Greece eased to victory in their first game in China, dominating Jordan in the Suzhou International Basketball Challenge, with the help of their Milwaukee Bucks duo.
After a win for Ersan Ilyasova and his Turkish team on Friday, Saturday marked the turn of another Milwaukee Bucks pair to make their bow in the Suzhou International Basketball Challenge, as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Thanasis Antetokounmpo were in action for Greece.
Greece’s first game of the exhibition event serving as the final tune-up for eight of the teams set to compete in the FIBA World Cup came against Jordan, and presented minimal difficulty to an increasingly confident Greek squad.
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With key players such as Giannis and Thanasis able to play somewhat limited minutes, Greece racked up an impressive 92 points on their Jordanian opponents, ultimately prevailing with a dominant 27-point victory.
In all, five Greek players finished with double-digit point tallies, with Giorgos Printezis leading the way with 17 points.
Of course, in his 20 minutes of action, Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn’t far behind with 13 points, and a stuffed stat sheet of four rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks beyond that.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo logged 10 minutes, dropping in six points and two rebounds on a perfect 2-of-2 shooting from the field.
For Giannis, a mid-range jumper represented his only made field goal in an uncharacteristically quiet first half, which of course led to something of a reaction once the third quarter got underway.
In his stint in that period, Giannis’ hands were on everything as he may have been looking to work through some frustration. That led to a host of dimes for open teammates as he saw multiple defenders at all times, and two emphatic chase down blocks that pinned opponents’ shots to the backboard.
Giannis also got to add to his scoring tally with a simple dunk, although a few possessions later he went for something much spectacular, ultimately seeing his audacious windmill attempt catapult off the rim and fly back over his head toward half court.
The fourth quarter included two three-point plays for the reigning NBA MVP. One came the old fashioned way as he absorbed contact to get to the line for an And-1, but the other came in the form of a smooth pull-up three that will be encouraging to both Bucks and Greece fans.
For Thanasis, the scoring burst was reserved for the game’s final minute, as his pair of field goal makes came via breakaway transition dunks.
Greece will now move on to the semi-finals of the tournament, with the prospect of an all-Bucks final with Turkey very much still on the cards.