Greece rode their home crowd support and a masterful performance by Vasileios Charalampopoulos into the final of the 2015 U18 European Championship with 68-58 victory over Lithuania. Greece have a date in the title game with two-time reigning champions Turkey looking for their second crown following 2008. Charalampopoulos collected 22 points and 14 rebounds while Georgios Papagiannis added 15 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and three blocks for the Greeks, who haven't been in the final since 2008. Lithuania will be shooting for third place as Laurynas Beliauskas' 19 points and 13 points and 15 rebounds from Tadas Sedekerskis were not enough.
Turning Point: Greece led 52-51 with six minutes to play when Nikolaos Diplaros and Charalampopoulos sandwiched three-pointers around a Papagiannis dunk in an 8-0 run in two minutes for a 60-51 lead to pull away for good. There had been 10 lead changes and eight ties before that.
Stats Don't Lie: Greece made 10-of-29 three-pointers while Lithuania hit 8-of-25 from long range. The Greeks converted 18-of-29 free throws compared to just 4-of-8 foul shots for Lithuania.
Game Hero: Charalampopoulos was outstanding once again with 22 points on three treys, 14 rebounds, seven assists and one block.
The Bottom Line: After failing to reach the final in three of their last four international tournaments (2013 U16 European Championship, 2014 U18 European Championship and 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship), the Greek 1997 generation finally get their chance to fight for the title. Greece will play two-time reigning champions Turkey. Lithuania will face off against Bosnia and Herzegovina for third place.
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου