EUROBASKET QUALIFIERS

Romania held off a late rally to open their EuroBasket qualifying campaign with a 90-84 victory over the Netherlands in Group D.

The Dutch had wiped out a double-digit first-quarter lead for Romania to go eight points clear themselves in the second quarter, and the teams were all tied up at 45-45 at half-time.

Rares Mandache led Romania in scoring

But Romania pulled away again in the third period and this time the Dutch could not catch them despite a late push.

Romania began strongly and were up 22-12  when Vlad Moldoveanu hit a pair of free throws to cap a 9-0 run with 3:45 to go in the first quarter.

But the Dutch hit back and back-to-back threes from Worthy De Jong made it 28-27 to Romania by the end of the first.

De Jong's long balls were just the start of a 14-0 Dutch run that had them up 35-28 on Henk Norel's three-point play early in the second and they led 44-38 on David Jansen's three midway through the second.

Romania scored the final seven points of the second quarter to level it at 45-45 on Rares Mandache's three and run reached 15 unanswered points in the third period as Titus Nicoara's jump-shot gave them a 53-45 edge.

Mandache's three made it 65-53 as they continued to pull clear.

The Dutch tried to rally early in the fourth, and a 10-3 spurt cut the lead to 73-69 on Jansen's lay-up.

Norel's three-point play made it a three-point game, 82-79, with 53 seconds left, and it came down to free throws, with Mihail-Octavian Paul, Mihai Silvasan and Moldoveanu doing enough to hold off the Dutch at the close.

Mandache led Romania with 19 points, Silvasan had 14, Paul 12 and Nicoara 10.

Norel led the Dutch with 27 points and Jansen had 18.