Papaloukas Leads Greece in Amazing Comeback
Theodoros Papaloukas Leads Greece in Amazing Comeback against previously unbeaten Slovenia.
Greece 63: Slovenia 62
In the final game of the Eurobasket Quarterfinals, the Greek National Team came up big when it mattered most - the last few minutes of the game.
Greece looked as if they were finished, the majority of the game Hellas played without much energy nor motivation, as they had during most of Eurobasket. Hellas had played a miserable second-half up until six minutes left in the fourth quarter with the Slovenians leading by 16 points, 58-42.
The Greeks never gave up. They went on a decisive 21-4 run, including a 10-0 run that spanned the last 1:32. It came as no surprise that the comeback was led by Theo Papaloukas, who scored 11 of his 17 points in that six-minute span, in defeating the shocked Slovenians. Jaka Lakovic, who earlier in the tournament hit a game-winning three, had a chance to win the game, but his shot at the buzzer failed to even hit the rim. “Slovenia was better for 39 minutes, but in basketball that’s not always enough.” said Papaloukas.
Rasho Nesterovic led the Slovenians with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots. Greece will face Spain tomorrow in a rematch of the 2006 World Championships title game. (game thread)
[related thread: Greece vs Slovenia: Quarter-finals, day 2]
