Comfortable victory without Antetokounmpo against Egypt and… we left for the “final”

She had a… relaxed evening National team defeating me 93-71 in Egypt in the packed SEF and formally securing first place in the second group of the Pre-Olympic Tournament. He is now preparing for the first of the… one plus one finals, the Saturday at 17:30 against Slovenia of Luka Doncic, hoping to find himself in Sunday’s final against the winner of Croatia-Dominican Republic (Saturday, 21:00).

Except, to protect himself, he stayed John Antetokounmpowhile his brother, Kostas, left with problems in his left knee and the exams are expected. Not as impressive as the premiere, but the Greek team was quite substantial, even though they faced problems from the fighting Egyptians’ zone.

Giorgos Papagiannis with 16, Dinos Mitoglou with 16 and Kostas Papanikolaou with 15 points “pulled” the score, while Kalathis excelled organizationally with 9 and Walkap with 7 assists.

The match

Walkap, Kalathis, Papanikolaou, Papagiannis and Mitoglou made up the first Greek five. Outstanding plays by the two guards led to a quick 10-3 run, with the blue and white defense suffocating the Egyptians and leading to a 14-0 run that made it 16-3. Vassilis Spanoulis opened the rotation early and Egypt, thanks to Metouali’s three-pointers, gathered the difference to 20-12 at the end of the first period.

Nick Calathes’ court vision is something different??#FIBAOQT x @hellenicbf ????

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— FIBA ​​(@FIBA) July 4, 2024

By replacing Papanikolaou at the beginning of the second period, Kill Bill had used all available players. Three-pointers from Kalaitzaki and Larentzaki kept Greece in a double-digit difference (29-19). Kostas Antetokounmpo’s departure to the locker room with left knee discomfort caused a stir and along with the opponents’ zone disorganized the National team allowing the Egyptians to close to six (31-25, 36-30) and forcing Spanoulis to call a timeout . Despite the continuous solutions of Papagiannis (13 points in the half), the “Pharaohs” were… a tight corset and came close to the basket (40-38) in the last minute of the quarter. Mitoglou’s long 2-pointer limited the damage to close the half at 42-38.

Wait for it?? #FIBAOQT pic.twitter.com/BDwvsJbeL8

— FIBA ​​(@FIBA) July 4, 2024

Charalambopoulos’ three-pointer and the surprises of Papanikolaou and Papagiannis restored the double-digit lead for the National team, 53-41. With the Greek defense more effective and a better read against the zone, the “official favorite” stepped on the gas and escaped with 61-45. Charalambopoulos’ second three-pointer brought the lead to +18 (68-52) for the first time, with the quarter closing at 68-52.

Mitoglou’s and Larentzaki’s 3-pointers pushed the difference to 24 (80-56) halfway through the fourth period, dispelling any doubts about the eventual winner. The Greek team, without prematurely thinking about the semi-final with Slovenia, compensated the audience and ended the evening happily, now preparing for the… crisis weekend.

Ten minutes: 20-12, 42-38, 68-52, 93-71

See here the statistics of the match

Referees: Mazzoni (Italy), Garcia (Venezuela), Becker (Australia).