France completed their flawless run-up to this year’s Eurobasket competition, defeating Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece 92-77 in Athens. Some NBA fans may remember the name Theo Maledon, who led the French with 16 points. For the Greeks, it was Antetokounmpo, of course, leading the scoring column with 20 points.
New York Knicks signee Guerschon Yabusele got off to a blistering start for France, going 3/3 from deep in the opening minutes and talking trash in the process. Other than getting to the charity stripe, Giannis was largely held in check in the opening frame; however, legendary Greek guard Kostas Sloukas picked up the slack with a couple of nice moves to the cup. Greece up 20-17 after one.
Greece bombed a pair of triples as the second quarter began to up their lead to nine. Giannis attacked the rim for a beastly and-one a few minutes later, and Greece was moving the ball nicely for open threes. But a few of France’s young NBA talents, Zaccharie Risacher and Bilal Coulibaly, kept them in speaking distance, only down 43-49 at the half.
France’s third quarter was masterful, beginning with a 7-0 run to take the lead in the opening minutes. Midway through the third quarter, Giannis got out on the fast break for a windmill jam to ignite the crowd and tie the game up at 56. France then responded by ending the quarter on a 15-5 run; Alex Sarr got in on the action with a few tough finishes at the rim, before Risacher nailed a three in the final minute. France up 71-61 after three.
Sarr continued to leave his imprint on the contest in the final frame with a few more finishes at the cup. Greece’s Vassilis Toliopoulos nailed a tough corner three to reduce the French lead to 11 with seven minutes to go, but Isaia Cordinier responded with a ridiculous contested three multiple steps behind the line, proving it was not the home team’s night. Giannis had another and-one a few minutes later, but it was too little, too late. France wins.
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