ATHENS (Greece) - There's a lot to be optimistic about if you're a Greek basketball fan. Coach Vassilis Spanoulis saw his men cruise to a massive 102-75 win over the Bahamas, hitting the high notes perfectly just days before the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus.
The game was marked by Giannis Antetokounmpo's return to action. The Greek Freak has not played a game since early April, but looked like his usual self in less than 15 minutes of action.
The story of the game
While the Bahamas rested two of their biggest stars in Eric Gordon and Deandre Ayton, Greece started with their strongest layup, Nick Calathes and Thomas Walkup taking care of the backcourt, Kostas Papanikolaou and Georgios Papagiannis joining Giannis Antetokounmpo in the frontcourt.
While the Bahamas tried pushing the tempo to start the game, it turned out that kind of pace suited Greece. Antetokounmpo was off to three quick dunks early on, he scored eight points across the first four minutes of action, and it was clear that Greece would storm to a win after creating a 28-15 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
All 12 players were used by coach Spanoulis, and 11 of them were in double digits in minutes played, with the rhythm never dropping en route to a big win.
The player of the game
Giannis played a total of 14 minutes and 48 seconds, made 5-of-6 shots from the field, did not attempt a single three-pointer, and made 4-of-6 free throws to collect 14 points on the day.
Greece used him as a low post threat early on in the game, allowing Calathes and Walkup to set the plays and collect 20 assists between the two of them, and getting their best player close to the rim even before he received the ball.
Antetokounmpo also had 5 rebounds in this one, looking like he never missed a day of practice even though he sat out nearly three months of basketball due to an injury.
The stats of the game
It wasn't the first time this summer that coach Spanoulis gave the green light to everybody on the floor. They attempted 26 three-pointers, made 12 of them, an impressive 46.2 percent from beyond the arc. If they can replicate those numbers next week, the Olympic ticket would be within reach.
As for the Bahamas, there's not a lot to say watching just this one game. But without Ayton and Gordon, and with Buddy Hield shooting 1-of-11 from beyond the arc, this was always going to be an uphill battle.
The takeaways from the game
Greece are the hot favorites to win their tournament, and the home crowd could be in for something special with Giannis showing no signs of rust.
But the rest of the team reacted perfectly, Dinos Mitoglou had 18 points in 16 minutes off the bench, Kostas Papanikolaou scored 14 points, Georgios Papagiannis was also in double digits with 11, while Nick Calathes dished out 11 assists in just 21 minutes of work.
With everybody clicking together like this, this team is much more than just Antetokounmpo's show.
The Bahamas are off to Spain next week, facing Poland and Finland in Group B of their FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. They were clearly hiding their hand in this one, saving a secret or two for the upcoming games in Valencia.
FIBA