Sixers like what they see in Saric

Roko Ukic and Dario Saric of Croatia celebrate their 72-70 victory as Spain's Pau Gasol walks off the court in Rio on Sunday. [Photo/Agencies]

With one big block, Dario Saric gave a glimpse of what the 76ers can't wait to see in Philadelphia.

And he showed why Croatia believes in its chances to reach the quarterfinals at these Olympics.

Saric swatted away Pau Gasol's shot just before the buzzer, preserving Croatia's 72-70 upset of Spain on Sunday night.

The former lottery pick had a rough offensive game and banged his leg in the final minute, but kept fighting to make the biggest play of the Olympics so far.

"This last play from Saric, that's a picture of our team," Croatia captain Roko Ukic said.

The 76ers loved it, tweeting a picture of the final play on the team's Twitter account.

The Sixers have been waiting to get the No 12 pick in the 2014 draft on the team since acquiring his draft rights from Orlando, but Saric continued playing professionally in Turkey until signing a contract with the 76ers last month.

That has focused even more attention on the 22-year-old forward.

"He's like the next big thing in Croatia. That's not easy," Ukic said.

"It's not easy to play the game, first time at the Olympic Games, and things didn't go well for him offensively. But he saved the day with his last block. That shows character."

Saric finished with just five points on 1-for-7 shooting, and limped to the sideline with 12.8 seconds left after he banged his leg on a pick that freed up Nikola Mirotic for a 3-pointer that cut it to 71-70.

Saric came back onto the court after the timeout and made one free throw before shaking off whatever pain was left in his leg to turn away Gasol's shot.

"Anybody can make that block and it was, I don't know, my situation and I did it," said Saric.

The 76ers have endured three straight miserable seasons while they broke down the roster and angled for the draft lottery. They hope it will start paying off with players such as No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, the former No 3 selection who hasn't played yet because of injuries.

Saric looks as if he will fit into the team nicely.

"Today he didn't make some shots, but he played a great game," said Mirotic, who plays for the Chicago Bulls. "I think that right now he's an NBA player, it's good for him. I'm sure that he's going to do great there."

Croatia didn't earn a place at the Games until last month, knocking off Greece and then hosts Italy in overtime to win a qualifying tournament. Saric was the tournament MVP after averaging 14 points and 10 rebounds.

He couldn't deliver that kind of scoring on Sunday, but finished with seven rebounds and five assists to go with his block.

And there's more to Saric than his stats. "He has no fear of anything," Croatia coach Aleksandar Petrovic said.