Greece raced to a 26-point lead in the first quarter and held on to beat Serbia 87-77 on Friday at the European basketball championship and earn a chance to qualify for next year’s London Olympics.
Centre Ioannis Bourousis led Greece with 27 points and Nikolaos Zisis added 18.
Marko Keselj had 22 for Serbia, with Nenad Krstic adding 15.
Greece will play Lithuania for fifth place, with both teams having secured a spot in a 12-team pre-Olympic qualifying tournament that will send three teams to the London Games.
“We came in with the right mindset and our good defence allowed us to make shots,” said Greece guard Nick Calathes, who had 10 points and 10 assists. “I thought we wanted it more. It was like a final for us.”
Greece outscored Serbia 34-8 in the first quarter, all but sealing the game.
“In all my years as coach I’ve never seen a quarter like this,” Serbia’s 67-year-old coach Dusan Ivkovic said. “I can’t explain it, my team had no reaction.”
The 12-team tournament is scheduled for July 2-8, 2012.
(source: AP)
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