Germany defends its home and eliminates Giannis’s Greece

The German team eliminated Greece from the NBA star on Tuesday Giannis Antetokounmpo (107-96) and will face Spain in the semifinal of the European Basketball Championship that will be played next Friday in Berlin.

After an offensive first half that the Hellenic team won (57-61), the German team, very successful from the perimeter, reacted in the third quarter with a 26-10 run to get the match back on track.

In a Berlin Mercedes-Benz Arena filled to the brim, the hostess devoured the team of the two-time NBA MVP, in a memorable third quarter (26-10).

led by point guard Dennis Schroeder (26 points and 8 assists), Franz Wagner and Andreas Obst, both with 19 points, the German team annulled ‘Anteto’s’ teammates (31 points and 7 rebounds), very unwise from the perimeter, who, along with Giannoulis Larentzakis (18), held his team until with 5 minutes to go he was excluded upon seeing the second unsportsmanlike foul.

The first half was a tribute to offensive basketball. Between both teams they scored 118 points, but the half-time game was won by Greece (57-61), which went from less to more with an omnipresent ‘Anteto’ with 18 points and 8 assists in the first 20 minutes.

Spain reaches its eleventh consecutive semifinal

The Spanish basketball team, led by a superlative Rudy Fernández (11 points and 5 steals) in the last quarter, disconnected in the second half the showy game of Finland (100-90) to tie for the eleventh consecutive time the classification to semifinals of the Eurobasket.

In Berlin, Spain did it again. And this time without outstanding players, but with a supportive team, to which was added the magic board of the coach Sergio Scariolo, despite the 28 points of Lauri Markkanenthe cold blood of the captain in moments of truth, the accuracy of a rookie Darío Brizuela (14 points) and the internal reliability of Willy Hernangomez (27 points).

And that in the first half they lost by a difference of 15 points (35-50, min. 18), but in the second (57-38) Spain brought out their best defensive version to continue in the fight for the medals of the Eurobasket.

The Spanish players had the task of stopping Markkanen. They achieved it at least in the first quarter, but one of the scenarios that Scariolo advanced in the previous one was fulfilled: Finland, with five open players, is a very dangerous team that can lead any rival to run like a “headless chicken” in defence.

Within the first ten minutes, one of the most reliable teams in the championship at the back was overwhelmed by the dizzying pace of the Nordic players.

And that Spain started with a run of 8-2 (min.3) at the hands of Willy Hernangómez and a triple by Jaime Pradilla. But it was a mirage. The team coached by Lassi Tuovi drove the Spanish defense crazy, overwhelmed by transitions and penalized by turnovers (6 in the first quarter).

An 8-16 run in favor of the Nordics, who began to carburize from the perimeter, punished Spain, who saw how Jantonen gave his team a notable advantage with a three-pointer at the buzzer with which he put the icing on the cake of a first quarter dream for the Finns (19-30).

In the second act, Finland continued to control the pace. Given the lack of ideas and success of the Spanish exteriors, Scariolo’s team entrusted themselves to the physical superiority in painting of the Hernangómez brothers.

With 22-37 (min. 37), Scariolo stopped the game and introduced a zonal defense. It seemed that his team reacted (29-37) until the Finnish outsiders and Markkanen appeared, who scored 10 points in the first ten minutes, to disconnect the Italian coach’s defensive strategy (35-50, min. 18).

Before the break, the Spanish interiors, with Juancho Hernangómez in the lead, once again saved their team from further correction and, thanks to an 8-2 run, Spain managed to drop below the 10-point barrier (43-52). .

In the resumption something changed in the ranks of the Spanish team. Scariolo’s defensive web was installed on the floor and sapped the confidence of the Finnish players.

In attack, Willy punished Markkanen in the area, lorenzo brown He appeared with his sparks and the interiors controlled the defensive rebound. Spain was alive and confirmed it with a triple by Joel Parra with which he returned to take control of the game (60-57, min. 25) after completing a 17-5 run.

With his team stuck, the Finnish coach decided to activate his best man. Markkanen monopolized most of the Finnish attacks, but Spain was not scared defensively. Scariolo brought in Rudy Fernández and Alberto Díaz, who were key with three steals.

On the other side of the court, Darío Brizuela and Rudy stood out from the perimeter with two triples that gave Spain oxygen before the last act (73-67).

In the fourth, Brizuela gave an offensive display. With two penetrations and a three-pointer, after stealing and an assist from Rudy Fernández, Spain controlled a rival who, not finding Markkanen in attack, paid for Madsen and Jantunen to keep the match alive (87-82, min. 37) .

Until a little less than three minutes from the end, the veteran of ‘La Familia’ appeared. The penultimate survivor of the golden generation invented two definitive triples (95-84, one minute and 48 seconds to go).

Spain closed the door and Alberto Díaz sentenced the match with another three-pointer, his twelfth, with one minute and 24 seconds to go before the horn sounded. Spain did it again.

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Germany defends its home and eliminates Giannis’s Greece