Perfect Greece sees off Argentina too
The national basketball team finished top of its World Championship pool with a perfect record scoring its fifth win in as many games as it downed Argentina 79-71 on Thursday in Seville. Its next game will be in the round of 16 against Serbia.
The players of coach Fotis Katsikaris kept the Argentineans at bay throughout the game, leading by as many as 19 points in the third period (52-33) with a great all-around display that was based on dominance in rebounds and a great shooting rate.
Even when Argentina made a last-gasp effort in the final quarter and reduced its arrears to just two points (70-68), Greece responded and made the game safe to top its pool two points ahead of Croatia and Argentina.
The Greeks grabbed 16 more rebounds than Argentina (41 to 25) and produced eight blocks to zero against a team that was brimming with experience from the NBA.
Nick Calathes was the top scorer for Greece with 18 points, but Yiannis Bourousis was amazing, scoring 16 points and collecting 15 rebounds.
Serbia will now be Greece’s opponent in the round of 16 in Madrid on Sunday, in the first knockout phase, as the Serbs finished fourth in their group.
