Greece have advanced to the semi-finals in the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers defeating Egypt 93-71 to emerge winners of Group B.
Even with star player Giannis Antetokounmpo resting for this weekend’s match against Slovenia, Greece did not disappoint in front of the 11,216 fans watching on at Peace and Friendship Stadium.
Perhaps a bit too confident were Greece, as Egypt did not back down, trailing by just five points early in the third period 46-41.
But Greece were not to be denied, with Vasilis Charalampopoulos hitting a three-pointer to stretch the lead to double digits.
Kostas Papanikolaou and Georgios Papagiannis then joined in on the fun and made the gap much larger to 61-45.
With Giannis resting, it was time for the others to shine. Kostas Papanikolaou starred with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting in just 16 minutes.
Giannis Antetokounmpo watched on as Greece played Egypt. The NBA superstar was resting ahead of the semi-final this weekend. Photo: AAP via Sipa USA/Stefanos Kyriazis
While Greece dominated the boxscore, the three-point shooting conversion was massive, with the hosts scoring 12 of their 27 attempts while Egypt only hit four of their 21 shots.
Just like in the win over Dominican Republic, coach Vassilis Spanoulis would be pleased with his team’s three-point shooting, as six players made at least one triple. He was also able to spread the minutes between 11 players as they prepare for Slovenia.
It will be a battle of titans, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic, two of the preeminent stars in world basketball, with multiple All-Star nominations, NBA First Team selections and championships between them.
Greek coach Spanoulis has a history with Doncic, going back to the days when the EuroLeague legend was playing with Olympiacos Piraeus.
Doncic has also revealed that he picked number seven at Real Madrid and 77 with the Slovenian national team because that was the number of Spanoulis’ jersey with the Reds.
He thinks it’s important for Greece to have several defensive stoppers on the squad in order to be able to contain the likes of Doncic.
“We have great on-ball defenders. But defence is not only individual, it’s team defence. We have to be able to cover every mistake on the ball, be ready to throw the right rotations, and defend the proper way.”
While Giannis will be key and available this weekend, there’s a chance his brother Kostas might not.
Kostas Antetokounmpo left for the locker room early in the second period with a knee problem.
Spanoulis confirmed the player went to the hospital to undergo an MRI scan to determine the extent of the problem.
“We’ll soon know the news. We hope it’s not a big deal and we have him with us at the weekend,” he said.