In an initially comfortable but ultimately tight battle, Greece defeated Spain 90-86 to clinch the top seed from Group C in the EuroBasket knockout stage. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the charge for the boys in blue and white to finish 4-1, scoring 25 necessary points that sent the defending champs and a recent thorn in Greece’s side packing.
Tyler Dorsey stood out for Hellas, scoring 22 points on a scorching 6/9 performance behind the arc. Kostas Sloukas and Kostas Papanikolaou added 12 and 11, respectively.
Combined, the three contributed 12 assists. It was a balanced effort for Spain, with Jaime Pradilla, Mario Saint-Supery, Xabi Lopez-Arostegui, and Santi Aldama ranging from 14 to 12 points. Sergio De Larrea helmed the squad with six assists.
Giannis’ 25 points featured 60% shooting from the floor, but only 58% shooting from the line, a number he’ll be looking to improve. Still, he shot better than Spain’s 57%, including a frightful 0-3 trip from Juancho Hernangomez as Spain trailed Greece by four with 13 seconds remaining. But Giannis led his side with 14 boards and nine assists, just shy of a triple-double. Not too shabby from the Greek Freak (perhaps just “Freak” given the context), especially after missing two games (rest and knee).
Kostas and Thanasis also played a few minutes. The newly signed Antetokounbro scored a free throw and recorded a rebound alongside missing three shots and picking up a foul in under five minutes.
Greece will play Israel on Sunday at 1:45 local time in Riga. They face a favorable draw with France, Serbia, and Germany on the other side of the bracket. Giannis and co will be looking to advance to the finals at minimum.
