By Aris Barkas / barkas@eurohoops.net
MANILA, Philippines – Despite suffering in the first half, the Greek national team found a way to come back into the game, eventually beating New Zealand 83-74 and therefore found the qualification to the second round, where they will face Lithuania and Montenegro.
Ioannis Papapetrou was one of the Hellenic heroes of the night, being the scoring leader of his team with 27 points and 6 rebounds by shooting 8/15 from the field and 4/7 from beyond the arc. Giannoulis Larentzakis inspired the comeback and finished with 20 points and 7/7 at the line in his stat line.
“The fact we talked about in the halftime about making the stops with the vertical creation they had in the paint, we realized that and the result is obvious in terms of productivity they had. We’ve been through adversities, and it’s not an easy thing we were gonna think the right way. It’s a huge win”, Dimitris Itoudis said in the post-game press conference. “We’re excited to face such important teams”, he also said about playing against Lithuania and Montenegro.
“We showed the character of the team, and when you’re representing a country like this, that’s what you have to show”, Thomas Walkup added. “Each and very day, we are getting better and better. It’s this type of games, when you face adverstities, that helps you get better. You don’t get better if you win every game by 40 points”, Olympiacos playmaker added about Greece’s growth.
On the Tall Blacks’ side, Shea Ili exploded for 27 points (8/16 FG, 8/9 FT), 5 rebounds, and 8 assists Finn Delany had a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds, while team captain Reuben Te Rangi, who headlined the famous Haka before the tip-off, finished with 19 points and 5 rebounds.
“We spoke about the occasion at the last World Cup and we ended up being in a very similar situation.”, Tall Blacks’ head coach Pero Cameron commented in the post-game press conference. “They got more energy coming off halftime. We’ve got something to play for now”, Jordan Ngatai added.
The game was a dogfight from the first quarter with New Zealand taking a 20-15 lead while shooting 36% FG. Greece was even worse at the time with 32% FG. The second period started with a “T” to Greek coach Dimitris Itoudis and a difficult bucket by Shea Ili putting New Zealand up by eight (23-15) forcing Greece to take an early timeout.
Nothing changed with New Zealand taking a 13-point lead (33-20) with Ili again scoring a three. The Tall Blacks found their shooting touch with 7/14 threes, Greece barely did and the halftime score was 43-32 with Ili having 11 points and Reuben Te Rangi 15, while Ioannis Papapetrou scored 12 for the losing side.
Greece matched the defensive intensity of New Zealand in the third period and by tooth and claw made it a one-point game (51-50) after six minutes of action with a three by Papapetrou. The dogfight continued and New Zealand kept a 54-50 lead at the end of the third.
However, after an acrobatic layup by Giannoulis Larentzakis, the score was tied at 54, and with a three, Larentzakis again gave Greece its first lead of the game. Papapetrou scored again, and suddenly Greece started the last period with a 9-0 run (59-54). From then on, Dimitris Itoudis’ national team kept going, reaching the highest lead in the game with a 12-point margin (73-61) at 3:49 minutes left in the game.
By losing this game, New Zealand also fails the opportunity to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, as Australia will take the first and only Ocenian spot after at least making it to the second round. The Tall Blacks will now play to classify as high as possible in the teams from 16th to 32nd position.
PHOTO CREDIT: 2023 FIBA World Cup
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