Costas Papanikolaou proved to be as cool as he needed to be, scoring two shots in 3” for the end and giving Ethniki the win over Turkey (72-71) in a thrilling Ano Liossia indoor game. The visitors were just a breath away from the double, but the 31-year-old forward capitalized on the foul inflicted and gave our national side the victory with his 2/2 shots.

In the final possession of the game, Shane Larkin took charge but the shot he attempted from the corner landed in the iron, ending the Greek side’s victory.

The two sides meet again in Istanbul on Monday afternoon, February 28, with Turkey now taking on the role of host.

We remind you that the other match of the day for the group, that between Belarus and Great Britain, has been postponed due to the situation prevailing in the wider region.

The picture in the group

1. Greece 2-1
2. Great Britain 1-1
3. Belarus 1-1
4. Turkey 1-2

The MVP

From the moment he had the composure to put in two shots at 3” for the end, with the pressure on his shoulders, Costas Papanikolaou deservedly wins the title of Most Valuable. Given the importance of that game for the national team, the 31-year-old forward scored some of the most important shots of his career. In the 30’24” he stayed on the ground, he had 10 points (of which 2/3 two points, 1/4 three points, 3/3 shots), 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Together he played many great defenses against the Turkish players.

The weak link

Ogiuz Savas started in Turkey’s top 5 but found them (very) dark against George Papagiannis. He was quickly charged with two fouls, returning to pick up the third with short proceedings and remaining on the bench until the final, unable to do anything significant in the 12’16” he played.

The stat that stood out

The national team missed a goal from the periphery and finished the game with 8/28 three points. The internationals started at 1/8 from the periphery, scored four three-pointers in the second ten minutes, but missed again in the third and fourth.

The race

The national team didn’t start the game well, they had problems in defense and attack, they couldn’t find a working five in the first third. Turkey capitalized on the event and were +5 (7-12) with eight unanswered points, with Melich Mahmutoglou doing a great job. Overall, the visitors were clearly superior until the 11th minute, when they were at +10 (13-23) for the first time. The remarkable thing, of course, was that they did it while Shane Larkin was on the bench.

Somewhere there, however, the switch flipped. Sotiris Manolopoulos shuffled the deck and with Giorgos Papagiannis making the difference on both sides of the floor, Ethniki brought the ups and downs. Very quickly, the lead passed into the hands of the Greeks, with Kostas Sloukas’ two three-pointers (in fact within a few seconds) to create the +7 (37-30) just before the final of the first part. The break finally found our representative band at +8 (40-32).

The third ten minutes had great contrasts, with an excellent four minutes for each team. Ethniki started in impressive fashion, finding the creator they needed in Costas Sloukas and going +15 (52-37 in 24 minutes), at a point where Greece seemed capable and ready to ‘close’ the game an hour early “. . However, the guests did not give up, Shane Larkin began to pass the ball (extremely) and within four minutes everything came to a head. Ethniki’s +15 made wings, with the “X” (56-56) in the 29th minute transferring the pressure to the Greek side.

From then on everything was smooth. It was evident that Sotiris Manolopoulos’ players no longer had the strength to capitalize on their outbursts. Even when the double-digit lead returned (66-56 in 34′), Turkey were “there” to once again declare their presence. Melih Mahmutoglu wore the mantle of the leader and his own points put Orhun Ene’s team back in a position with legitimate hopes of the double (66-67 in 37′).

Everything was hanging by a thread now, with the lead changing hands several times, with Costas Sloukas on one side and Sein Larkin on the other ‘running’ the race’s most critical possessions. In fact, Turkey with shots of the second retained the lead (70-71) with a minute left.

Both sides lost on last-minute possession, however Costas Papanikolaou proved extremely cool as he won a foul – for shots – at 3” for the final. The 31-year-old forward was unmistakable from the line and handed the Greeks the victory, as a Sain Larkin three from the corner landed in the irons immediately afterwards.

THE REFEREES: Conte – Jasevicius – Unkrogers.

THE TEN MINUTES: 13-20, 40-32, 60-56, 72-71.

HELLAS (Manolopoulos): Larentzakis 2 (0/5 three points, 4 rebounds), Kalaitzakis 2 (3 steals), Papagiannis 14 (7/10 two points, 0/1 shot, 4 rebounds), Papanikolaou 10 (4 rebounds, 3 assists ). ), Mouratos 10 (1), Agravanis 14 (2 three points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists), Printezis 7 (1 three points, 5 rebounds), Moraitis 3 (1), Gondikas.

TURKEY (Ene): Larkin 10 (3/9 shots, 5 rebounds, 9 assists), Birsen 9 (1), Gegik 10 (1), Mahmutoglou 21 (3/3 two points, 4/10 three points, 3/3 shots ), Ulumbai, Bitim, Savas 6, Özdemiroglu 5 (1), Tuncer 4 (1/6 shot), Sipahi, Yasar 1.

Group Statistics – Greece: 21/36 two points, 8/28 three points, 6/10 shots, 36 rebounds (24 defensive + 12 offensive), 20 assists, 13 errors, 5 steals.

Group Statistics – Turkey: 13/21 two points, 10/31 three points, 15/17 shots, 28 rebounds (25 defensive + 3 offensive), 21 assists, 15 errors, 10 steals, 2 blocks.