Greece, who were playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo, comfortably defeated Venezuela 74-51 to win the Atlas Tournament ahead of the upcoming 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Antetokounmpo was given a rest with the World Cup in mind, but his absence didn’t prevent the Greeks from winning, as a solid defensive showing allowed the team to keep Venezuela at bay. Greece was presented with the Atlas Tournament trophy after winning all three matches at the competition:
Giannis Bourousis (12 points), Nick Calathes (11 points), Vangelis Mantzaris (11 points) and Giorgos Papagiannis (10 points) were the leading Greek scorers.
Greece will now prepare to face Montenegro in the first match of the 2019 World Cup on September 1.
Η ώρα της απονομής για την πρώτη θέση στο τουρνουά "Άτλας" #FIBAWC #HellasBasketball #HellasGotGame @FIBAWC 🏀🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/f5lo5VULmw
— Hellenic Basketball (@HellenicBF) August 27, 2019
THE MATCH
The first frame saw Greece claim a narrow one-point advantage with Venezuela sticking with their opponents.
In the second quarter, the Episimi Agapimeni began to pull clear, gaining an 11-point lead while only allowing Venezuela to score six points. Papagiannis impressed with this thumping dunk:
.@g_p_06 catches the lob all over the defender as @hellenicbf 🇬🇷 take on @oficialfvb 🇻🇪 in #FIBAWC prep! 😤 #HellasGotGame
📺 Watch live now: https://t.co/6ckukQBjfN pic.twitter.com/2zclmbwySM
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) August 27, 2019
The Greeks subsequently won the concluding two quarters 21-14 and 17-12 respectively to seal the victory.
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