Greece found itself with its back once morest the wall, following losing by as many as 13 points (31-18) to the Netherlands in the middle of the second period, but managed to turn around and escape from The Hague with 74-72 in the second game of the qualifiers for EuroBasket 2025.
The victory of the official favorite largely brought the signature of Vassilis Toliopoulos, who scored 26 points, while in his five previous games once morest Andron he had a total of 18 points. The international guard of Aris even achieved a very pivotal basket at 29.5″ before the end.
Vassilis Spanoulis’s team did not enter the match well, having made 11 mistakes in the first 15 minutes, but later improved noticeably in this part, since in the rest of the match they committed only 3. In a match that was deprived of the services of Naz Mitrou- Long, due to a shoulder problem and lost Costa Antetokounmpo following the first half due to a knee injury.
18-29 points from opponent mistakes, 11-10 points from surprise, 8-6 second chance points, 38-28 points from painted, 29-23 points from substitutes.
The race
With Vassilis Toliopoulos scoring 7 quick points, Greece found itself in a double-score (6-12) at 6’22”. However, the Netherlands took advantage of the 6 mistakes of the national team in the first period and equalized at 12-12 at 8’32”. The end of the quarter found Vassilis Spanoulis’ team at +4 (12-16), but the continuation was not similar.
Greece’s fouls reached 11 by the middle of the second quarter, as a result of which the Netherlands went on a 17-0 run (from 14-18 to 31-18) and escaped with a 13-point margin at 15:26. The official favorite managed to somehow close the gap until the break (39-32, 20′).
The Greek national team turned the switch in the third period and led by Vassilis Toliopoulos, who scored 15 points, counterattacked to take the reins once more (58-62, 30′).
Former AEK and PAOK player Yannick Franke scored 5 consecutive points for 63-62 (31’12”). It was followed by a basket by Panagiotis Kalaitzakis and a three-pointer by Marin Ververs for 66-64 at 34′. Giorgos Papagiannis wrote 66-66, but Roland Saftenar answered immediately for 68-66. Dimitris Moraitis hit a big 3-pointer for 68-69 with 2’57” to go, while a little later he won a foul and had 1/2 shots to make it 68-70.
Saftenar also got a foul, hit both shots and made it 70-70 at 38′. He then took another foul shot, made 1/2 shots and gave the Netherlands a lead (71-70) with 73″ on the clock. Giorgos Papagiannis and Kai van der Voorst de Vries made back-to-back fouls, with Vassilis Toliopoulos making a key layup with 29.5 minutes to go to make it 71-72. This was followed by a great Greek defense and a pair of shots from the captain of Greece in this match, Yannis Kouseloglou for 71-74. Charlon Clough was the one who wrote the final 72-74.
THE REFEREES: Mazzoni, Parks, Mitrovski
THE DECADES: 12-16, 39-32, 58-62, 72-74
Netherlands team stats: 22/40 2-pointers, 7/23 3-pointers, 7/11 shots, 37 rebounds (16 offensive – 21 defensive), 22 assists, 19 fouls, 18 turnovers, 7 steals, 1 block
Greece’s team statistics: 17/31 2-pointers, 9/24 3-pointers, 13/18 shots, 29 rebounds (10 offensive – 19 defensive), 14 assists, 20 fouls, 14 turnovers, 8 steals, 6 blocks
The next matches of the two teams: In the third matchday of Group F, Greece will play away to Great Britain on November 21, 2024. On the same day, the Netherlands will play away to the Czech Republic.
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