Maiden pre-World Cup defeat for Greece

FRIENDLY MATCH

In the concluding match of the Acropolis Tournament, the senior Greek national team conceded a 80-85 overtime defeat to Serbia at the packed OAKA Indoor Hall.

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Greece were in control at the half-time break, but after the dogged Serbians launched an impressive comeback, the hosts required a three-pointer from Thanasis Antetokounmpo to force overtime. Serbia proved to be the stronger team in the extra frame and tallied a morale-boosting win in the final match of the Acropolis Tournament.

The Greeks are set to fly to China for the 2019 FIBA World Cup on Wednesday.

Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who converted five out of nine three-point attempts, registered 17 points in the game. His brother, Giannis, was the leading Greek scorer with 20 points to his name. Nick Calathes (15 points) and Ioannis Bourousis (10 points) also reached double figures.

Bogdan Bogdanovic gained a huge 28 points for the victorious Serbians. Olympiacos center Nikola Milutinov was also impressive with 14 points.

The game was marred by a serious injury suffered by Giannis Athinaiou in the second quarter. Athinaiou will miss the World Cup and the start of the 2019/2020 season.

THE MATCH

The evenly-matched teams kept the game close in the first period, with Greece edging it 19-17.

It was much the same in the second, but the Greeks managed to extend their lead, winning the frame by five points. Athinaiou, a recent Panathinaikos signing, fell to the floor in agony after only playing for 18 seconds and was helped off the court clutching his left knee.

As the game progressed, Serbia gradually became stronger, and Greece had to rely on Thanasis Antetokounmpo draining a late three-pointer to take the match to overtime.

Serbia outscored Greece 13-8 in the extra period to sneak the win at a sold-out OAKA.

HIGHLIGHTS: GREECE - SERBIA

By: Shaun Nicolaides

Image Source: gazzetta.gr

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