The Men’s National Team put up a competitive performance against Greece at the Telekom Center Athens, suffering an 82-75 loss in its final friendly match before the start of its official competition schedule.
Panagiotis Giannaras’s team played very well for much of the game, winning three of the four quarters and staying close on the scoreboard until the final minutes. The second quarter proved decisive, as Greece turned the tide from the first quarter and built a lead that it ultimately maintained until the end.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Cyprus got off to an excellent start, taking a 5-0 lead with a three-pointer by Yiannis Giannaras and a basket by Panagiotis Pavlidis. Greece responded and briefly took the lead, 6-5, but our national team continued to find solutions on offense. With Mantovani, Tiga, Pavlidis, and Haris Giannaras scoring, Cyprus extended its lead to 17-11 and finished the first quarter ahead 21-17.
Our national team maintained its lead at the start of the second quarter. Simon Michael hit a three-pointer to make it 31-25 in Cyprus’s favor, but from that point on, Greece stepped up its pressure and shifted the momentum of the game.
Led by Dorsey, Kalathis, Nezipoglou, and Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the home team went on a 21-3 run by halftime. Greece took the lead and headed to the locker room with a 46-34 advantage, having won the second quarter 29-13.
Cyprus did not let the deficit affect them and came back strong after the break. Stefanos Tigkas hit the first three-pointer of the third quarter, while Giannis Giannaras, Pavlidis, Mantovani, and Iliadis helped the national team cut the deficit to five points (54-49).
Greece managed to find answers every time Cyprus closed the gap, with Dorsey and Netzioglou making it 68-57 at the end of the third quarter. Although the lead remained in double digits, Cyprus also won that quarter 23–22.
Our national team continued its effort in the final quarter. Panagiotis Markou opened the quarter with a three-pointer, while Pasialis, Tigkas, and Haris Giannaras then provided new offensive options.
With three-pointers by Tigkas and then Haris Giannaras, Cyprus closed the gap to 77-70, while Ioannis Pasialis cut the lead even further to 77-72 with less than two minutes remaining.
Greece responded with a basket by Kostas Antetokounmpo and a three-pointer by Papanikolaou to make it 82-72, essentially securing the victory. Pavlidis scored the final three points of the game for a final score of 82-75.
Cyprus also won the fourth quarter 18–14, finishing the game having won three quarters against Greece.
The leading scorer for our national team was Stefanos Tigas with 13 points, with Panagiotis Pavlidis adding 12, Giannis Giannaras 11, and Ioannis Pasialis 10. For Greece, Tyler Dorsey was the leading scorer with 18 points.
After the game, the national team’s coach, Panagiotis Giannaras, said: “I’m quite pleased with the guys. We were missing 8–9 players from the last windows. The players who took the court gave it their all. We need more consistency. We hope to perform better in our next game against Austria.”
Nikos Stylianou said: “Despite the absences, we have a lot of new players who played very well. We’re making a fresh start with Coach Giannaras. What we didn’t have before is stamina. We want to play better for longer stretches.”
Quarter scores: 17-21, 46-34, 68-57, 82-75.
GREECE (Vasilis Spanoulis): Dorsey 18, K. Antetokounmpo 10, Larentzakis 9, Netzioglou 9, T. Antetokounmpo 8, Mitoglou 6, Kalathis 5, Kalaitzakis 5, Papanikolaou 5, Toliopoulos 3, Bazinas 2, Moraitis 2.
CYPRUS (Panagiotis Giannaras): S. Tigkas 13, Pavlidis 12, G. Giannaras 11, Pasialis 10, Michael 8, Mantovani 6, H. Giannaras 5, Iliadis 5, Markou 3, Aggeli 2, Koumis, Loizidis.
