Kostas Papadopoulos’ “Terrible Kids” beat Belgium 70-68 to finish third at this year’s EuroBasket U20 tournament.
Theodoris Konstantinidis had 18 points and was the difference maker at the end with a crucial three-pointer (he made it 68-65) with 20 seconds left in the game. Vangelis Zougris did it all again with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Yiannis Karakostas was positive with 9 points and 5 final passes.
Ayuba Bryant Jr. stood out with 19 points for the defeated Belgians, but he proved dangerous for his country in the second half, taking several dead shots.
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Although the Belgians were 0-5, our national team was not affected and with the tip of the spear Zougris, had priority in scoring, while Paraskevopoulos helped Greece a lot with his outside shot. 15-9 gave the blue and white a boost, but the Belgians showed they will sell their Tomari at a very high price with Bryant and Misia Dio. The first period ended 15-21 in favor of Greece, but the game had a long way to go.
The second quarter was a completely different story, with the official favorite losing its defensive filter and the home team generally finding their way to the basket easier and more often. Of course, the offensive attack of Karakostas and Samoturov also played a key role in overturning the score. Papadopoulos found Bryant on fire, and lost rebounds gave the Belgians easy points and a 40-31 lead at halftime, giving them food for reflection and regrouping.
In the third quarter, our national team made a big breakthrough, Samoturov and Karagostas entered the equation of the game, while the defense blocked the shots of the Belgians. Temerman was the only threat for Greece as he hit some very difficult attempts, but the pace was clearly the blue and white’s.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Belgians maintained their gap with three-pointers (56-50), Greece reacted with Konstantinidis as the protagonist and took the lead with a 34′ 7-0 run (56-57). After that, both teams kept pace with the score, Karakosta’s three-pointer put the national team +2 (63-65), 1:20 into the end. Belgium temporarily equalized, Konstantinidis responded with a personal 4-0, +4 (65-69), 10.1” to take the final victory 68-70!//DM
Quarterfinals: 15-21, 31-40, 50-46, 68-70.
Source: ertsports.gr