EUROBASKET 2011

Turning Point: F.Y.R. of Macedonia finished the third quarter with a 13-5 run and Slovenia couldn't recover.

Game Hero: Bo McCalebb did another good job for F.Y.R. of Macedonia with 19 points and 4 assists.

Stats Don't Lie: Scoring a paltry 42 points during the first three quarters tells the story.

Slovenia's hopes of reaching the quarter-finals are now on a knife edge after they moved to three losses in Group F.

With their offense labouring badly for long periods, they paid the price as a buoyant F.Y.R. of Macedonia capitalised with an 68-59 victory to extend their winning streak to an impressive six games.

The first quarter was a classic period of runs as F.Y.R. of Macedonia scored the first seven points of the game. Goran Dragic then almost single handed brought the teams level as he scored seven points on his own.

There was soon a real sense of déjà vu inside the Vilnius Arena as F.Y.R. of Macedonia scored another seven points without reply, a sequence broken once again by Goran Dragic.

The Slovenian offense was misfiring badly and, not surprisingly, F.Y.R. of Macedonia punished them by taking an early double digit lead at 19-9.

Having been the only scorer for the first nine minutes of the game, Goran Dragic was replaced by his brother meaning Slovenia had to find alternatives and they certainly did.

During a devastating six-minute spell, they came alive with a 12-1 run to take the lead after upping their game at both ends of the floor. F.Y.R. of Macedonia then continued the pattern of isolated runs to respond with 10 of the last 12 points to lead 39-31 at the interval.

They continued their good work when they returned to the floor, increasing their lead to double digits by the end of the third period but were rocked by a worrying arm injury to Todor Gechevski.

With Slovenia's offense in disarray and remaining disjointed, F.Y.R. of Macedonia was able to finish the job with relative ease during the remainder of the game, despite the loss of their influential big man.

Slovenia did manage to close the gap to six points down the stretch but it proved to be too little too late.