Greece successfully held off Jordan’s challenge with a score of 92-71, marking a victorious start in Group C of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Saturday.
Hellas built a 14-point lead following a Thanasis Antetokounmpo three-pointer early in the third quarter, setting the score at 49-35.
Nonetheless, the 33rd-ranked Falcons fought back, utilizing their proficient long-range shooting. Zaid Abbas, Freddy Ibrahim, and Sami Bzai combined for five three-pointers, narrowing the gap to six points entering the fourth quarter, with a score of 60-66.
Greece then demonstrated its prowess as the 9th-ranked team globally, unleashing a 13-3 surge to commence the final quarter and secure the victory at 79-63 with 4:54 remaining.
Head coach Dimitrios Itoudis expressed his satisfaction with the team’s effort and the victory, stating, “I would like to congratulate my team for the effort of each and everyone and obviously for winning. We have opened the game not that good but after that we took it over from there.”
Leading the offensive charge for Hellas, Giannoulis Larentzakis contributed 19 points, while Ioannis Papapetrou and Thomas Walkup added 13 points each, with the latter also delivering seven assists.
Nikos Rogkavopoulos posted 10 points and seven rebounds, and Antetokounmpo contributed nine points, five rebounds, three steals, and a block.
The Falcons were spearheaded by naturalized player Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, tallying 24 points on 7-of-11 clip from the field to go with nine rebounds and three steals. However, he was limited defensively the entire fourth because he already had four fouls.
Both teams will return to the court on Monday. Hellas is set to face group favorite USA in the nightcap at 8:40 p.m., while the Falcons will clash with New Zealand earlier in the day at 4:45 p.m.
The Scores:
Greece 92 – Larentzakis 19, Papapetrou 13, Walkup 13, Rogkavopoulos 10, Antetokounmpo 9, Papagiannis 8, Lountzis 7, Papanikolaou 6, Bochoridis 4, Chatzidakis 3.
Jordan 71 – Hollis-Jefferson 24, Dwairi 14, Bzai 11, Ibrahim 10, Z. Abbas 6, Alnajdawi 2, Hussein 2, H. Abbas 1, Hamarsheh 1, Abu Hawwas 0, Kanaan 0.
Quarterscores: 19-14, 46-33, 66-60, 92-71.
