Greece struggles to beat Great Britain in WC qualifiers
Greece’s national basketball team had to work hard to beat Great Britain 75-70 at Iraklio and preserve its perfect record in its World Cup qualifying group.
The players of coach Thanassis Skourtopoulos were challenged all the way by the Brits, who led by eight (15-7 and 33-25) in the first half that ended 46-39 in the visitors’ favor.
In the second half Greece took the lead for the first time at 56-55, and the two teams were neck-and-neck till the final minute, when the Greek experience and quality made the difference, as the hosts had a partial 19-12 score in the last quarter.
This was Greece’s fourth win in as many games for the 2019 World Cup qualifiers, seeing the team already through to the next round. It is important for Greece to go the second round undefeated as points are carried over.
Yiannis Bourousis and Panayiotis Vassilopoulos scored 15 points each.
Greece’s next game is on June 29 in Israel.
