Our evil demon, our nightmare, the team that traditionally pressures us into our dreams. And it usually wins us over. Spain was at it again, again bending the National Team (84-77) and sending them to the final against Australia (2/8 at 2:30 p.m.) for the third place that could potentially qualify for the quarterfinals of the 2024 Olympics.
Sergio Scariolo’s team made 11/17 three-pointers in the first half, led by 16 (51-35) in the first possession of the third period and when tied (71-71), had answers from their experienced players and cleaned up the match.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is unstoppable again (27 points, 12/16 two-pointers, 3/5 shots, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), a terrible performance by Vassilis Toliopoulos who kept Greece in the match with big shots, but from there on the zone defense of the Spaniards created huge problems and bent the National Team.
Ο MVP
Sandy Aldama was amazing, in the toughest game he could find, he closed the match with 19 points and 12 rebounds, but the real difference makers were Sergio Yule (13 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists) with his big shooting in the first half and Rudy Fernandez (10 points, 3/6 3-pointers) who left injured after a collision with Juancho Hernangomet.
The stats that stood out
Spain closed the first period with 2/6 two points, Greece with 6/12, which was at +1. At halftime, Scariolo’s players had 11/17 three-pointers (11/16 to be exact, one was… killed by Yule), while the National team had few mistakes (five), but had 33% from the perimeter .
In the second half, the Spaniards had 4/14 three-pointers, but they also had 15/18 shots in forty minutes while Greece counted only 3/5. The Iberians made 27 baskets, Greece 31. The points from the opponent’s mistakes were 8-18, the points on the surprise were 19-11, the points from second chances 9-9, the points on the racket 20-36.
The race
With Kalathis, Walkap, Papanikolaou, Antetokounmpo, Papagianni, Spanoulis opened the match, who saw Giannis get the assist for Nick’s three-pointer in the first attack. The Greek Freak stood out, fouled for 3-9 in the 3′, scored in bursts, set up for those around him for 10-17 in the 6′, but an epic burst from Sergio Yule and his eight straight points, led to a balance (21-22) towards the end of the first period.
With Toliopoulos, Larentzakis, Charalambopoulos, the National team remained upright at the beginning of the second, but the collaborations of Yule – Rudy (27-33) created a big problem as Spain reached 7/12 three-pointers in the 14th minute. Abrines with another long shot made it 43-32 at 18′ and the situation began to become very difficult for Greece, which did not find a way to take advantage of Antetokounmpo, was not effective from the perimeter and fell to -14 at halftime.
Antetokounmpo attacked head-on at the start of the second half to give hopes of a turnaround, before Walkap – Papanikolaou made a three-pointer and Giannis nailed it for 55-47 at 25′. However, Greece did not seize the bad time of its opponents, Aldama made a three-pointer for 62-49 and kept his team in front and at a distance.
The good finish of the national team in the third quarter and Toliopoulos’ three-pointer for 62-56 put even more pressure on the Spaniards, with Giannis opening the fourth quarter with a goal-foul for 62-59. He himself scored for 62-61, Juancho and Rudi made huge shots for 71-67, Giannis nailed for 71-71 at 36′, but the return of the zone defense suffocated the National team that was surprised by Yul (77 -71 at 37′) and was defeated as Antetokounmpo found iron with the score at 80-77 that he wrote with his own goal-foul.
THE REFEREES: Zurapovic, Kozlovskis, Anaya
THE DECADES: 21-22, 49-35, 62-56, 84-77
SPAIN (Scariolo): Brown 7 (1 three-pointer, 10 assists, 4 turnovers), Pradilla 7 (1), Fernandez 10 (3/6 three-pointers), Lopez-Arostegui, Aldama 19 (3/6 two-pointers, 3/8 three-pointers, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks), Brithuela 3 (1), Diath 3, Juancho Hernangometh 3 (1), Billy Hernangometh 11 (2/7 2-pointers, 7/8 shots, 7 rebounds), Garuba, Abrines 8 (2 ), Jul 13 (2/3 2-pointers, 3/6 3-pointers, 7 assists)
GREECE (Spanoulis): Walkap 5 (1/4 three-pointers, 4 assists), Larentzakis 5 (1/6 three-pointers), Toliopoulos 14 (4/6 three-pointers), Kalathis 8 (1/6 two-pointers, 2/6 three-pointers, 3 rebounds , 7 assists), Kalaitzakis, Papagiannis 5 (1/4 three-pointers, 7 rebounds), Charalambopoulos, Papanikolaou 9 (3/5 three-pointers, 4 rebounds, 3 assists), Antetokounmpo 27 (12/16 two-pointers, 3/5 shots, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), Mitoglou 4 (2/7 shots)
Spain’s team stats: 12/26 2-pointers, 15/31 3-pointers, 15/18 shots, 39 rebounds (30 defensive – 9 offensive), 24 assists, 3 steals, 6 blocks, 15 turnovers, 16 fouls
Greece’s team stats: 19/35 2-pointers, 12/35 3-pointers, 3/5 shots, 31 rebounds (21 defensive – 10 offensive), 21 assists, 5 steals, 1 block, 9 turnovers, 22 fouls
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