Vassilis Spanoulis’ tenure on the bench of the Greek national team began with the right wing, after the official favorite defeated the Czech Republic 72-64 in the first game of the qualifiers for EuroBasket 2025, in front of 12,439 fans who were at SEF and created a wonderful atmosphere.
Among them great personalities of Greek basketball, such as Dimitris Diamantidis, Giorgos Printezis, Kostas Tsartsaris, Yiannis Bourousis, Lazaros Papadoulopoulos, the Olympiacos basketball team, as well as the Women’s National Team.
Diego Ocampo’s side were quite combative, with the game being a derby at its longest, but also with Greece taking the lead midway through the third period and getting the much-coveted result, despite being quite misguided from the perimeter. (4/25 3-pointers). Dinos Mitoglou, Kostas Papanikolaou and Thomas Walkap were the three main protagonists.
The naturalized Olympiakos guard flirted with the triple-double, scoring 16 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. The forward of Panathinaikos AKTOR offered on both sides of the floor with 22 points and 7 rebounds, while the captain of the red and whites once again showed his class and experience, scoring 16 points and collecting 8 rebounds.
The race
The two teams remained in shallow waters in the first period of the match, with the Czechs taking a small lead (12-15, 10′). Greece’s failure behind 6m75 (0/9 three-pointers) was quite evident, as was the lack of a reference point player in the attack. On the other hand, the image in defense was quite good.
Over time, Dinos Mitoglou began to become a barometer. The forward of Panathinaikos AKTOR closed the first part with 14 points and 6 rebounds, while Kostas Papanikolaou also provided very important help. The Olympiakos captain had another 9 points, along with 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Somehow, the official favorite went to the locker room with a short head lead (32-31, 20′).
The Czech Republic found a good period at the beginning of the second half to lead by 7 points (33-40), but Greece responded with an 8-0 run to overtake (41-40, 24’20”). Until the 29th minute, the blue and white team was able to take a 5-point lead (53-48), but Tomas Satoranski stole and nailed it for 53-50 (30th minute).
The blue-and-white team had begun to find its footing and after a three-pointer by Thomas Walkup reached +9 (61-52) at 34’20”, while 3’24” before the finale it was in a double-digit lead for the first time (67- 56) after a lay-up by Kostas Papanikolaou.
THE REFEREES: Castillo, Gedvilas, Zaschuk
THE DECADES: 12-15, 32-31, 53-50, 72-64
Greece’s team stats: 23/42 2-pointers, 4/25 3-pointers, 14/21 shots, 40 rebounds (12 offensive – 28 defensive), 20 assists, 20 fouls, 13 turnovers, 12 steals, 4 blocks
Czech team stats: 17/34 2-pointers, 6/26 3-pointers, 12/16 shots, 39 rebounds (9 offensive – 30 defensive), 21 assists, 21 fouls, 18 turnovers, 5 steals
The next matches of the two teams: In the second matchday of Group F, Greece will play the Netherlands (26/2, 20:30) in The Hague, while the Czech Republic will welcome Great Britain (26/2, 21:15).
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