Estonia edges out Poland in basketball European Championship qualifier

Estonia has got the qualifiers off to a good start with three straight victories, including wins against North Macedonia (74:69) and Lithuania (65:59), while their opponents had been struggling, going down to heavy defeats to both teams and losing all three of their games so far.

On the night, Estonia narrowly won the first quarter 19:18 with power forward Matthias Tass excelling offensively and guard Kasper Suurorg contributing seven points off the bench, but they struggled with rebounding against Poland’s best.

This meant that at halftime, the hosts were 40:38 up, having dominated free throws and three-point attempts, while Estonia relied on nine points each from Tass and Kullamäe, who also added six assists.

After a tight third quarter, Estonia’s late 6:0 run gave them a slim lead before Poland closed the gap again, but in a dramatic fourth quarter, small forward Janari Jõesaar’s key plays and small forward Kaspar Treier’s clutch three-pointer secured Estonia’s victory, despite brief challenges from Poland.

Tass led Estonia’s points tally with 19, followed by Jõesaar with 15 and Kullamäe with 13 points and 11 assists.

Estonia and Poland will face off again in Tallinn on Sunday for the second leg.

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