Russia made more of their free-throw attempts down the stretch than France did and that proved the difference as David Blatt’s men won 75-71 to reach their first EuroBasket semi-final in 10 years.
With the game tied at 69-69, J.R. Holden hit both his shots from the line to edge his team ahead 71-69 with 24 seconds left to play.
Nine seconds later, France’s Boris Diaw – who once had an 0 for 11 performance from the foul line against Slovenia in this event two years ago – blew his chance to tie the score when he missed both attempts from the charity stripe.
However, Zakhar Pashutin left the door open for Les Bleus when he did the same as Diaw.
Unfortunately for the 2005 bronze medallists, Tony Parker could only make one of two and Pashutin then made amends for his mistake by sinking a pair from the charity stripe to make it a 73-70 lead with four seconds left.
Russia fouled Parker again and the playmaker hit his first shot before intentionally missing the second in the hope that one of his team-mates getting an offensive rebound. But it wasn’t to be. Holden admitted afterwards a lot of thought went into Russia's "fouling strategy" late in the game.
click for more detailssource : eurobasket2007.org
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