The effort was again impressive but the result was again negative for the National Team who paid for the bad first half and failed to complete the turnaround against Spain, losing 84-77.
Thus, the Greek team fell to 0-2 in Group A of the Olympic Basketball Games despite the efforts of Antetokounmpo (27 points, 11 rebounds) and Toliopoulos (14 points, 4/6 triples) in the final while the "Rocha" rose to 1 -1.
Greece had a disastrous second quarter where the Spaniards "ran" individual scores 28-13 with 7/9 three-pointers in this period and now all the weight falls on the match against Australia (2/8, 14:30).
The match: Spain-Greece
The National Team played with patience in the first minutes, dealing with every possession perfectly. Giannis Antetokounmpo was very active making it 3-9 in the 3′ with a goal-foul while Willy Hernangometh was loaded early-early with a second foul, giving way to Ousmane Garouba. At the same time, Papanikolaou was making amazing defenses in the back line coming from the weak side while Nick Calathes' second three-pointer made it 12-20 for the National Team!
Nevertheless, Sadi Aldama found a rhythm with two long shots for Spain who turned their defense into a zone while Sergio Yule changed the tempo of the match with two three-pointers, the second one touching the… ceiling of Pierre Mauroy and the defenses of Toliopoulos-Antetokounmpo to be excellent. Greece was finding good options in attack but it was misplaced, with Antetokounmpo playing the entire first quarter which ended at 21-22 for the National Team.
Then the Spanish defense closed in with two or three players when Antetokounmpo touched the ball and forced the Greek Freak to pass outside. The Iberians... stuffed the racket to make it difficult for Giannis and gave the shot to the Greek team, but it was off target. The Spanish defense was great, their offensive partnerships were impressive and Jaime Pradilla scored to make it 40-32 with a layup.
Essentially, the second unit of "roja" turned the game around for Spain, who played terrible basketball for the 49-35 halftime lead with Alex Abrines' three-pointer. From 12-20 onwards, the individual score for the Iberians was 37-15! It is characteristic that Sergio Scariolo's team went to the locker room having 11/17 three-pointers (65%), 7/9 in the second period while Antetokounmpo did not take a single shot during this period!
Spain's zone defense continued to cause problems for the National team who were looking for a good period in defense and attack to hope for something. However, the Greek team realized that it was difficult to score in the "five against five" and decided to run. Greece turned the switch towards the end of the third period, with Vassilis Toliopoulos hitting a big 62-pointer to make it 56-1 at the end of the third period! The National team began to eat away at the difference against the Spaniards who had only 5/11 three-pointers in the third quarter after 17/XNUMX in the first half.
The sequel belonged to Vassilis Toliopoulos! The international guard of Aris provided solutions with the long shot, making it 68-67 with 4/4 three-pointers! Greece turned the game around with a defense seminar in the second half and Toliopoulos' big shots, but Lorenzo Brown won a foul in "dead time" making it 75-71 from the line of shots at 37'. Calathes missed a three-pointer, and in the next phase Yule scored on the surprise for +6 (77-71) of Spain who insisted on the zone while Sandy Aldama finished the phase near the basket for 79-71. The National team made the last attempt with Antetokounmpo (80-77, 39′), who then missed a free three-pointer from the top and the Iberians won 84-77.
The quarters: 21-22, 49-35, 62-56, 84-77.
WON WHY: Spain went all out in the first half, going 11/17 from 71-point range and building double-digit leads early. The National team improved its image in the second half and tied the match with Giannis Antetokounmpo's nailer (71-35, 25:XNUMX), however, the Iberians had better options in the final, causing many problems with the zone defense.
BEST OF ALL: Sandy Aldama stuffed his stats with 19 points (3/6 double, 3/8 triple, 4/4 vol.), 12 rebounds, two assists and three blocks in 29:35.
CO-START IN THE WIN: Sergio Yule finished the game with 13 points, seven assists and three rebounds in 24:40.
THEY EXPECTED MORE: Dinos Mitoglou had 4 points on 2/7 shooting from the field and one assist in 10:49.
HIS PERFORMANCE TURNED: Giannis Antetokounmpo led the National Team against Spain with 27 points, 12/16 0-pointers, 1/3 5-pointers, 11/34 shots, 22 rebounds, three assists and two steals in XNUMX:XNUMX.
Source: gazzetta.gr