Greek team going to Beijing
Greece, along with Croatia and Germany, won the tickets to the Beijing Olympic Games’ basketball tournament after the weeklong qualification event in Athens. On Saturday night, the players of proud coach Panayiotis Yiannakis dismissed a hapless Puerto Rico 88-63 in front of about 18,000 fans and created a positive atmosphere ahead of their trip to Beijing for the Games. The hosts outplayed the visiting side throughout the game and showed they are capable of putting on another brilliant performance when they travel to China. Forward-cum-center Sofoklis Schortsanitis scored 13 points and caused endless problems for the Puerto Ricans under the net, but it was a fine all-round performance wit h guards Vassilis Spanoulis, who earned 14 points, and Dimitris Diamantidis, with 15, also grabbing the limelight. «It was a tough game but we wanted to qualify and we have achieved that. That was the target and we are happy to have done that,» said power forward Antonis Fotsis. «The team has really begun to work well together. Some of the guys have been together for five or six years and we have drafted in some new faces who are getting to know how the team works, so it has been good.» Yiannakis praised the team’s endurance and speed during the games, focusing on the great moments during matches that would take the game beyond each opponent. «We are going to Beijing with the ambition to play good basketball and improve what we can,» said the visibly pleased national coach. Croatia also booked its passage to Beijing with a brave 76-70 win on Saturday night over Germany, which made amends last night by seeing off Puerto Rico 96-82 to secure its place in the Olympics, too. Drawn with the USA In last night’s draw for the tournament in Beijing, Greece was drawn in Group B, which includes hosts China, world champion Spain, the USA, Germany and Angola. In the first game, on August 10, Greece will face Spain. Playing every other day from then on, the Greeks will go up against the Germans next, then the USA, Angola and finally China on August 18. The other group includes European champion Russia, Argentina, Iran, Croatia, Lithuania and Australia. The top four of each group qualify for the quarterfinals of the tournament. If Greece advances from the group, it will face one of the teams in Group A at the first knockout stage. The draw is seen as favorable for Greece, as it means it will have a relatively easier time in the quarterfinals.
