Giannis Antetokounmpo leads Greece past Italy in opener

Aug 29, 2025 3:56 AM

Italy had joked about needing a sniper to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo, but once the ball was tipped in Limassol, it quickly became clear that no such miracle was coming.

The Greek superstar, relentless from start to finish, carried his team with 31 points to lead Greece past Italy, 75-66, in their FIBA EuroBasket 2025 opener inside a packed Spyros Kyprianou Arena.

With 7,000 mostly Greek fans roaring, Antetokounmpo imposed his will and proved to be the defining difference in a hard-fought contest.

Italian head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco had raised eyebrows in the pre-tournament press conference when he joked about having “a friend” to deal with the two-time NBA MVP.

It was a lighthearted remark, but once the game began, it underlined the reality: stopping Antetokounmpo is never a one-man job. On Thursday, Italy simply had no answer.

The game itself unfolded with tense balance early on. At halftime, Italy remained well within reach, and midway through the third quarter they trailed by only four, 45-41.

But Greece turned up the pressure on both ends. Their defense suffocated Italy’s shooters, and offensively, they clicked into rhythm, putting together an 11-3 burst to open up a 56-44 advantage. That stretch would prove to be the key swing.

Even when Italy pushed back late – trimming the gap to six on Simone Fontecchio’s first points of the night with four minutes to go, and again to 71-66 inside the final minute – Giannis made sure there was no comeback.

With 31 seconds left, he powered down a decisive dunk that silenced any hope of an Italian steal.

For Greece, there was never any doubt about who would shoulder the load. Antetokounmpo dominated with 31 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal. His efficiency, power, and control made him the undisputed TCL Player of the Game.

Italy, meanwhile, simply could not find offensive answers. Fontecchio, expected to be their go-to scorer, endured a night to forget, shooting 1-for-11 from the field and finishing with just four points in 34 minutes.

Greece’s defense held Italy to a meager 36 percent overall shooting, including 26 percent from beyond the arc, while the Greeks themselves hit 59 percent inside and 39 percent from three.

For Greece, the victory was not only about Giannis, but also about composure, teamwork, and experience. Head coach Vassilis Spanoulis saw areas to improve, particularly in execution on offense: “I think we had a good game defensively. Offensively we had some good moments and some not-so-good moments. We need to have a little more patience in our offense and more easy points on fast breaks. Our team can run, our team can shoot, we need to find more ways to be successful in offensive transition.”

Dinos Mitoglou echoed the satisfaction of starting strong: “Italy is a great team with depth at both bigs and guards. We’re very happy with the winning margin and we’re very happy that we responded when they came back. We have to be happy today and keep building.”

Kostas Papanikolaou, a steady veteran presence, stressed the importance of constant growth throughout the tournament: “I think overall we did a very good job. We had some moments in the second quarter – some stretches where we were not executing our plan. But we said before we came here that we want to keep evolving and getting better during the tournament.”

Tyler Dorsey kept it simple, pointing to what sealed the win: “It’s just good to get a win under our belt. The defensive end won us that game tonight. We focused on the smallest details of all the players and it led us to the victory.”

On the Italian side, despite the loss, Pozzecco praised his players’ fight while acknowledging their shooting woes. He even revisited his sniper comment: “We played solid. I am happy with the behavior of my players. They were really focused on the game. We prepared something – yesterday of course I was joking with the sniper – and they really did on the court what we wanted to do. We needed to play a little bit better offensively. We didn’t shoot well. But we were competitive tonight.”

Veteran forward Danilo Gallinari added: “It was a very good game, a physical game. I thought we played a better first half than second half. We created some open shots that we missed in the first half, and we didn’t create the same shots in the second half. We have to keep our intensity and energy up for 40 minutes to play against these kinds of teams.”

For Greece, this was another chapter in their long rivalry with Italy, which has now seen the Greeks take eight wins in 17 official FIBA meetings.

The stakes are high and the schedule unrelenting: next up for Greece is a showdown with hosts Cyprus, while Italy must regroup quickly to face Georgia, fresh off their upset of defending champions Spain.

Antetokounmpo’s opening night masterpiece, however, set the tone for the Greeks. Italy may have tried everything, but when Giannis is locked in, no “sniper” exists to slow him down.