Greece attained their original objective in the Eurobasket as they beat the Serbs on Friday to reserve a spot in next year’s Olympic qualification tournament.
The Greeks won 87-77 after a spectacular first quarter of the game to secure a top-six finish in the tournament that is taking place in Lithuania.
Although Greece and Serbia have been of similar quality in this European Championship, the Greeks were absolutely irresistible in the first 10 minutes of the match for positions 5-8, ending the first quarter with a 26-point lead (34-8) thanks to remarkable scoring rates and a series of errors by the Serbs who were clearly affected by their defeat to Russia in the quarterfinal that had ended no more than 18 hours earlier.
The rest of the game allowed Greece to play a more conservative game in order to preserve the massive lead they had attained, ending the first half with a 48-26 score.
Led by Yiannis Bourousis, who scored an international career record of 27 points as well as collecting six rebounds, Greece fended off the Serbian effort for a comeback in the last period to lead by 15 points 70-55 despite an injury to Nikos Zisis, Greece’s second scorer with 18 points.
In the last couple of minutes the Serbs tried in vain to reduce the arrears, with the Greeks holding on to a precious win that sends them to a playoff for the fifth spot on Saturday evening against the Lithuanians.
Yet Greece have already managed to reach the target they had planned for from the start, given that playing in the 2012 pre-Olympic tournament will mean the national team will be active next summer, too – while the Serbs will play their next competitive game in the summer of 2013.
The tournament will send three teams to the 2012 Olympics and will probably take place either in France or in Puerto Rico.
Already confirmed participants are Lithuania, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Angola, Nigeria, New Zealand and Greece, with four more to emerge from the losers of the Eurobasket semifinals and the second and third teams in Asia.
The 12-team tournament is scheduled for July 2-8, 2012.
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