By ADRIAN STEWART CO
Greece overcame a double-digit deficit at the half to score an 83-74 win over New Zealand and moved to the round-of-16 of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Wednesday night, August 30.
New Zealand had a surprising performance in the first half as they led by as much as 15 points before settling for a 43-32 advantage at the half before Greece slowly clawed its way back in the second half.
Greece increased their aggression on defense in the second half as they forced New Zealand to make turnovers to cut the deficit to 46-49, but the latter still found ways to score as they hung on to a 54-50 lead.
However, the Greeks turned things around in the final quarter with a 9-0 start to take a 59-54 lead, which later grew to as high as 12 points before preventing New Zealand’s several fightbacks in the endgame.
Ioannis Papapetrou top-scored with 27 points, including four three-point conversions, to go with six rebounds, as the Greeks clinched the last round-of-16 slot in Group B with their 2-1 record.
Giannoulis Larentzakis contributed 20 markers with three outside connections, while Thomas Walkup struggled on offense with 10 points, on 3-of-10 field goal shooting, for Greece.
Shea Ili finished with 27 markers to lead New Zealand, Reuben Te Rangi added 19 markers, while Finn Delany ended with double-double 10 points and 14 rebounds as they were relegated to the classification round.
Meanwhile, Puerto Rico made its way to the next phase of the competition as it pulled away from China in the second half for a 107-89 victory at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Tremont Waters top-scored for the 2-1 Puerto Ricans with 22 points, Ismael Romero added double-double 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Christopher Ortiz contributed 13 points in the win.
Slovenia got 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds from Luka Doncic as they defeated Cape Verde, 92-77, while Spain overcame a tough stand by Iran for an 85-65 triumph.
GREECE 83 — Papapetrou 27, Larentzakis 20, Walkup 10, Papagiannis 8, Papanikolaou 8, Lountzis 5, Rogkavopoulos 3, Antetokounmpo 2, Moraitis 0, Bochoridis 0, Chatzidakis 0.
NEW ZEALAND 74 — Ili 27, Te Rangi 19, Delany 10, Ngatai 9, Fotu 5, Wetzell 4, Le’afa 0, Cameron 0, Smith-Milner 0.
Quarterscores: 15-20, 32-43, 50-54, 83-74./ASC, WDJ