In this “group of death”, the Greece has no choice: you have to win, and well, against theAustralia ! Jock Landale starts with his special, however, with this right-handed hook shot near the circle, and Patty Mills is already hot from afar. But the impact of Giannis Antetokounmpo is felt, and especially the “Greek Freak” has support.
Thomas Walkup finally gets some shots in, Dinos Mitoglou does some good work around the rim and it takes a 3-point foul on Josh Giddey to keep the Boomers within a breath of their breath (25-24) after ten minutes.
Josh Giddey turns off
Australia held their breath even more as Dyson Daniels slipped on the floor and headed to the locker room shortly after. The Hawks' new point guard/guard would then return to the court but the players of
Brian Goorjian looks for solutions against a Greece team that denies them any access to the circle.
Despite the efforts of Dante Exum, who placed a huge dunk with the foul and then a 3-pointer, Australia did not find the key to the Greek defense, with Josh Giddey limited to 4 points (0/3 shooting) and 3 lost balls.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is entitled to the Australian fans' countdown on his (always very slow) free throws, rushes into the defense to place his “spin move” and the gap reaches +17 (50-33). A figure that is maintained at the break (53-36). The Boomers are going to have to raise their voices…
Josh Giddey forces, gets whistled for an offensive foul and gets annoyed. However, it has the merit of waking him up, with some nice offerings and a 3-pointer that put Australia back on the right track. The Boomers thus begin to find openings. But starting from -19, they only catch up very slowly: -12 (62-50) after three quarters.
End of match under high tension
Knowing that the gap in this match is decisive for the rest, the fourth quarter promises to be epic.
A big defense from Josh Giddey, referees whistling 8 seconds for Greece and a 3-pointer from Dyson Daniels continue to build the Australian momentum, even if Giannis Antetokounmpo responds from afar.
The Hawks' vacuum cleaner is everywhere, while Patty Mills also penalizes from afar. It's only two possessions difference as the Australians push to come back, behind “FIBA Patty”. Vassilis Spanoulis doesn't have time to give Giannis Antetokounmpo a breather for very long, but his return is followed by an offensive foul.
The result of Canada – Spain will decide everything…
Vasilis Toliopoulos' 3-pointer does Greece a lot of good (74-69) while the fouls are increasingly heavy. Thomas Walkup's 3-pointer also hurts the Boomers a lot and allows Greece to win (77-71). But now, both teams must wait for the result of Canada – Spain in the aftermath.
A Canadian victory would put Australia in second place in the group, with Greece finishing third and Spain fourth, and therefore eliminated. A Spanish victory would turn everything upside down, with La Roja finishing first, Canada second, Greece third and Australia fourth, and therefore eliminated…
The bad news is the “point average” for Greece because, at -8, it is worse than that of Brazil (-7), who finished 3rd in Group B of France!
Photo credit: FIBA
