12.09.2011

Greece Back To Winning Ways

Turning Point: Greece was better defensively in the second half, held Georgia to just 12 points during the third quarter and then followed up with a strong start to the final period which gave them the platform they needed to take the win.

Game Heroes: Having not played in the second half against Russia, Ioannis Bourousis responded with 13 points off 6-of-8 floor shooting (75%). Meanwhile Kostas Vasileaidis scored 15 points including three triples.

Stats Don't Lie: While they won, Greece will have to pick up their rebounding against France in their next game since they were trashed 39-25. They only grabbed three offensive boards.

Greece bounced back from their mauling by Russia to sign off Round 2 with a win against Georgia.

Having described their previous performance against the Russians as their worst of the tournament, Coach Ilias Zouros demanded an improvement and his team took note to claim a 73-60 victory.

Still playing without injured duo Zaza Pachulia and George Tsintsadze, Georgia trailed 12-7 during the initial exchanges but then came alive to post an 8-0 run either side of the first quarter break to take the lead.

Both teams were sloppy during the first period, turning the ball over too much but this improved dramatically ahead of half-time with Georgia managing to keep their noses in front at 35-32 with guard Marquez Haynes leading the way.

Midway through the third quarter, Greece stepped up their defence and registered a strong 13-4 run which transformed a four-point deficit into a five-point lead at 50-45.

It soon became a commanding ten-point advantage when they scored the first six points of the final period and, while Georgia fought hard, their lack of firepower and key absences proved to be a real problem.

Greece now face France in the Quarter-Finals on Thursday.

12.09.2011

Quotes Greece vs. Georgia

Georgia Center Giorgi Shermadini:
"Firstly, congratulations to Greece. It was a very good game. We were winning at half-time but they played very good defence. I wish them good luck for the quarter-finals."

Greece Small Forward Konstantinos Papanikolaou:
"It was a good match but we didn't play good defence in the first half. We went to the locker room and discussed this with the coach. We knew we had to play good defence because we made the same mistakes against Russia and ended up losing the game. So, we wanted to come back to play our defence and do our best on the court. We want to win every game whether it matters or not. Moving on, we are looking forward to the game against France."

Georgia Head Coach Igor Kokoskov:
"Something happened that has happened every game. It was just too long for us. Almost every night we battle and we play hard. However we also have to play smart. Again there were a lot of mistakes. Greece scouted the game well and we couldn't handle their aggressiveness. They contested every shot. I am pleased with the effort and at this level, it's a learning experience. We are not happy with the game but we are happy with our accomplishments this summer."

Greece Head Coach Ilias Zouros:
"Congratulations to Georgia. They play nice basketball and were very disciplined. They have a nice philosophy. It was a nice game for us and some preparation for the game against France when we will have to play good defence. We move to Kaunas and we face one of the best teams at EuroBasket. We must be ready to take care of the small details."