Greece topped its EuroBasket pool in Limassol with a hard-fought 90-86 victory over Spain and will now face Israel in the knock-out stages of the last 16.
Greece was led by Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s 25 points and 14 rebounds. Tyler Dorsey chipped in with 22 points. Spain entered the final group game with a 2-2 record, including a loss to Georgia in its opener that cost it a tiebreaker and left it in a must-win scenario. The Greeks had already qualified after winning three of their first four games.
Dorsey scored 14 points and Greece went on a 14-0 run to open a 30-14 lead – thanks to 8 of 10 three-pointers. Spain fought back into the game and pulled within 38-33 before the Greeks responded with a 13-2 close to the first half and went into the break up 50-36.
Spain fought all the way to tie the game 71-71 and eventually pulled ahead 84-82. But Giannis Antetokounmpo scored two baskets to shift the momentum back to Greece. Juancho Hernangomez missed all three free throws with 13 seconds left and Spain down 88-84 and Santi Aldama only split two foul shots with 9.4 seconds remaining.
“One of the best games that Greece ever played” in a EuroBasket competition
Giannis Antetokounmpo started the game slowly, scoring-wise with just 2 points in the first quarter, but he had 4 assists. The NBA superstar finished the game flirting with a triple-double in gathering 25 points, 14 rebounds, and 9 assists.
“It was an incredible game for my team, especially the first half. It was one of the best games that Greece ever played. The first half was amazing – offensively, defensively, the way we moved the ball, shooting, defense, rebounding,” said Greek Coach Vasilis Spanoulis.
“This win gives us confidence for the continuation and we are very happy. It’s been so many years (since beating Spain), we are happy about it but it’s just a win. We need to relax because the more important games are coming,” Dinos Mitoglou, said.
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