Galery

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The match between the basketball teams of Greece and Russia finished 69-73. The game of the Greek nationals on the playground in Ankara was bad. The team ranked third in the third group due to the loss. In this way, it avoided the knockout matches with USA and Spain. They will play with Spain in the 16th.

The game of the national team was full of problems and generated a lot of questions – the same questions that the loss from Turkey posed. Greece again had problems with the attack and the defence, the presence of the players on the playground was weak. The Russians managed to gain a significant lead early in the game. They played fast and thanks to the loose defence of the rival they won 16 points for 8 minutes. The players Mozgov and Zhukanenko contributed to the happy start of the match. The Greeks, who struggled to find their rhythm, could not break through to Russia’s basket. So, they won only 4 points for 8 minutes... The score of the first quarter was 10-20.
  
The national team offset its poor start in the first quarter partially in the second one. The players proceeded to attack and succeeded in drying the winning ambitions of the Russians. After Kaimakoglou entered the game, Greece reduced the gap to 5 points. Then, five minutes without score for the Russians followed, when the blue-whites were full of hopes. Schortsanitis scored and the national team led the game for the first time with 22-20. Unfortunately, it made several mistakes that erased its advantage. The quarter still finished 30-30 and the Greek team was full of faith that it still will be able to regain the 10 points difference in the result.

But hopes proved false. Greece showed a really dubious image further in the game. The team played loose, with no concrete plan and which was the worst ... with no defence again. Russia did not hesitate to take advantage of this weakness and won another 16 points. The player Mozgov arranged a small celebration among the almost sleeping backs of Greece. Perperoglou tried to save the nationals but Kaun took care to maintain the lead of Russia. The difference in the result became less than 10 points when Diamantidis managed to make the result 58-66 with 5 consecutive shots. However, Fridzon crossed off the plans of the blue-whites. His immediate three points shot made the Greeks understand that it was too late for any changes on the playground...

Minutes: 10-20, 30-30, 43-59, 69-73