Having lost the first two quarters to Latvia,
Greece found itself trailing by 39 to 54 with a little over five minutes to go
in the third. The Greeks rallied together and went on to a 24-5 point run to
turn things around. Although Latvia won the quarter 61-60, Greece had a
significant boost in morale and eventually finished the game seven points ahead
of their opponents and fifth in the tournament.
Greece had strong individual performances with
Giorgos Mpourousis scoring 20 points, while Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nick
Calathes had 15 points each.
Victory over Latvia means that Greece will play
in one of the three World Olympic Qualifying Tournaments for Men. The winners
of these three tournaments will qualify for the Rio De Janeiro 2016 Olympic
Games.
As Greece’s tournament came to an end, Vassilis
Spanoulis, one of Greece’s most prolific players, announced that he is retiring
from the Greek National Basketball Team. Spanoulis, who scored 16 points
against Latvia, has been a part of Greece’s major basketball successes since
2000. He helped the Greek team win the FIBA Eurobasket in 2005, come in second
in the 2006 FIBA World Championship and collect the bronze medal in the FIBA
Eurobasket 2009.
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