The basketball team beat Turkey 89-80 and won the Acropolis tournament with three wins in an equal number of matches. Greece showed character at the critical moments of the match and is preparing for the match with Serbia in the World Cup qualifiers.
The national team did not include Ioannis Papapetrou, who was injured in the match against Georgia. Superstar and leader of the “blue and white”
he felt uneasy in the middle and guarded himself.
Dimitris Itoudis’s team approached the match spectacularly and with 9 points from Kostas Antetokounmpo reached 15-6 at the start. Turkey managed to score a 0-7 lead and went 15-13 with a 1/2 shot from Korkmaz. Thanks to Papanicolaou’s three-pointer, the home team went 22-15 in the first quarter.
The Turks reduced the score to 22-19 on the Saibir and 24-22 on the top three of the Sanli. Agravanis gave Greece a four (26-22) lead, while Ataman’s team took the lead with a three-pointer by Korkmaz and a two-pointer by Sengun.
The visitors had momentum and made it 29-34 with Heizer’s reverse layup. “Ataman” received a technical penalty for the protest, which allowed the team to level the score with an accurate shot by Slukas and two points from Larentsakis. The bucket changed hands several times, and the half ended with a score of 42-43 in favor of the Turks.
Greece stormed into the second half and took a 51-45 lead thanks to Dorsey’s three-pointer. The Turks were reduced to a point (51-50) due to Osman’s downtime and a successful Hazer three-pointer.
Greece maintained a slight advantage in the match. The Turks went 59-60 ahead thanks to Osman’s unexpected downtime. The guests increased the gap and reached the score of 59-67 with 1/2 of Korkmaz’s throw. Greece resisted and reduced the score to 63-69, which was the result of the third period due to Sloukas layup.
The match acquired a “wild” beauty in the fourth quarter. Greece cut the score to 68-71 with Kalatis, but the Turks responded with a 3-pointer from Mahmutoglu. At this point, Dimitris Itoudis’s team went 9-0 to lead 77-74 with Papanicolaou.
Greece reached 85-78 with two consecutive baskets of Costa Antetokounmpo and Dorsey. The hosts held the necessary defense in the final and achieved victory.
Source: Kathimerini
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