Greeks inflict collateral damage on Finns
Greece had no problems in beating Finland on September 1, as the national team thrashed the Scandinavians with an 81-61 score on day 2 of the Eurobasket.
After a challenging opening to the European Championship in Lithuania against Bosnia on August 31, the players of coach Ilias Zouros had a fairly easy task against a team that qualified to the finals only last month.
The Greeks dominated the game from the start, never allowing the Finns to even consider upsetting the favorite in this game, as they did on August 31 against Croatia.
The improved teamwork in attack as well as defense gave the Greeks a clear lead (41-32) at half-time.
When the Finns made an effort in the third period to get back into the game, the experienced Yiannis Bourousis, Antonis Fotsis and Nikos Zisis made sure they took the game beyond Greece’s opponent.
During most of the second half, Zouros had the opportunity to try out some new systems, giving playing time to all of his players.
Bourousis was Greece’s top scorer with 19 points, also collecting nine rebounds. He was followed by Zisis with 14 points, and Fotsis and Mike Bramos, who scored nine points each.
Greece’s next match is on September 3 against the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
