Greece's national women's deaf basketball team added another golden page to Greek Basketball history after defeating Lithuania 67-50 in the gold medal match of the Deaflympics in Turkey. The men’s squad lost to Ukraine in the bronze medal game and finished fourth.
The Greek flag was raised in Samsun, Turkey, as the women’s deaf Greek national basketball team won the gold medal. With exceptional defensive play in the championship game against Lithuania, Greece rightfully won the gold medal in the tournament defeating their opponents 67-50. The win capped off a spectacular tournament for the Greek team, going undefeated in six matches to win gold.
The final was a close contest up until the end of the third period, that ended with Greece ahead 39-38. However, in the fourth quarter, an 18-4 run gave Greece a lead that would not threaten the result in the final minutes as the Greek defense refused to allow Lithuania to get back into the game.
After the triumph, the President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, expressed his congratulations and stated that “this worldwide success shows the extent of your physical and mental abilities and sets a perfect example for everyone to follow”.
The men’s deaf Greek national basketball team unfortunately fell to Ukraine 63-57 in the bronze medal match, finishing fourth in the tournament.
by Dimitris Spiridakos
Image Source: sportfm.gr
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