danilo Gallinari of the Los Angeles Clippers absent due to a hand injury that he sustained in a pre-tourney friendly match, Italy will surely count on Belinelli for dependable scoring and outside shooting. The Italian team also features former NBA player Luigi Datome and rising European star Nicolo Melli. 

Belinelli recently told an Italian newspaper that this competition may possibly be his final appearance with the national team. 

At Eurobasket 2015, Belinelli averaged 16.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists. He finished seventh in points per game and first in three-point field goals per game (3.6).

Aug. 31, Ukraine, 8:45 AMSep. 2, Georgia, 8:45 AMSep. 3, Israel, 2:30 PMSep. 5, Italy, 11:30 AMSep. 6, Lithuania, 7:45 AM

Aug. 31, Israel, 2:30 PMSep. 2, Ukraine, 11:30 AMSep. 3, Lithuania, 11:30 AMSep. 5, Italy, 11:30 AMSep. 6, Georgia, 10:30 AM

Each team in the event will play five games in group play. After group play concludes, the top four teams from each group advance to the round of 16, at which point the tournament becomes a single-elimination event. The tournament concludes with a championship game on Sept. 17.

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Schröder, Belinelli Ready For EuroBasket

NBA teammates Dennis Schröder and Marco Belinelli both shined for their respective countries in games Friday as part of preparation for the FIBA EuroBasket tournament later this month.

In Hamburg, Schröder scored 28 points on 10-15 shooting, leading the Germans to a 79-76 win over Russia in the first game of the German Supercup.

The Supercup is an annual tournament hosted by Germany and featuring three other guest countries.  This year Russia, Serbia and Poland round out the field.  Schröder and the Germans will play Poland Saturday before finishing the exhibition tournament with Serbia on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Belinelli scored 24 points, including going 4-5 from three, in Italy's 67-66 win over Montenegro in the first round of the Toulouse Tour.  The Toulouse Tour is also a four-team, round robin-style tournament that takes place this weekend.  It features Italy, Montenegro, France and Belgium.

Both Schröder and Belinelli led their respective teams in scoring on Friday.  They will both open FIBA EuroBasket play Aug. 31.