In a disappointing finish for Lauri Markkanen and Finland, they lost to Germany 98-86. Lauri Markkanen did not have the big performance he needed to lead Finland to victory. In this one, he was 6/17 from the field and just 2/9 from three. Finland needed Markkanen to come out with a dominant performance, and it just wasn’t there. Markkanen wasn’t the only one who struggled, but this Finnish team was only going to go as far as Markkanen took them.
If there was a bright spot for Finland, Miikka Muurinen
was 4/6 from the field and was 3/4 from three. It’s a great sign for the young prospect as he has a big season coming up.
For Germany, they got some huge performances from Dennis Schroder 26 points/12 assists) and Franz Wagner (22 points). The percentages weren’t perfect, but they dominated the game from the free-throw line.
This isn’t the end of the road for Finland; they will face Greece and Giannis Antetokounmpo on Sunday, which should be really interesting. It’s a huge game for Finland, giving them the chance for their first medal in team history in EuroBasket.
