Greece lost to Germany in the Olympic quarters on Tuesday (76-63) and was eliminated from the competition in Paris.
Greece had a fantastic start to the game leading by a double score of 22-11 in the first period. Germany came back strong in the second period and closed the gap. The two teams finished in a tie 36-36 the first half.
In the second half, Germany dominated with the final score: 76-63
The German team includes NBA regulars like Daniel Theis, Dennis Schroder, and Orlando Magic brothers Moritz and Franz Wagner. It proved to be quite formidable against Greece, as it did during group play finishing 3-0 and +47 in point differential.
The world champions Germany have three top-eight showings – 1984, 1992 and 2021. Dennis Schroder and co. have come to France with the clear goal of getting past this game and get within one victory of a first-ever medal. Germany are sky-high on confidence right now, especially after blasting hosts France to finish the group stage undefeated.
Until today Greece held a 12-8 all-time advantage over Germany overall including an 87-64 win in the group stage at the 2008 Olympics.
Starting with their victory over Germany in the Final of the FIBA EuroBasket 2005, Greece had won five straight games before Germany defeated the Greeks 107-96 in the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA EuroBasket 2022.
Greece’s road to the Olympics quarters
Greece finished third in the group face. To progress to the next round they needed Serbia to beat South Sudan on Saturday. The Serbs did their job winning 96-85.
Greece made the elimination round along with Germany, Serbia, Australia, France, Canada, Brazil and the United States.
Greece made this a possibility by beating Australia 77-71 in their final group play game, bringing their differential to -8.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led his country to the first and crucial win in the Paris 2024 Olympics. The Milwaukee Bucks star had 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists in almost 33 minutes on the court.
Backed by Antetokounmpo, Greece made it to the Paris Games by winning a qualifying tournament earlier this month.
It put Greece back in the Olympic basketball tournament for the first time since it made the 12-team field in Beijing in 2008, and just the fifth time overall. Playing in the Olympics is one of the few things the two-time NBA MVP hadn’t achieved.
After the Australia clash Giannis Antetokounmpo said: “We wanted to be on this stage for a long time, but we weren’t fortunate enough. I’m trying to enjoy every single day, with my teammates. Like, I remember that game the first day, I texted my wife and I told her ‘I cannot stop smiling.’ It’s just the atmosphere and the vibe is just different.”
This is a developing story
