Greece wins its first-ever gold medal at U17 Europeans
The Greeks narrowly defeated Serbia 9:8 in the final of the 2023 European U17 Championships in Manisa. The first two quarters were crucial for the outcome of the final game. At halftime, Greece led 6:1. Serbia was close to an equalizer at the finish, but Greece didn’t let the rival come back.
Today’s triumph is the first gold for Greece at the Men’s European U17 Championships. Two years ago, Greece finished 2nd at the U17 Europeans in Malta, after Serbia defeated it in the final.
Spain won the bronze medal beating Hungary convincingly 14:8 in the third-place game.
Interestingly, both medal matches were rematches of the games of the medals at the previous U17 Europeans, held in Malta in 2021, with opposite outcomes. Hungary won bronze in Malta two years ago, beating Spain. Interestingly, both medal matches were rematches of the games of the medals at the previous U17 Europeans, held in Malta in 2021, with opposite outcomes. Hungary won bronze in Malta two years ago, beating Spain. Of course, there are no players who participated in both tournaments.
Montenegro defeated Italy 11:7 in the 5th-place match. Croatia finished in 7th place after edging out the Netherlands (14:13).
Greece – Serbia 9:8 (3:1, 3:0,1:4, 2:3)
Greece: Mavriopoulos, Lykoudis 2, Kokkinos 1, Karatzas 2, Kapragkos 1, Laskaridis 2, Zervoudakis 1, Chomatas, Mitrakis, Siamas, Belesis, Maragkoudakis, Kratimenos. Head coach: Machiras.
Serbia:Dimkovic, Bodiroga, Novakovic 1, Icitovic, Spasovic, Gladovic 3, Lazic, Kojic, Adamovic 2, Boskovic 1, Krstic 1, Dimic, Savic. Head coach: Korolija.
Greece won the gold thanks to an excellent 6:0 run between the 6th and the 16th minute. Serbia was a better rival in the second half and almost catch up with the rival. Still, the Greeks managed to save a minimal advantage and big win.
Serbia took an opening 1:0 lead in the 5th minute, but Greece entered the second quarter with a two-goal advantage. The Greeks’ goalkeeper Mariopoulos posted a few good saves and encouraged his teammates, who scored three goals in the last 128 seconds of the first quarter and gained a 3:1 lead.
Early in the second period, Greece went to 4:1 after Lykoudis converted a penalty shot. Serbia had a lot of problems in the attack. Most of their scoring attempts were from a distance and were blocked or saved. Greece widened the margin to five by the middle break (6:1).
Serbia’s goalless phase lasted for almost 15 minutes and was ended by Gladovic, who converted a man-up for 2:6. Shortly after, the Serbs added two quick goals and trailed 4:6 in the middle of the quarter. Their 6 on 6 defence worked really well in the third quarter. They kept Greece far from their goal. However, Greece’s Karatazas converted the only man-up his team had in the third period for 7:4. Still, Serbia reduced the gap once to two again before the final quarter (5:7).
Zervoudakis opened the fourth period with a lob shot for 8:5. In the 29th minute, Kapragkos converted a man-up for 9:5 and Greece was just a tiny step far from the throne. Still, Serbia didn’t wave a white flag and started coming back and almost levelled the score. They netted three straight goals and cut the deficit to one goal with 70 seconds left on the clock. Luka Boskovic scored from a counterattack to make it 8:9. Serbia’s defence was up to the task in Greece’s next possession. The team in the white caps didn’t manage to shoot in that attack, and Serbia had a chance to equalize. But, 25 seconds before the end, a shot from a Serbian player went just above the crossbar. In the remaining time, the Greeks kept the ball and started celebrating the win.
The Greeks won the gold with six wins in as many matches (in the semifinals, they beat Spain in a penalty shootout) and defeated Serbia twice in the tournament (the score of the game in the group stage was 11:9)
