Dennis Schröder, Marco Belinelli lead teams to FIBA EuroBasket quarterfinals

FIBA EuroBasket is (finally) into the knockout stage and both Dennis Schröder and Marco Belinelli were in action on Saturday. Fortunately, both Germany and Italy were victorious, meaning that the teams will advance to the quarterfinals and enable both members of the Atlanta Hawks to hit the floor at least one more time this week.

Germany was in a hotly contested game with France before emerging with an 84-81 victory. Schröder was not quite as efficient as shooter (5 of 15 from the field) as he has been elsewhere in the tournament but the talented young point guard dished out eight assists against just two turnovers. That was a welcome sight after he entered with more turnovers than assists during pool play and his team needed the strong effort.

As for Belinelli, he led all scorers in a 70-57 victory over Finland with 23 points. The veteran wing knocked down five of his eight attempts from beyond the arc, continuing his blistering shooting. For good measure, Belinelli also led the game with a +20 while on the floor during the contest and Italy was impressive as a whole.

Both teams get a day off on Sunday (as the rest of the Round of 16 takes place) before continuing in the quarterfinals. Stay tuned.