Greece scares itself but beats New Zealand (83-74)
At the end of a meeting in which they had run behind the score for so long, the Greeks finally beat New Zealand 83-74 thanks to a fiery second half. The New Zealanders believed in this achievement for a long time before they collapsed in the final quarter. Heading into the second round – sweating – for Greece.
We’ve long believed in the simple sense of this crucial meeting to reach the second round between Greece and New Zealand. In the end, it was the Greeks, pre-match favourites, who won 83-74 – and not without a sweat – over the New Zealanders who had been in front for a long time.
The Greeks scared themselves by trailing by as much as 15 points in the second quarter. Nobody was completely recognizable for the first 20 minutes of the game, and Giannoulis Larentzakis’ friends almost choked us among the stars. The New Zealanders – led by the indefensible Shea Eli with 27 points and 3/5 of the parking lot – quickly caught fire, sending 7 bombs off three-pointers in the first half.
The most exciting team out of the three at the World Cup right now? 🥵
🇳🇿 The Tall Blacks hit 7 3-pointers in the first half against Greece 🎯#FIBAWC pic.twitter.com/1xgIabmnfZ
– FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) August 30, 2023
Finally, the rebellion on the Greek side was sparked by two of Hoplite’s players: Giannoulis Larentzakis (20 pts) and especially Ioannis Papapetrou (27 pts at 4/7 from the parking lot) who got their team back on track for a solid comeback. In the third quarter of time. Neo-Z began to gently go down before finally crumbling in the final quarter, allowing the Greeks to fly wide into the second round.
Giannoulis Larentzakis#FIBAWC s #Win-win pic.twitter.com/kAjiRYNpfH
– FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) August 30, 2023
A big blow for the Greeks who finally confirmed their ticket to the second round along with the USA team in this third group. What are the next deadlines for Greece? Lithuania and then Montenegro. Two teams that smell like FIBA basketball are not easy to maneuver, especially if the Greeks continue this kind of rotten first half.
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