Greece brush aside Estonia to stay unbeaten in qualifying
FIBA WORLD CUP 1ST QUAL. ROUND GROUP H - MATCHDAY 6
| Estonia | 56 - 78 | Greece |
|---|---|---|
| (17 - 20) (42 - 49) (52 - 73) (78 - 96) |
Greece maintained a perfect record in qualifying for the 2019 FIBA World Cup with a dominant win over Estonia on Monday evening…
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Greece put the finishing touches on a perfect 6-0 record in the first round of qualifying for next summer’s FIBA World Cup with a dominant 78-56 win over Estonia at the Saku Suurhall in Tallinn on Monday night.
With their spot in the second round already secure, Greece had little to play for on the final day of the opening round of qualifying but that didn’t stop the likes of Konstantinos Mitoglou and Thanasis Antetotkounmpo.
The Panathinaikos duo were clinical from the bench as they each tallied 18 points in the win to lead Greece’s scorers. Dimitris Katsivelis, who also started the night on the bench, added 13 points as Greece’s depth proved too much for the hosts.
With just two wins heading into the final round of fixtures of the opening round of qualifying, Estonia were in desperate need of win to secure their fate and clinch progress alongside Greece out of Group H.
Sander Raieste led Estonia’s efforts with a 14-point effort while teammate Kristian Kullamae added 11 points in the loss.
Despite a tight first quarter in which Estonia trailed Greece by just two points, the hosts began to fade shortly thereafter.
A 20-14 run by Greece in the second frame extended the Greek lead to 35-27 by halftime as Greece looked in good shape despite deploying a unique set of players on the night.
Estonia held their own in the third quarter as both sides dueled to a stalemate in the third quarter to keep Greece’s lead at 56-48.
As determined as Estonia might have appeared in the first three quarters, there was no denying Greece in the fourth quarter as a dominant 22-8 stretch blew the game wide open in the final frame.
The win sees Greece progress to the second round of qualifying in the European zone with a 6-0 record with the likes of Serbia, Germany, and Georgia set to going the Greeks from Group G.
Meanwhile, the Group H picture remains unclear ahead of Monday’s late tip-off between Great Britain and Israel with both sides looking to join Greece in the second round.
Greece’s qualifying campaign will now take a pause until mid-September when Greece resume their campaign with the first slate of fixtures in Group L. Greece are scheduled to begin the second round of qualifying at home against either Germany or Serbia on 13 September before visiting Georgia three days later.
