Just as they did 4 years ago in EuroBasket 2001, the Croatian national team finished the European Championship in 7th place after beating Russia 92-74 classification game for 7th-8th place on Sunday.
The Russian side finished 8th for the second time in a row.
Slovenia overcame a big early deficit to beat Croatia 89-80 and claim the final World Championship place still up for grabs at EuroBasket 2005.
The Slovenians, who went unbeaten in the group stage but fell apart against Dirk Nowitzki and Germany in their quarter-final, will now try to play Lithuania in a battle for fifth place on Sunday afternoon.
Spain took advantage of an injured and foul plagued Croatia to win an an overtime thriller in the last EuroBasket quarter-final to stay on course for a medal and secure their place at the FIBA World Championship 2006.
Fran Vazquez came to the rescue for Spain with an offensive rebound and put-back to send the game to overtime and then teamed up with Juan Carlos Navarro in a controversial extra period to seal a 101-85 triumph.
