Greece’s basketball team has to wait for other matches to find out whether it progresses to the next round of the Olympics despite winning against Australia on Friday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led his country to the first and crucial win in the Paris 2024 Olympics over Australia 77-71. The Milwaukee Bucks star had 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists in almost 33 minutes on the court.
Greece dominated the first half and especially in the second period. It established a lead of 17 points against the Aussies. However, the “Boomers” came back in the second half and closed the gap.
Greece won just two points sort of automatic qualification from this group. It now needs Serbia to beat South Sudan by more than 3 points to secure a place in the knock-out phase. The game will be played on Saturday.
Greece led by 19 points against Australia at the Olympics
Greece led by as many as 19 points (55-36) at the start of the third quarter against Australia, but the Bommers came back into the game with a defensive-oriented lineup, led by veteran guard Matthew Dellavedova.
Australia was down two (69-71) with 2 minutes to go, but Vasilis Toliopoulos converted a three-pointer, and Greece held the Boomers to just two points over the last two minutes.
Besides Giannis, Thomas Walkup was another go-to guy for Greece, as he had 18 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists over 30 minutes. He also nailed four threes in seven attempts.
Dinos Mitoglou and Vasilis Toliopoulos were other Hellas players in double digits with 13 points apiece.
Jock Landale recorded 17 points and 8 rebounds for the Boomers, while Patty Mills added 13 points, and Dyson Daniels had 11.
Two bronze medals for Greece
Earlier on Friday Greece won two bronze medals in rowing at the Paris Olympics, bringing the total medal tally to three bronzes and one silver.
Milena Kontou and Zoi Fitsiou won the bronze medal in the lightweight women’s double sculls on Friday. The Greek team covered the distance in 6:49.28 after the British team that took first place with 6:47.06 and Romania that came second with 6:48.78.
The Greek crew was out of the medals for most of the race, but a terrific finish saw them leave New Zealand behind and climb onto the podium.
Earlier, Greece won its third medal in the Olympic Games in Paris in the lightweight men’s double sculls. Antonis Papakonstantinou and Petros Gaidatzis won the bronze medal covering the distance in 6:13.44.
On Thursday Greek swimming champion Apostolos Christou won a silver medal for Greece at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
This is another great achievement for Greek sports, as the young swimmer secured the medal in the men’s 200-meter backstroke. Christou’s impressive performance brought pride to Greece and revealed his exceptional talent on the global stage.
