In the final moments of the match, he appeared physically worn out. His face was lined and lowered, his hands on his knees. Giannis Antetokounmpowho preferred to stand behind his bench rather than sit on it during his rare rest periods, gave a lot of effort.
But his efforts did not pay off against an overconfident Germany, who did not panic when they saw the enormous start to the match by the Greeks (18-6), carried by the overwhelming power of their leader. More than half of the 'scouting report' was devoted to him “, Franz Wagner also reportsone of the leaders of the opposing team.
Germany knew that if they let the Bucks superstar pick up speed in transition, their chances of stopping him were slim to none. But when Dennis Schroder and his crew were able to impose their pace in the half-court, it would be a different story.
” He's a great player. You need five on the pitch to try to stop him. But I think we did a good job, especially in the second half, trying to at least contain him. “, notes the Magic player.
The most awkward 3-pointers
Author of 8 of his team's first 18 points, the Greek giant had much more difficulty expressing himself thereafter. The fault of doubles, even triples on him, forcing him to bring the balls out. A treat for his freed teammates… provided they can put them in. That's the whole problem.
Despite all the power of attraction of Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Greeks did not punish as they could have done: only 6/22 at 3-pointers in this quarter-final. The clumsiness of a match? No. Over the entire competition, Greece shot at a success rate of just under 30% behind the arc (against 43.5% during its TQO…). Which makes it the most clumsy team of the tournament in this register.
This external clumsiness reinforced the feeling of seeing a soloist at work in sequence, trying to do what he could near the circle (he only made 1/6 at 3-pointers in total). With his 26 points on average (68% shooting), he should end up as the tournament's top scorer.
Behind him, to fuel the weakest attack of the tournament (74 points on average), we have Vasilis Toliopoulos, Thomas Walkup and Kostas Papanikolaou, all at around 10 points on average.
He may talk about his teammates later. During the Games, he only spoke to the press once, after the only victory against Australia. For the rest, he always skipped the mixed zone. It's hard to get an idea of his state of mind.
A pride despite everything
” Giannis is very proud, for himself, for the team and for his country. But our team is not just Giannis. Our team is a great national team. We are very happy to have Giannis here, but I am also very happy to have the whole team here. », reframes his coach Vassilis Spanoulis.
The latter, angry with the referees, believes that his player suffered more rough contact than the others. If they treated another player like Giannis (was treated), come tell me and i will apologize “, claims the former player, believing that limits have been crossed: ” This is not basketball. Sorry, this is another sport. »
Beyond this feeling of disappointment, pride can emerge from the journey of Greece and its leader, for whom this was the first Olympic trip. Being flag bearer is something you don't forget.
” I know my dad watched me from up there and he danced. I might win another title, I might never be a flag bearer again. I'm happy to be here, I don't take it for granted. I'm going to make the most of it because you never know if you'll get this opportunity again. It took us 16 years to get here, in 16 years, how old will I be? 45 ” he said.
