Even With NBA Players, Croatia Falls in European Olympic Play

Croatia’s long-awaited international basketball debut got off to a rocky start when the former Yugoslav republic lost, 86-74, Monday to Germany in the first round of the European Olympic qualifying tournament.

The loss dropped Croatia to the bottom of the Group C standings. The team features New Jersey Net guard Drazen Petrovic and Boston Celtic center Stojko Vrankovic, in addition to international star Toni Kukoc.

In other games, the revised Group A began play with Czechoslovakia beating Sweden, 79-68, behind Pavel Becka’s 18 points, and Omer Buyucaican scoring 21 as Turkey beat Ireland, 103-72.

In Group B in Granada, France beat Italy, 89-83, to pull even with Italy and Israel with 2-1 records. Latvia defeated Albania, 94-78, and Israel took Poland, 81-59.

In Group C in Murcia, Constantin Popa scored 20 points to lead Romania past Portugal, 75-57, and Greece beat Iceland, 77-73.

In Group D in Badajoz, Britain beat Estonia, 85-68, and the Commonwealth of Independent States routed Hungary, 120-57, as Atlanta Hawk forward Alexander Volkov scored 21 points. Lithuania beat Holland, 100-75.