The national basketball team claims to reach the EuroBasket semi-finals. Greece wants to beat Germany (21:30), which will open the way for them to medals.

The blue and white team took part in the 1949 European Championship in Egypt. The national team won the bronze medal in a competition with a completely different format than today’s. After this medal, Greece finished 8th twice (1951, 1965) in their best harvest before… an absolute epic.

Greece has been chosen as the venue for the EuroBasket 1987. The matches were played at the SEF and the blue and white team, coached by Kostas Politis and conductors Nikos Galis and Panagiotis Giannakis on the floor, won the trophy. Greece faced Italy in the quarter-finals on their way to first place.

The Blue Team finished first and unbeaten in their group, with Greece finishing in fourth place. The Blues and Whites had never before beaten the Italians, who won the gold medal at EuroBasket 1983 and bronze at the 1985 tournament.

Supported by 16,000 people who filled the SEF, the Costa Politis players won 90-78 and advanced to the semi-finals of the competition for the first time in Greek basketball history. Nikos Galis scored 38 points and Panagiotis Giannakis scored 22 with 4/6 three-pointers.

“Yes, this is the biggest win until the next one,” Nikos Galis said after the Greek victory. The Blue and White continued the competition by defeating Yugoslavia in the semi-finals and the Soviet Union in the final to win the trophy.

The 1989 and 1991 Yugoslav competitions featured eight teams, so there was no quarter-final. The top two teams from the two groups advanced to the semi-finals.

Playoff quarter-finals are back at EuroBasket. 1993 which took place in Germany. Greece finished first in the third group and advanced to the second round, where they finished third in the newly created group and advanced to the top eight.

Greece faced France in the quarterfinals. The Blue and White won a dramatic 71-69 victory. Shortly before the end of the game, Kostas Patavoukas missed, but Panagiotis Fasoulas rebounded in attack and scored a goal, which brought the national team qualification.

Later in the tournament, Greece were defeated in the semi-finals by Germany, who won the trophy. In the secondary final, the team lost to Croatia and remained outside the podium.

1995 Greece organized the EuroBasket for the second time. The national team took third place in the first group and advanced to the quarterfinals of the competition.

Greece met Spain en route to the top four. The national team won 66-64 to advance to the semi-finals and qualify for the Atlanta Olympics. Later in the tournament, the blue and white were defeated by Yugoslavia and Croatia and finished fourth.

The basketball team took first place in the first group of EuroBasket. 1997held in Spain. Greece also finished first in the group created in the second stage and advanced to the quarter-finals.

In the 1/8 finals they faced Poland and won 72-62, re-entering the medal zone. However, they failed to make it to the podium again after losing the semi-final to Yugoslavia and the minor final to Russia.

2003, at the EuroBasket held in Sweden, Greece took first place in the fourth group and advanced to the quarterfinals. High hopes were placed on the national team after victories over Croatia and Turkey.

However, Italy brought a hard landing. A 62:59 loss to the Blue Team took Greece out of the medal race. The blue and white team finished fifth.

2005 in Belgrade, the national basketball team took second place in the third group and advanced to the playoffs. After defeating Israel, they were invited to face Russia, who placed first in the first group, in the quarter-finals.

Panagiotis Giannakis was already on the edge of the bench and Greece turned all forecasts upside down. The Blue and White defeated the Russians, which included Andrei Kirilenko, 66-61, to reach the top four, and then won the trophy.

2007, at the Madrid tournament, Greece made one of the biggest upsets in its history in the quarter-finals against Slovenia. Greece finished second in the first group in the second stage and then finished third in the formed group.

In the quarter-finals against the Slovenians, Greece were trailing 62-53 with about a minute and a half left. The team of Panagiotis Giannakis continued the series with a score of 10:0 until the end of the match and received an important qualification. Greece then took fourth place.

In his EuroBasket 2009 Greece faced Turkey in the quarterfinals of the tournament. The victory in overtime with a score of 76:74 put the blue and white on the path of the Spaniards to the semi-finals.

The national team was defeated 82-64 by the finalist of the previous competition. In the minor final, she beat Slovenia 57–56 to win the bronze medal, her last major success in the event.

Greece lined up with many absent in their organization 2011 in Lithuania. The national team entered the top eight, but the obstacle of France (later the finalists of the competition) turned out to be insurmountable. A 64-56 loss took Greece out of the top four. The national team finished sixth.

2015 Greece faced Spain in the quarterfinals. Furias Rochas were strong during that period and forced the national team to lose 73-71, taking them out of the top four. The blue and white team finished fifth.

Greece also advanced to the EuroBasket quarter-finals 2017. The national team was defeated by Russia with a score of 74-69 and lost the chance to qualify for a medal. The blue and white team finished in eighth place.

Quarter-finals of the national team at EuroBasket

• 1987 (Greece): Hellas– Italy 90-78
• 1993 (Germany): Hellas– France 61-59
• 1995 (Greece): Hellas-Spain 66-64
• 1997 (Spain): Hellas– Poland 72-62
• 2003 (Sweden): Greece-Italy 59-62
• 2005 (Serbia): Hellas– Russia 66-61
• 2007 (Spain): Hellas– Slovenia 63-62
• 2009 (Poland): Hellas– Turkey 76-74
• 2011 (Lithuania): Greece-France 56-64
• 2015 (France): Greece-Spain 71-73
• 2017 (Turkey): Greece-Russia 69-74