Kostas Antetokounmpo posted the second-best scoring performance in his career with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Greece's victorious effort was marked by Ergin Ataman's ejection with Dimitris Itoudis trying to convince him to leave the court.
Greece finished the friendly Acropolis Tournament on a high note. The European power extended its domination against Turkey, 89-80 (22-15, 20-28, 21-26, 26-11), winning the 8th straight game.
Greece missed their biggest star Giannis Antetokounmpo in tonight's match, who skipped the game due to back issues. The medical staff did not want to risk his health ahead of the upcoming official games.
The highlight of tonight's game occurred in the third quarter with Greece up 56-54 and 4'13" left. Turkey's head coach Ergin Ataman was ejected from the game receiving a second technical foul.
However, he refused to leave the court. Opponents' coach Dimitris Itoudis went straight to his bench and tried to persuade Ataman with a friendly approach. The back-to-back EuroLeague champion eventually agreed to leave the court without going to the locker room. Demir Hakan, Ataman's first assistant, took over the Turkish team.
NBAer Furkan Korkmaz was feasting in the first half, scoring almost half of Turkey's points: 19 total of 43. The game was going neck-on-neck for the two and a half quarters.
But Turkey made a run with the third quarter going towards the end. The Reds spurted 9-0 and created an 8-point lead (67-59).
Nevertheless, Greece was not ready to give up. Powered by Kostas Antetokounmpo's buckets, the hosts organised a 9-0 push and retook the game control into their hands (77-74). The same Kostas Antetokounmpo and Tyler Dorsey got the job done with a crucial 8-0 run (87-78).
Kostas Antetokounmpo had 19 points (8/11 2PT, 1/3 3PT, 0/4 FT), 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, and 27 EFF in 36 minutes.
Turkey finished its friendly games cycle with a 3-3 record. Greece had 4 wins and 1 loss in a 5-match span.
Greece extended its 7-year domination over Turkey
