Intro:

Slovenia clinched fifth place on Saturday (September 21) in their home EuroBasket tournament while Serbia beat Italy to take seventh place and qualify for the 2014 World Cup.

Script:

With little more than pride at stake, host nation Slovenia were hoping to end the EuroBasket tournament on a high when they took on Ukraine in the fifth and sixth place match on Saturday.

Sergii Gladyr sank a three-pointer from the left with 45 seconds on the clock, to cap an early 10-0 Ukraine run that ensured they led 23-16 at the first buzzer.

Edo Muric with Gaspar Vidmar combined for 11 points in a strong start to the second quarter which saw the hosts pull ahead 27-23.

After Jure Balazic hit a triple from the right shoulder with 1:18 left in the third, Vidmar finished a fast break with a one-handed dunk to give them their biggest lead in the game, 54-42, with 54 seconds remaining to the third buzzer.

Ihor Zaytsev scored eight of his 12 points at the start of final quarter to drag Ukraine back into it and they trailed by just 62-58 with 4:31 left to play.

But Dragic returned to the fold after his spell on the bench and put the game to rest with his late burst of scoring.