EuroBasket 2025: After the nightmare, don’t get lost – Everything for the bronze at 17:00, Greece vs. Finland

The imagination of Greece returning to a EuroBasket last after 20 years and chasing its 3rd golden medal successful the tourney turned into a nightmare, arsenic Turkey thoroughly dominated Friday’s semifinal. However, that mediocre show cannot erase the team’s wide travel and the representation it showed successful Cyprus and Latvia.

Before tip-off, the Greece–Turkey clash looked to neutrals similar the eventual derby, but it took lone a fewer minutes to recognize it wasn’t our night. We trailed 0–7 close away, and though the “second unit” chopped the shortage to 20–26 aboriginal successful the 2nd quarter, anticipation was short-lived.

It was the 12th infinitesimal of the game, the lone infinitesimal erstwhile the Turks made immoderate mistakes. But successful the adjacent 8 minutes, Alperen Sengun (quiet until then) entered the equation on with the unstoppable Ercan Osmani (28 points for the accustomed relation subordinate of Efes and Turkey), starring a 23–11 tally that gave Turkey a 49–31 halftime lead.

In the archetypal 20 minutes we committed 12 turnovers (!), portion Ergin Ataman pulled disconnected a masterstroke, becoming the archetypal manager of the tourney to neutralize Giannis Antetokounmpo without having to “lock him successful the locker room.” The last 94–68 scoreline shows conscionable however just Turkey’s triumph was successful a crippled wherever we ne'er truly showed up.

Neither defence nor offense

The 22 turnovers that crippled our violative output, our defence that ne'er functioned, and our inability to lucifer Turkey’s vigor each led to the blowout. And to marque matters worse, alternatively of being punished by Sengun and Osman arsenic feared, we fell unfortunate to Osmani (who started 4/4 from 3 and finished with 6/8 for 28 points), who delivered the champion show of his career.

At the aforesaid time, for the archetypal clip successful this tournament, we couldn’t propulsion a hidden ace from our sleeve successful a important game. In the opener vs. Italy it was Dinos Mitoglou, against Spain successful the “group final” it was Tyler Dorsey, successful the quarterfinal vs. Lithuania it was Vassilis Toliopoulos. On Friday night, though, cipher enactment connected the superhero cape to springiness the squad the spark it needed. Not adjacent Giannis…

The biggest challenge

Greece missed the accidental against Turkey to unafraid a spot successful the last and connected the podium, but contiguous (14/9, 17:00) there’s a 2nd accidental to instrumentality location with a medal. Even if it’s bronze. Because if, earlier the tourney began, idiosyncratic asked america if we’d settee for 3rd place, astir would accidental “yes.”

If the semifinal against Ataman’s squad was a large but failed bet, present Vassilis Spanoulis and his players look an adjacent greater challenge:

To prime up the pieces, acceptable speech the disappointment of the atrocious show and the dense loss, and bring retired their champion selves again against Finland. Not due to the fact that the past content is what stays, but due to the fact that this squad genuinely deserves to adjacent a (long) rhythm with a occurrence we’ve been waiting acold excessively galore years to celebrate.

Sixteen years of “curse”

The day was August 6, 2024, erstwhile Greece mislaid 76–63 to Germany successful the Olympic quarterfinal and said goodbye to Paris. Despite our awesome commencement that gave america a +12 pb and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s affectional 22 points, it wasn’t capable to interruption into the medal zone, which has remained a “forbidden land” for 16 years. Years afloat of coaching changes, missed opportunities, and endless analyses astir wherefore we couldn’t succeed.

Now comes the eventual contrast: from “when volition we observe again?” to the bitterness of losing a EuroBasket semifinal. That unsocial shows determination has been progress, steps forward—but not capable yet to instrumentality america backmost to the top.

Spanoulis’ law

This isn’t Spanoulis’ archetypal large tourney arsenic caput coach. The 2024 Paris Olympics came first, erstwhile the rookie Thessalian manager firmly returned to the planetary stage.

“Whoever wants to beryllium successful the National Team volition be… Whoever doesn’t privation to, won’t—because representing Greece is an honor, and I cognize this firsthand. I served and experienced large successes and failures. I cognize the way. The lone mode for hoops to emergence is unity. Everyone indispensable enactment the National Team first,” helium had said successful June 2024 earlier the Olympic Qualifiers. And with meaning added: “We play for our legacy, for our flag, for our country.

We each person to beryllium unneurotic successful occurrence and failure. If we don’t win 1 year, we’ll win the next. That’s the lone certainty. The National Team is supra all. Those who travel indispensable sacrifice, arsenic we erstwhile broke our bodies to walk connected our emotion to the adjacent generations.”

Why retrieve this now? Because successful his 2nd large tourney arsenic nationalist coach, Spanoulis has genuinely stamped his people connected the team—much much than past summertime successful Paris. And these assessments don’t alteration aft the nightmare semifinal against Turkey.

He knows that large defeats hurt, they “stink similar manure,” arsenic has been said—but they besides amusement the mode to success.

From Limassol to the Final Four successful Riga, helium had 12 soldiers acceptable to travel his plan, fundamentally having the last roster successful caput from the start. Some doubted his choices, but the result—our spot successful the apical four—proved him right. He took the players who could champion service his hoops and got Greece among Europe’s elite.

Next to Giannis Antetokounmpo basal 2 veterans, Kostas Papanikolaou and Kostas Sloukas, who person been with the National Team for 20 years. When the men’s squad past won a medal (EuroBasket 2009, bronze), they were celebrating golden with the U20s.

Both long-serving warriors, erstwhile teammates of Spanoulis, present embody self-sacrifice and acceptable the example. Sloukas reminds everyone wherefore he’s agelong been among Europe’s champion playmakers, portion Papanikolaou plays similar a terminator, shutting down each hostile assigned to him. And erstwhile the 2 35-year-olds behave this mode successful what seems to beryllium their “Last Dance,” nary younger teammate tin neglect to follow.

Especially since adjacent Giannis grew up idolizing Spanoulis and the respect toward him is immense—not conscionable arsenic a legendary subordinate but present arsenic a manager gathering his ain legacy. After 2 years astatine Peristeri (2022–2024), his coaching baptism, helium went to Monaco aft Paris, starring them to their archetypal EuroLeague last (Abu Dhabi 2025).

Even with each his acquisition arsenic a player, this EuroLeague travel helped him mature rapidly arsenic a coach. Even the semifinal decision to Turkey—his archetypal duel with Ataman astatine nationalist level—was a harsh but invaluable lesson, particularly successful presumption of intelligence mentation and readiness.

The astir focused Giannis

In a squad athletics similar basketball, seldom does 1 subordinate triumph thing alone—not adjacent a azygous game, fto unsocial a medal. But a superstar similar Giannis Antetokounmpo makes the difference, particularly erstwhile helium shows up similar helium has successful this tournament.

His emotion for the National Team has ever been evident, and for years he’s wanted thing much than to observe occurrence with Greece. Having already won an NBA title and MVP titles, the lone happening missing is simply a medal with the National Team. Unlike successful past tournaments, insiders speech astir his unthinkable absorption since time one: “I’m present to triumph a medal, and I’ll combat until the extremity with each I’ve got,” helium said, recalling the Giannis of the 2021 NBA Finals erstwhile helium led the Bucks to their archetypal rubric successful 50 years.

Up to now, he’s the lone subordinate who hasn’t spoken to the media aft games, though helium remains his approachable, humorous aforesaid wrong the team. That’s however his manager treats him too. In a affable vs. Latvia helium scored 20 points successful 1 quarter, and erstwhile Spanoulis rested him, helium pulled him speech and coached him for respective minutes—something Giannis loves: being fed details connected however to improve.

It didn’t enactment retired connected Friday. Even helium is allowed a atrocious night. Did it travel astatine the worst moment? Certainly. But now, earlier heading home, we’re assured that against Lauri Markkanen’s Finland he’ll find a mode to adhd the 1 happening missing from his collection…