Aug. 14, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA., AUG. 14, 2007 - Penn State junior Joonas Suotamo (Espoo, Finland) posted his best game of the tournament so far in helping lead the Finnish National Team to a 62-49 victory over Mexico at the 24th World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Finnish team split a pair of games in Phase 2 of the competition, which runs through Aug. 18, also falling to Serbia 78-55. Serbia advanced to quarterfinal action, while Finland will play Turkey on Thursday in consolation action.
Suotamo, 6-10, 230-pound forward playing his second stint with the Finnish team at the World University Games, scored seven points, grabbed three rebounds and had a steal while shooting 3-of-4 from the floor in the victory over Mexico. He had two points and one rebound in the loss to Serbia.
Finland is 2-2 at the World University games having fallen 86-44 to Russia in its opening game and posted an 81-62 win over Chinese Taipei in their second game. Suotamo has scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds thus far in the competition.
The World University Games are comprised of nearly 8,000 athletes from more than 150 countries that are between the ages of 17-28 and not more than one year removed from university enrollment. Competition amongst the 24-team basketball field began on Aug. 7
Suotamo is one of eight returning lettermen for the Nittany Lions in 2007-08. He played in 18 games as a sophomore.