By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Lille, France – Greece was leading 17-12 with four minutes left in the first period, and Sergio Llull entered the game coming off the bench.
With him on the court, the pride of the Spanish national team, the talent, and the grit appeared once more, together with an impeccable shooting touch.
He got 11 points in 11 first-half minutes on 4/5 threes and when all was said and done, Spain got the win, 84-77, that may be enough for them to make it to the next round. Despite falling to 0-2, Greece remained in the hunt as well and can potentially rank up to second in Group A.
And if Australia beats Canada, Greece is out, no matter what happens in the last round.
Llull ended up with 13 points for Sergio Scariolo’s side. Santi Aldama produced a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double.
“There’s nothing bigger than representing your country, especially in the Olympics. It’s an honor just for me to be here and have the opportunity to do it. But next to this group of guys, man, they are unreal. We deserve this win,” Aldama said after the game.
A good start was not enough for Greece
The game started with Greece having a 20-12 lead and Giannis leading the show with nine points. However, Aldama kept Spain alive with 10 points and Llull entered and scored eight more, making it a one-point game at the end of the quarter (22-21).
With his third three-pointer, Llull finally gave Spain the lead (24-22) with Vassilis Toliopoulos answering back with another long-range bomb (25-24).
Still, the old guard of Spain kept things in check and built a six-point advantage (33-27) after a three by Rudy Fernandez.
The lead extended to seven points (36-29) after a three, this time by Lorenzo Brown, and to 14 (49-35) at halftime with Alex Abrines and Dario Brizuela making three more as Spain had 11/17 made three-pointers compared to 6/18 by Greece at this point.
The comeback was not completed
Willy Hernangomez extended the Spanish advantage to 16 (51-35) at the start of the second half, but Greece hasn’t said yet their last word.
A buzzer-beating three by Vassilis Toliopoulos at the end of the third period and five points by Giannis to start the fourth made it a one-point game (62-61).
Shots started falling for Greece and finally, the score was tied at 71 after a dunk by Giannis with less than five minutes left. With the game on the line, Spain had an 8-0 run, to make the score 79-71 with two minutes left.
Reducing the deficit once more, Giannis Antetokounmpo missing a game-tying three-pointer with 21.8 seconds on the clock pushed the win away from the team coached by Vassilis Spanoulis.
“We simply can’t play defense for eight minutes and then relax for the other two, we need to be totally consistent in this level”, said Spanoulis.
The Freak scored 18 of his 27 points in the second half. He added 11 rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 34 minutes.
Photo credit: FIBA