Greece played fantastic basketball! He eliminated Luka Doncic’s Slovenia (96-68 win) and advanced to the grand final of the Pre-Olympic Tournament, where he will face Croatia or the Dominican Republic.
The final will take place at 21:00 on Sunday night (7/7) and will be televised by Novasports Start and ERT-1.
AWESOME APPEARANCE
The national team is forty minutes away from the Olympic Games, following the victory over Slovenia (96-68) at the packed Peace and Friendship Stadium. Our representative group made an epic first 10 minutes (32-14) and from there on it went to management, but also to maintenance of forces for Sunday’s final.
The unbeatable Tomas Walkup became a super scorer, Giannis Antetokounmpo did not have to do much and was not pressured, as a back-to-back battle follows, Toliopoulos (career record with the National Team), Larentzakis, the magical once once more Kalathis plowed the floor, Mitoglou was excellent, everyone put their little stone, some bigger, some smaller, for the qualification!
Luka Doncic, on the other hand, had a nightmare followingnoon. He did not dominate, he had his good moments, however those around him might not follow him on a competitive and intellectual level, resulting in him writing 5 assists for 10 mistakes. The Slovenians fell apart in the first period and try as they might, they never threatened the National Team.
WHAT HAPPENED PER 10 MIN
Greece opened the match with Kalathis, Walkap, Papanikolaou, Antetokounmpo, Papagianni, with Giannis immediately hitting Nimbos for a goal-foul and a layup, before 9-0 in the 2′ where he led to a Slovenian timeout. The explosive start helped the national team to hold a safe lead as Doncic was still not feeling well, Mitoglou made a shot from the perimeter for 27-14, Kalathis reached six assists and the end of the period (32-14) was a dream (10/11 two points).
The difference remained at 20 early in the second, Greece’s defense was outrageous, the Slovenians had lost their minds and Antetokounmpo nailed it to make it 41-19. Doncic’s partnerships improved, but Mitoglou’s three-pointer kept the Slovenians at bay (47-28 at 17′) and at halftime the +14 wasn’t that bad, but it certainly might have been bigger.
Walkup entered with two three-pointers for 53-33 and cut off the… dreams of the Slovenians, he made a third shot and saw Calathes score for +22 at 23′. The pattern of the match did not change, the finale of the third period found the National Team at +16 (66-50) and the qualification to the final was even closer. Gianni’s assist for a three-pointer by Larentzakis (72-53 in the 31st minute) and a surprise strike by Antetokounmpo (74-53 in the 32nd minute) cut the Slovenians’ legs, with Toliopoulos and Larentzakis scoring in quick succession to seal the win and qualification to the final.
Referees: Vazquez-Shallins-Bohner. The 10 minutes: 32-14, 47-33 (d.), 66-50, 96-68.
HELLAS (Spanoulis): Walkap 19 (4/6 2-pointers, 3/8 3-pointers, 2/2 shots, 6 rebounds, 2 steals), Larentzakis 9 (3/5 3-pointers), Moraitis, Toliopoulos 17 (2/2 2-pointers, 4/ 4 three-pointers), Kalathis 9 (4/5 two-pointers, 0/5 three-pointers, 1/2 shots, 11 assists), Kalaitzakis 5 (1), Papagiannis 6 (10 rebounds), Charalambopoulos 2, Papanikolaou 5 (1), Antetokounmpo 13 (6/11 two-pointers, 4 rebounds, 2 assists), Mitoglou 11 (2 three-pointers, 6 rebounds).
Slovenia (Sekulic): Nikolic, Prepelic 6 (2/8 shots), Muric 2, Nimbo 17 (8/9 2-pointers, 7 rebounds), Hrovat 9 (2), Cerkvenik, Skuka 4, Dimet 1, Dragic 3 (1), Chansar 2 (0/5 shooting), Stergar 3, Doncic 21 (2/5 2-pointers, 5/9 3-pointers, 2/6 shots, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 10 turnovers).
The team statistics:
HELLAS: 6/10 free throws, 24/36 2-pointers, 14/34 3-pointers, 38 rebounds (27 defensive – 11 offensive), 23 assists, 7 steals, 1 block, 13 turnovers, 20 foul shots.
SLOVENIA: 112/19 free throws, 13/23 2-pointers, 10/31 3-pointers, 25 rebounds (21 defensive – 4 offensive), 16 assists, 5 steals, 1 block, 17 turnovers, 21 fouls.
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