Undermanned Greece survive China
Greece bucked the absence of two of their star players as they downed China, 89-81, in the opening game of the FIBA World Championships at the Ankara Stadium in Turkey on Saturday.
The Greeks, who played minus suspended stars Antonis Fotsis and Sofoklis Schortsanitis, relied mainly on Nikolaos Zisis and Ioannis Bourousis to secure their first win in Group C.
The two players finished with 21 points each to fill the void left by veterans Fotsis and Schortsanitis, who were both suspended for two games due to their involvement in a brawl during their warm-up match against Serbia on 19 August.
The Greeks had a fiery start, jumping to a 14-5 lead behind the hot shooting of Bourousis. Coach Jonas Kazlauskas’ wards had their first double-digit lead with three minutes remaining in the opening quarter before closing out the period with a 25-18 advantage.
The Greeks continued their fiery form in the second period and foiled the Chinese team's comeback bid. Coach Bob Donewald Jr’s side reduced Greece’s lead to seven points several times but the Europeans maintained their aggressiveness and erected a 47-37 half-time advantage.
Zisis and Dimitris Diamantidis then joined forces to give the Greeks a 56-43 cushion early in the second half. The Chinese, however, unleashed a 12-2 run to trim the Europeans' lead to 55-58.
Greece, who finished runner-up to Spain four years ago in Saitama, countered with their own rally to increase their lead to 65-56, but former National Basketball Association player Wang Zhizhi answered back with six straight points to put the Chinese within three, 62-65, entering the final period.
China eventually took the lead, 66-65, courtesy of Yi Jianlian's basket with eight minutes remaining. However, it proved to the Asian giants' last taste of the lead as the Greeks hit crucial baskets to build an 81-73 cushion. Wang and Sun Yue responded with back-to-back treys to cut Greece's lead to 79-81, entering the final few minutes of play. The Chinese, however, failed to sustain their rhythm, allowing the Greeks to run away with the victory.
Vassilis Spanoulis added 19 points while Diamantidis had 11 for the Greeks. Yi finished with a game-high 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Chinese, who played minus injured Houston Rockets centre Yao Ming. Wang and Sun chipped in 15 markers apiece while Wang Shipeng made 13.
Greece will next play Puerto Rico tomorrow while China will take on Cote d’Ivoire.
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