Jerebko and Grant Take Down Bulgaria

Was not going to let an ankle injury get in his way: Jonas Jerebko

Having been noted as a major doubt for Sweden's pivotal EuroBasket Qualification Round clash with Bulgaria, Jonas Jerebko shrugged off his troublesome ankle injury to help his team claim a vital 85-71 success against their Group B rivals.

With Germany way out in front, this was always going to prove a potentially decisive encounter, and Sweden made it count to make it a perfect three wins from three games on home soil.

Jerebko was a major force as usual, managing to accumulate a typically all-action 13 points, five assists and five steals but it was Kenny Grant who arguably came up with the most dazzling display.

The 30 year old guard had the hot-hand from downtown all night long, sinking a sparkling five of five three-pointers which was the main reason for Sweden's success.

The home side always on top during the first half and led 49-39 at the interval, but Bulgaria did rally in the final quarter to cause concern for the Norrkoping locals.

Hristo Nikolov threw down a dunk to make it a one-shot game at 69-66 but it was to be as near as Bulgaria would get as Sweden kept their composure down the stretch to see the game out.

Chavdar Kostov had 20 points for Bulgaria but it was a far different night from when they opened up their campaign with a 78-73 win against the Swedes

Quotes Sweden vs. Bulgaria

Bulgaia head coach Rosen Barchovski
"Sweden deserved to win, but I thought 14 points was too much. The game was much closer, it felt like a five- or six-point game. We lost the game in the fourth quarter after having come back strong in the third. We had a couple of turnovers and Sweden made some three-point shots late in the game. Now we just have to try and win the next game."

Sweden head coach Brad Dean
"I'm very proud of my team, we showed mental strength towards the end. We had the lead and lost it, but then we came back and won the game by playing really well and making some good shots. We played good defense all game long, very focused. When we lost our lead it was because our offense went a little bit stagnant. I'm also happy that so many players contributed in different parts of the game. But we have to remember that we still need to win a couple of more games."

Sweden forwad Jonas Jerebko
"We played like a team and that's what we need to do to win. I didn't have a super game, but our guards Thomas Massamba and Kenny Grant took good care of the ball and never let the gam slip away from us. And then they made some huge shots too. This win feels really good, it can prove to be important but now we need to forget about that. We have three games left and we feel we can win all of them."