PIRAEUS (Greece) - The long wait is over! Greece will be participating in their first Olympics in 16 years. The enthusiastic crowd of 11,810 at the Peace and Friendship Stadium witnessed Greece's 80-69 victory over Croatia in the Final of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024, held in Piraeus, Greece.
This triumph also marks a significant milestone for Giannis Antetokounmpo, as it will be his debut appearance at the Olympics. His inclusion adds another stellar name to an already impressive roster of qualified teams and players.
Turning Point
Greece entered halftime with a 6-point lead and continued to exchange scores with Croatia at the start of the third quarter. As Croatia trimmed the deficit to just 4 points midway through the third, coach Vasilis Spanoulis made a crucial decision to engage Nick Calathes.
Calathes, who had facilitated ball distribution with 6 assists in the first half, shifted gears and scored 11 points in a six-and-a-half-minute span during the third quarter. This push elevated Greece to a 60-50 lead.
The game subsequently turned into a 14-point advantage for Greece. Despite Croatia's various attempts to turn the tide in the final quarter, the lead remained in double digits. Greece ultimately secured a 15-13 all-time record against their European counterparts.
TCL Player of the Game
The decisive factor was the matchup of the point guards. Croatia attempted to counter Nick Calathes with a non-traditional lineup, pairing Mateo Dreznjak and Jaleen Smith and foregoing a typical point guard.
Calathes, however, was undeterred. He controlled the game's pace masterfully, finishing with 14 points, 11 assists, and 5 rebounds.
Stats Don't Lie
Defeating an opponent is a tall order when shooting just 5-of-19 from beyond the arc—especially when only two players are responsible for all five makes. For Croatia, those two players were Dario Saric and Mateo Dreznjak.
The rest of the Croatian squad combined for a disappointing 1-of-11 performance from three-point range.
In contrast, Greece connected on 12-of-32 shots from deep, capping off an impressive shooting performance throughout the tournament.
Bottom Line
Greece advances to join Group A in the Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament Paris 2024, alongside pre-qualified teams from Australia and Canada. The group's final member will be determined by the winner of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament Spain 2024.
Although Croatia could not replicate their past successes from 2008 and 2016, coach Josip Sesar can be proud of his team's efforts in Greece. They deployed Ivica Zubac to guard Giannis Antetokounmpo in the paint, yet the Milwaukee Bucks star still tallied 23 points and 8 rebounds.
Croatia's defensive strategies against Nick Calathes and Georgios Papagiannis (who shot 4-of-5 from deep in the first half alone) did not yield the desired results, allowing Greece to maintain a comfortable double-digit lead.
Ivica Zubac contributed 19 points and 13 rebounds in a valiant, albeit losing, effort.