Greece complete sweep over Turkey in front of record crowd in Istanbul
ISTANBUL (Turkey) - It wasn't as close as the first encounter, but it still went down to the wire with Turkey and Greece. Sotiris Manolopoulos' men completed the sweep, 76-67 in front of a capacity crowd.
ISTANBUL (Turkey) - It wasn't as close as the first encounter, but the second Group B clash between Turkey and Greece also went down the wire. Sotiris Manolopoulos' men completed the sweep, taking a 76-67 win in front of a FIBA Basketball World Cup European Qualifiers record crowd of 14,500 at the Sinan Erdem Arena in Istanbul.
With these two wins, Greece took complete control of the group, while Turkey now have a lot of work to do to confirm a Second Round spot and continue their path towards the World Cup in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
Turning point: The halftime team-talk in the Greek locker room. The guests came out to win the third stanza by 13, building their largest lead of the day and entering the fourth quarter with a 16-point lead.
Turkey did fight back in the first part of the final quarter, coming all the way back to 60-62 from their point of view. Greece needed a hero and found one in Dimitrios Agravanis - the big guy stretched the floor with back-to-back three-pointers to put Greece up by seven and out of reach.
😤 Big Papa returns the favor with his own poster 🔨@hellenicbf x #WinForHellas 🇬🇷x #FIBAWC pic.twitter.com/nNnyZkVzTJ
— FIBA Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWC) February 28, 2022
Game hero: Agravanis was sensational with 22 points, four three-pointers made and 11 rebounds. From day one of this campaign, the 27-year-old has been Greece's go-to guy, getting 17 points and 8 rebounds per game over the first four games, and leading Greece to a 3-1 mark.
Stats don't lie: Sharing is caring, and Greece were all about passing the ball on the day, dishing out 24 assists - Kostas Sloukas had 9 - compared to Turkey's 17. They also kept Turkey from getting to the line, allowing only three free throws across 40 minutes.
🎯🎯 @kos_slou turning it up a notch as @hellenicbf 🇬🇷 are on a roll!#FIBAWC x #WinForHellas pic.twitter.com/Ha4HcApzUu
— FIBA Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWC) February 28, 2022
Bottom line: Greece are up at 3-1, two wins clear of everybody else, but cannot be sure of a Second Round spot just yet. Agravanis did his part, Sloukas was the floor general, Kostas Papanikolaou brought his usual defense and experience, and Georgios Papagiannis went 8-of-12 for 21 points and 9 rebounds.
For Turkey, that 1-3 record is not looking good, and they are once again in trouble in the Qualifiers. Shane Larkin had 16 points and 6 assists, Metecan Birsen put together a solid double-double with 12 points and 13 boards, but it wasn't enough for coach Orhun Ene.
They said: