Greece’s national men’s basketball team pulled off a “do-or-die” qualifier victory against Australia in the qualifying round at the Paris Olympic Games on Friday, but must still wait for Spain-Canada match in Group A to see if they advance to the quarter-finals.
The Greek team, led by NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo – 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists – and with a dramatically improved Thomas Walkup adding 18 points, overcame the Australians 77 to 71.
Greek God 🇬🇷 emerges yet again.#Paris2024 x #Basketball pic.twitter.com/RzGz7lxQWY
— FIBA (@FIBA) August 2, 2024
Australia will qualify if Spain falls to Canada in the upcoming match. If Sergio Scariolo’s club wins then the “Boomers” will be forced to make an early exit from the Olympics.
Another path for the “blue team” to advance comes via another group. Specifically, if Serbia beats South Sudan by three points or more – as it is widely expected to do – then Greece and Brazil will emerge from the qualifier round into the quarter-finals of the Olympics. Brazil, similar to Greece, won on Friday by downing Japan.
The Greek side on Friday rebounded from frustrating first round losses to Canada and Spain, mostly plagued by poor shooting from the field. Younger players Dinos Mitoglou and Vasilis Toliopoulos both posted 13 points on Friday in the crucial qualifier.
Walkup, a Houston, Texas native, who plays for Olympiacos Piraeus in the Greek first division and is a recent naturalized citizen, made up for his poor performances in the first two games by sinking a clutch three-pointer and getting a steal late in the game to keep Greece close amid a furious Australia comeback.
