Greece beat Ukraine 99-79 to take first place in their third group. Eurobasket. Dimitris Itoudis’s team struggled in the first half but improved their defensive performance in the second, with Giannis Antetokounmpo taking them by the hand in critical moments to take the win.

The national team superstar scored 41 points, setting a new career high in a national team jersey.

The Blue and Whites will end their duties in Milan on Thursday (August 9, 6:00 pm) against Estonia, in a match likely to be played by Costas Antetokounmpo. Greece will face the team that finished fourth in the fourth group.

With his seven points in a row Giannis Antetokounmpo Greece led 7-0 in the first three minutes of the game. Characteristically, the guests found a reaction and reduced the score to 12:10 with Mikhalyuk and Shannon five minutes before the end of the first period.

Papanikolaou and Giannis Antetokounmpo put Greece ahead by seven points (17-10), but the visitors tended to keep a close distance. Ukraine reduced to 23-20, the score of the first period, with Tkachenko’s nail.

Bagatskis’ team scored five points in a row to start the second quarter and took a 23-25 ​​lead thanks to a 3-point Bobrov. Greece regained control thanks to a timely three-pointer from Sloukas and the lead was back and forth. The Ukrainians took the lead by four points (32-36) thanks to Mikhalyuk’s accurate shot.

Greece cut the lead to a point with a series of shots from Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the typical away Shannon three-pointer reached the score of 37-42 with about two minutes left in the half. The White-and-Blues did not find a solution in the attack, and the Ukrainians took the lead 37-44 with Mikhalyuk. The second quarter ended with the Ukrainians winning 39-46 after Len’s shot.

With four straight points from Dorsey, Greece fell to 43-46 at the start of the third period. With Giannis Antetokounmpo unstoppable, Dimitris Itoudis’ team led 50-49 with about seven minutes left in the quarter. The Greek defense improved noticeably, and with Dorsey taking the lead, the White-and-Blues reached 60-53 in the 27th minute.

Greece’s impressive streak continued with Dimitris Itoudis’s team reaching +10 (63-53) with Dorsey. The Ukrainians scored after a long time with Mikhaliuk, but Kalatis hit two three-pointers in a row to make it 71-57 in the third period.

Greece continued at the same pace and reached 78-59 with seven minutes left in the game. The team of Dimitris Itoudis confidently retained the lead and achieved victory.

Quarters: 23-20, 39-46, 71-57, 99-79

Greece (Itoudis): Agravanis 5 (1 3-pointer, 4 rebounds, 4 assists), Giannis Antetokounmpo 41 (13/16 two-pointers, 15/18 shots, 9 rebounds, 2 assists in 27:27), Thanasis Antetokounmpo 2, Kalatis 13 (32/3 two-pointers, 3/6 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 7 assists), Dorsey 13 (4/6 2-pointers, 1/4 3-pointers, 2/3 shots), Larentsakis 2, Luntsis 2, Papayannis 6 (3/5 2-pointers), Papanikolaou 4 (1 3-pointer, 6 rebounds, 3 assists), Papapetru 4, Slukas 7 (1)

Ukraine (Bagatskiye): Bliznyuk 4, Bobrov 3 (1), Len 10 (2/3 2-pointers, 2/4 3-pointers, 8 rebounds), Mikhailyuk 16 (5/12 2-pointers, 1/5 3-pointers, 3/3 shots), Pustov 6, Shannon 16 (3/6 two-pointers, 3/4 three-pointers), Skapinchev 4, Sidorov 10 (2), Tkachenko 8 (4/5 two-pointers, 0/6 three-pointers), Zotov 2