In the bronze medal match, the Greek team defeated the Finnish team 92:89 (24:15, 24:19, 21:22, 23:33).
In the big one, the men from Turkey and Germany will fight for gold starting at 9 p.m.
The Greeks, who made accurate three-pointers, led from the first to the last minute, and for a significant part of the match - by a double-digit margin. However, the combative Finns kept reducing their deficit and did not let their opponents relax prematurely. In the last minute of the match, the Finns returned the intrigue after a three-pointer by Olivier Nkamhoua - 86:82.
Kostas Sloukas missed his second free throw, and Elias Valtonen drew a foul from long range, but made only two of three. Mikael Jantunen, who caught the ball on offense, was also inaccurate – 90:89. In turn, Giannis Antetokounmpo hit both free throws and Greece held on – 92:89.
G. Antetokounmpo, who did everything, finished with 30 points (9/11 two-pointers, 12/16 free throws), 17 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 7 fouls and even 43 efficiency points.
Tyler Dorsey added 20 points (5/9 three-pointers), Vassilis Toliopoulos – 15, Konstantinos Mitoglou – 8, and K. Sloukas – 7 points.
Lauri Markkanen responded with 19 (6/16 shooting, 10 rebounds), E. Valtonen – 18, O. Nkamhoua – 15, and Mikael Jantunen – 13 points.
The Greeks, who eliminated the Lithuanians in the quarterfinals, had no chance against the Turks in the semifinals (68:94), while the Finns stubbornly resisted, but ultimately could not hold their own against the Germans (86:98).
Match progress:
Having won gold twice (1987 and 2005), the Greeks have not set foot on the podium for 16 years – since 2009, when they won bronze. In the last three continental tournaments, the Greek masters have always remained outside the semi-finals: in 2015 and 2022 they were 5th, and in 2017 – 8th.
At that time,"Susijengi" (translated from Finnish as "wolf pack") had reached its highest point so far in 1967, when they finished sixth in the continental championship while defending their home walls.
The 2029 European Championship will be hosted by Estonia, Greece, Slovenia and Spain.
