Vassilis Spanoulis started his career on the bench of the Men’s National Team with a difficult victory over the formidable Czech Republic: 72-64, half time 32-31. The match took place in the packed SEF and was the opening match for the EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers.
The Greek team started with 0/10 three-pointers and found themselves losing 14-21, but responded with a 7-0 run and overtook with a long shot by Dinos Mitoglou as soon as their starters returned to the court (29-27). But the three-pointers of the Czechs at the beginning of the third period brought again…clouds: 33-40.
Dimitris Moraitis next to Thomas Walkup helped in the new upset: 41-40, 53-48 with a nail by Costas Antetokounmpo. Vassilis Charalambopoulos made it 58-50 with back-to-back baskets and the Czechs did not get within shooting distance again, after the difference reached double digits: 69-56.
Kostas Papanikolaou, who on the eve of the match felt discomfort and went to the hospital for an MRI scan, played normally and scored 16 points. Dinos Mitoglou was the leading scorer with 22 points, while Thomas Walkup finished the game with 16 points, 8 assists, 8 rebounds and 5 steals.
Moraitis 2, Toliopoulos 2, Kalaitzakis, Larentzakis, Rogavopoulos 2, Charalambopoulos 5, Kouzeloglou, Papagiannis 5, K. Antetokounmpo 2 also played. Sloukas, Kalathis, Papapetrou and Dorsey have not been called.
For the Czech Republic, which lined up full except for Jan Vesely, Tomas Satoranski had 9 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Balvin 13, Peterka 12, Kizlink 10, Bohaczyk 8 also distinguished themselves.
The SEF was filled with 12,500 spectators, who adored Vassilis Spanoulis and the players. Tickets sold out a few hours before the jamball. Among others, Dimitris Diamantidis, George Printezis, Lazaros Papadopoulos, and Veronica Antetokounmpo watched the match.
In their second match of the EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers, the “official favourites” will face the Netherlands on Monday in The Hague. In this match, the players who were left out of the starting lineup tonight are also expected to be announced: Lountzis, Mantzoukas, Zougris and Naz Mitrou-Long, who will make his debut as a “naturalized” instead of his teammate at Olympiakos, Tomas Walkup. Great Britain also belongs to the same Group, from which three teams qualify.
EuroBasket 2025 (27 August – 14 September) will be held in four countries: Cyprus, Finland, Poland and Latvia. The finals will take place in Riga.
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