Greece have defeated Georgia 73-60 in their final game of Group F.
Georgia’s fate was already sealed, following losses to FYR of Macedonia and Finland, and they leave the tournament having not recorded a win in Group F.
Hellas were led by Konstantinos Vasileiadis, who hit 15 points, supported by Ioannis Bourousis, who scored 13 points.
“It was a good match but we didn’t play good defence in the first half,” Vasileiadis said afterwards.
“We want to win every game whether it matters or not”.
For long periods of the first quarter, Georgia had the advantage. A dunk from Giorgi Shermadini gave them a 12-9 lead. The big man repeated about a minute later to make sure the Georgians had the lead after the first period (13-12).
Antonios Fotis gave Greece the lead in the early stages of the second period until a Marquez Haynes triple cancelled it out (20-19).
A bucket from Shermadini extended Georgia’s lead to five with just over a minute left of the half. A pair of free-throws from Konstantinos Kaimakoglou narrowed the gap at the interval to 35-32.
Both teams traded buckets to begin the third, but the deadlock was broken by Nikolaos Zisis, who gave Greece a 50-45 lead. He also split a pair of foul shots to give his side a 51-47 lead going into the final stanza.
Greece would then score the next six points in the fourth to give them a double-digit lead to put the game beyond doubt, as Georgia faded when it mattered.
