Greece makes the quarterfinals
European champion Greece advanced to the Eurobasket quarterfinals with an 85-67 win over Portugal last night that secured it third spot in Group E. In the quarterfinals, the Greek team will now meet the loser of tonight’s encounter between Lithuania and Slovenia, who both go into their last Group F game undefeated and looking for top spot. Later last night, host and world champion Spain was due to take on Israel having already guaranteed top spot in Group E and its quarterfinal berth. Should Greece and Spain both make it past the quarterfinals, they will meet in the semifinals for the second time in the tournament. Spain outplayed Greece for a 76-58 win in their Group E encounter after thrashing Greece last summer in the final for the world title. Dimosthenis Dikoudis scored 17 points and pulled down nine rebounds as the Greeks dominated the post, outscoring their opponents 38-18 in the paint. Greece guard Dimitris Diamantidis was three-for-four from behind the three-point line and finished with 13 points, while Vassilis Spanoulis added 10. Joao Santos led Portugal with 17 points. Greece trailed 17-16 at the first break but gained momentum to lead 45-34 at halftime, and 64-47 at three-quarter time before winning by an 18-point margin. Earlier last night, Russia beat Croatia 83-70 to end second in Group E. Despite the loss, Croatia sneaked through to the final eight by ending fourth in the group. Andrei Kirilenko scored 20 points yesterday to lead Russia. Davor Kus scored 17 points to lead Croatia, which could have earned it a place in the quarterfinals with a win. (Kathimerini/AP)
