Eurobasket 2022: Gianni-less Greece knocks out Great Britain, reserves ticket to Berlin

The Greek National Team wins its third game and qualifies for the round of 16. The best of the game was Sloukas with 21 points, three rebounds and five assists.

It was not as easy as the final score suggests for the Greeks, whose superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was rested and didn’t feature in the contest.

Great Britain, whose captain Dan Clark made a record 117th appearance for his national team, delivered 12 points without reply in the first quarter to take a surprise lead.

Although Greece asserted themselves with a 16-0 run, their winless rivals continued to cling on through some scrappy but effective offense, paced by 17 points from Luke Nelson.

Up 53-52 with 5:55 left in the third, Georgios Papagiannis started and finished a 14-4 Greek surge that finally broke the British resistance, with another 10-2 stint in the fourth adding luster.

Turning Point: Over a spell lasting 4:40 in the third period, Greece outscored their opponents 18-6, allowing GB to convert just 1 of their 5 field goals and out-rebounding their opponents 6-2.

TCL Player of the Game: Kostas Sloukas was a spark-plug off the bench, notching a game-high 21 points on an efficient 8-for-10 shooting, including 5 thee-pointers, and adding 5 assists. It was the most points by Greek player coming off the bench in a EuroBasket since Sofoklis Schortsianitis against Slovenia in 2009 (23pts).

Stats Don’t Lie: Greece scored 26 points off turnovers and 23 on the fast break. GB had just six on each.

Bottom Line: Greece have become the first team in Group C to secure a spot in the Round of 16. Great Britain are not mathematically eliminated but even defeating the pool’s other winless side, Estonia, tomorrow may not keep this flame alive.