Poland Win Thriller Against Serbia

Martyna Koc had 16 points for Poland, including the game-winning basket almost at the final buzzer

Poland battled back from a 13-point deficit in the second half and beat Serbia on Saturday, 76-74.

In an important Group B encounter of the EuroBasket Women Qualification Round, the Poles prevailed to improve to 2-1 while Serbia slumped to 1-2.

The Balkan side had a dream start and led 49-40 at half-time.

At the break, Ana Dabovic had 12 points and Nevena Jovanovic nine for Serbia, who were looking to build on their midweek win over Switzerland.

After the restart, Dabovic hit a jumper and Jelena Maksimovic added a lay-up to stretch the advantage to 53-40.

Poland then shifted into a higher gear, courtesy of the free-throw line.

Agnieszka Skobel twice earned trips to the charity stripe and made three of four attempts and then Agnieszka Majewska drew a foul and sank two more free-throws to cut the gap to 53-45.

Dabovic interrupted the run with a jump shot to take her points haul to 16, only for Poland's Skobel to twice get ahead on the fast break and score lay-ups to trim the deficit to 55-49.

The run continued as Martyna Koc, Weronika Idczak and Agnieszka Szott each scored to knot the contest at 55-55.

Dabovic breathed new hope into Serbia with a three-ball and Marina Mandic followed with a jumper, but Skobel's two free-throws left Poland trailing only 60-57 going to the last frame.

Poland finally went in front when Idczak scored with a driving lay-up at the 6:54 mark to make it 66-64.

With Serbia trying to stay in touch, Idczak hit a three-pointer just one minute from time to give Poland a 74-69 lead.

The Serbs refused to quit.

After Tamara Radocaj split free-throws on two trips to the line, Maksimovic knotted the contest at 74-74 with a jumper just eight seconds from the death.

Poland called a timeout and when play resumed, the hosts got the ball to Koc who hit a jumper for the two-point victory.

Idczak led Poland with 17 points, Koc added 16, Szott 14 and Skobel 13.

For Serbia, Dabovic exploded for a game-high 27 points in defeat.

Poland had 19 turnovers and Serbia 17.

Quotes Poland vs. Serbia

Poland Head Coach Jacek Winnicki
"Serbia is a very good team. We knew that the game would be difficult. In our team many players couldn't play because they were injured. Anyway, we were involved and played like a team should play. Thanks to our fighting spirit we are able to win many matches and I am pleased to say it. We hope that through this Qualification Round we go to the EuroBasket Women."

Serbia player Ana Dabović
"It was a really difficult game, we lost only by two points. We knew that the Polish team would fight from the beginning to the end. They deserved to win, because they were better in the last quarter. It's sad that we lost. The next games are really important to us. I hope that we win the return fixture in Serbia." 

Poland player Martyna Koc
"We showed in this game that we are a team. In the first quarter we were weak, especially on defence. This game was really important to us. I'm glad that we were able to win. I scored the last points, but I don't feel like a hero. Chapeau-bas to all the girls."