Sweden was down by ten points after the second period, but made a strong comeback in the third. Heading into the final period, Sweden had a narrow lead of 58–57.
Less than three minutes into the fourth quarter, Estonia had turned the tables and led 68–61, and Sweden's national team captain Mikko Riipinen called a timeout. It didn't help much. A few minutes later, Estonia had extended its lead to 80–66.
It takes a lot of energy and strength to dig so deep and play such a quarter (like Sweden's third), and then you want to ride the wave - you can run out of energy, says national team captain Riipinen.
The Swedes were able to claw back a little, but still lost 77–88 in the end.
Very disappointing. I don't think we're playing a good game. We should be able to beat them here. We're good at times but it's too uneven; they score too easily. They score 88 points here on our home field and then it's hard to win, says Ludvig Håkanson.
Sweden had to cope without NBA star Pelle Larsson and key player Simon Birgander, who is injured and will also miss the match on Sunday. Sweden will play Estonia away on Sunday.
It's a must-win match for us, and that's what we're taking with us. Regardless of whether it's away, it's 'do or die', says Pierre Hampton.
