Croatia avoided upset by defeating Philippines 81-78 in a thrilling overtime game that came right down to the wire at Palacio Municipal De Deportes San Pablo in Sevilla, Spain.

Indiana Pacers and Croatia forward Damjan Rudez drilled two crucial costless throws with 6 seconds left to clinch the win.

Philippine point guard Jayson Williams missed a three-point shot as the shot clock expired that would have tied the game at 81. It appeared he was fouled on the shot, but there was no call.

Bojgan Bogdanovic, who will be playing for the Brooklyn Nets next season, scored 26 points while making many clutch baskets down the stretch. Dario Saric, the 12th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft and future Philidelphia 76er, scored 10 points and pulled down 9 rebounds before fouling out with 2:03 left in overtime.

NBA Costless Agent Andray Blatche led the way for the Philippines, scoring 28 points while pulling down 12 rebounds. Blatche, not known for his three-point shooting ability, was 3-4 from beyond the arc and also made a variety of key plays down the stretch to keep the Philippines in the game. Point guard Jeff Chan added 17 points.

Croatia led 37-31 at halftime and 57-49 after three quarters, but a 22-14 outburst from the Philippines in the fourth quarter forced overtime.

The Croatians shot 57% from the field and 90% from the costless throw line, but 28% from three-point land and 21 turnovers allowed the Philippines to cause a threat. 

Philippines shot a poor 38% from the field and 77% from the charity stripe, but 36% from byond the arc allowed them to make it a game.

Croatia's next game is tomorrow, August 31st, vs. Argentina at 7:30 am ET. 

Philippines next game is also tomorrow  vs. Greece at 2:00 pm ET.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Anthony Cardamone
At age 15, I cover the NBA, NCAA, and other topics around the sports world for VAVEL USA. You can follow me on Twitter: @ACardamoneNBA.