The premiere of Vassilis Spanoulis was crowned with absolute success as he managed to exorcise an evil demon of the National Team.
Walkap (16 points, 8 points, 8 assists, 5 points) who with 27 points in the evaluation system was the MVP in defense and attack, Mitoglou with 22 points and 7 rebounds and captain Papanikolaou (16 points 8 points) led the national team in victory, with 72-64, over the Czech Republic, in the premiere of its obligations for the EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers, in an amazing atmosphere, in the presence of “stars” of the present and the recent past, families and children, in Faliro.
The truth is that the national team found a rhythm from the middle of the 3rd period onwards, allowing the Czech Republic due to its own failure to… hope until then. In the 4th quarter, however, it escaped for the first time with +8 (58-50) thanks to 5 consecutive points by Vassilis Charalambopoulos who also made a significant contribution to the rebounds in that critical period (7 rebounds in total).
The national delegation departs for The Hague, where on Monday (26/2, 20:30) it faces the Dutch national team, for the 2nd game, with the aim of two on two in the first “window” of the EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers.
From Diego Ocampo’s team, Audrey Balvin scored a double double (13 points, 10 points). Barcelona guard Tomas Satoranxi had 9 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Peterka (12 points) and Kizlink (10 points) were also in double figures.
The Greek national team competed without Kostas Sloukas and also without Nick Kalathy in the premiere of the EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers, while the Czech Republic was also deprived of the services of its own star, Jan Vesely, who earlier today renewed until 2026 in Barcelona.
The quarters: 12-15, 32-31, 53-50, 72-64
Vassilis Spanoulis started Walkap, Rogavopoulos, Papanikolaou, Mitoglou and Papagianni. Diego Ocampo selected Satoranski, Hruban, Peterka, Kizlnik and Balvin in the starting five.
A quick 0-5 in favor of the Czech Republic found an answer, with Mitoglou and Papanikolaou putting the national team ahead 6-5. With a goal foul by Peterkas, the Czechs regained the lead 6-8 to be followed by a 6-0 run by the “blue and white” from Wokap, Larentzakis, Papanikolaou for 12-8. Spanoulis’ players had scored all 12 of their points inside the “drawing board”, but the 0/6 three-pointers were problematic. The Czech Republic’s 7-0 run by Peterka, Bohacik, Balvin and Jelinek was Ocampo’s team’s longest run, to Greece’s 8-15 deficit at the end of the 1st quarter. The national team finished the 1st period with 0/9 three-pointers (!) and in combination with the 6/13 two-pointers it was clear that offensively it had not found a rhythm, nor was it a protagonist. The Czechs also excelled in rebounds with 16 against Greece’s 11.
However, Dinos Mitoglou and Kostas Papanikolaou stood out in the 2nd period, during which the national team showed an improved image, without however managing to build a significant difference. After 12-19 from Balvin and Satoransko, the national team had an offensive outburst that earned them individual scores of 9-2. The 21-21 tie came after solutions provided by Toliopoulos, Walkap, Papanikolaou, with Mitoglou stealing and nailing the highlight of the first half. Hruban was left unguarded, but for 21-25. Once again, Papanikolaou and Mitoglou got the national team out of a difficult position (26-25). A little later Mitoglou hit the first three-pointer of the “blue and white” (1/11) for 29-27 in favor of Greece. Jelenik tied it at 29-29, Mitoglou had 1/2 shots and Balvin gave the Czechs the lead again (30-21). Mitoglou’s dunk at the end of the 2nd period allowed the national team to go to the locker room at halftime with a positive sign, 32-31. Of Greece’s 32 points, 14 were scored by Mitoglou (and 6 rebounds) and 9 by Papanikolaou, i.e. the two scored 23 out of 32.
Three consecutive three-pointers were accepted by the Spanoulis players at the beginning of the 3rd period, by Peterka, Satoranski and Bohaczyk, for 33-40. But junior point guard Dimitris Moraitis dished out an assist and made a steal and earned a foul to change the tempo of the game. Thanks to his own organization and energy, the national team came back and with an 8-0 run overtook again, 41-40. The three-pointer of the main center of the national team Giorgos Papagiannis for 39-40 from an assist by Walkup was one of the most spectacular baskets in this third quarter. The national team had found a rhythm and… pace and began to present more quality basketball on the floor with partnerships and efficiency. With a drive by Rogavopoulos, a dunk by Kostas Antetokounmpo (he came in to give Mitoglou a breather), steals and a layup by Papapanikolou, the representative group found answers to the organized defense of the Czechs, for 53-48. At the same time, however, Hruban, Peterka, Balvin kept the Czech Republic in contention for victory, with Satoransky reducing the score to 53-50, but getting injured (the Barcelona guard came out but returned in the 4th period) in the next phase due to an unintentional foul Panagiotis Kalaitzakis. Jelinek and Kalaitzakis each had a missed attempt for three, for 53-50 at 30′.
With a layup and a three-pointer (5-0) by Vassilis Charalambopoulos, the national team escaped for the first time with +8 (58-50). And his offer didn’t… stop there. The Greek forward of Sassari collected one rebound after another and counted 7, 4 minutes before the end, when Mitoglou returned to the floor in his place. The electronic scoreboard read 63-56. The Panathinaikos forward won two shots, he was on target for Papanikolaou to hit right after. The national team overtook for the first time with a double-digit margin (67-56). Walkup was playing excellent defense… as usual, he made it 69-56, Mitoglou with 1/2 shots “wrote” 70-58. Kieslink’s shots, Balvin’s spike and Bohaczyk’s 3-pointer brought the Czechs to -6 (70-64) with 19 minutes to go, but the national team was no longer worried. With one second left in the game, Mitoglou won the foul from Bohacik, hit both shots to make the final, 72-64.
Referees: Castillo (Spain), Gedvilas (Lithuania), Zaschuk (Ukraine)
GREECE (Vassilis Spanoulis): Charalambopoulos 5 (1), Kalaitzakis, Mitoglou 22 (1), Papanikolaou 16, Toliopoulos, Wokap 16 (1), K. Antetokounmpo 2, Kouseloglou, Larentzakis, Moraitis 2, Papagiannis 5 (1), Rogavopoulos 2
CZECH REPUBLIC (Diego Ocampo): Hruban 5 (1), Kriz, Kizlink 10 (1), Peterka 12 (1), Senal 1, Balvin 13, Bohaczyk 8 (2), Bohm 2, Jelinek 4, Satoranski 9 (1), Sykora
Eurobasket 2025: Spanoulis’ statements
In his statements after the end of the match, the coach of the representative group, Vasilis Spanoulis emphasized that he is pleased with the performance of the team’s players.
“The excessive will of some players led to hasty actions. It wasn’t something they did on purpose. We played amazing defense, chased everywhere and put up 20 points in transition. We still want to change quite a few things. We definitely want to keep and increase our defense and rebounds while we want to run more and have better ball circulation,” he specifically said to the ERT camera.
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