Poor first quarter costs Greece U19 against Russia
FIBA U19 WORLD CUP - GROUP C (Matchday 2)
| Russia U19 | 83 - 75 | Greece U19 |
|---|---|---|
| (31 - 15) (49 - 34) (62 - 48) (83 - 75) |
In the second match of the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup, the Greek national team came up short against Russia, conceding a 75-83 defeat in Heraklion.
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Yesterday, Greece made the perfect start to the competition with a 85-69 victory over the Philippines, but the team was found wanting against Russia. In truth, the match was all but lost in the first quarter, as the powerful Russians scored 31 points compared to Greece’s 15. To their credit, the Greeks managed to win all of the remaining three frames, but that wasn’t enough to claw back the deficit.
Despite the defeat, Nikos Rogkavopoulos enjoyed a night to remember, scoring a huge 28 points while tallying three rebounds and two assists. Nikos Arsenopoulos was the only other Greek player to reach double digits in terms of points (12).
Nikita Mikhailovsky stole the headlines for Russia with an historic triple double, registering 20 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists. This is the first triple double at the U19 FIBA World Cup since 2013.
On Tuesday, Greece will play Argentina in the concluding match of Group C. The Argentinians managed to defeat the Philippines 77-72 in their game on Sunday.
THE MATCH
Eager to recover from the narrow overtime loss to Argentina on Saturday, Russia made a stunning start in Heraklion, tearing the Greek defence apart by scoring 31 points. Initially, Greece kept pace with their opponents, but the Russians then embarked on a remarkable 22-3 run to put themselves firmly in the box seat.
However, instead of completely falling apart, the competition hosts regrouped and prevented the deficit from becoming any larger by winning the second quarter 19-18.
After claiming the third frame 14-13, the Greeks gave it a real go in the fourth quarter, but Russia held firm in the closing stages and closed out their victory.
HIGHLIGHTS: RUSSIA U19 - GREECE U19
