Estonia's offense stalls in World Cup qualifying loss to Hungary
Estonia's basketball team slumped to an 85:67 defeat away to Hungary in their FIBA World Cup qualifier, their fourth loss in seven games, as the offense stalled badly in the second half.
Start player Henri Drell, forced to wear a protective mask after a blow to the nose in a recent friendly against Lithuania, was among the starters. Estonia were also without guards Martin Paasoja (upper respiratory infection) and Kasper Suurorg (elbow), who finished the game with 10 points but had been a doubt after falling awkwardly in training.
Estonia led 14:13 after the first quarter and briefly stretched the lead to 21:16 in the second, but Hungary levelled and edged ahead to lead 37:34 at halftime. In the third, Estonia fought back to tie the game at 47:47, but the hosts responded with an 8:0 run and took a 63:56 lead into the final quarter.
The hoped‑for comeback never came. The visitors' offense stalled further in the fourth, committing 19 turnovers — five more than Hungary — and losing the rebounding battle 35:31, including 10 offensive rebounds to Estonia's five.
Guard Kristian Kullamäe led Estonia with 26 points. Only Suurorg also reached double figures with 10, while Drell committed five turnovers. Hungary's Zoltan Perl scored 22 and Nate Reuvers added 18.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, : Siim Boikov
