FIBAEurope.com
    logo

    Greece

    61-64
    Final score
    ( 14-11, 14-15, 12-20, 21-18)
    06 September 2008 19:00h
    Glyfada

    Serbia

    logo
    Referees: Aleksander Gorshkov (RUS), Fabiana Nitu (ROU) Spectators: 350
    GAME REPORT
    BOXSCORE
    PLAY BY PLAY
    06 September 2008

    Ines Kresovic had 19 points and five rebounds to lead Serbia past previously unbeaten Greece and to a second straight win on Saturday.

    Playing on the road, the Serbians won 64-61 with an excellent third quarter the platform they used for victory.

    Trailing 28-26 at half-time, the visitors outscored Greece 20-12 over the next 10 minutes to take the lead for good.

    They went in front by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter.

    Dimitra Kalentzou, who had 17 points and seven rebounds for Greece, made a three-pointer with 16 seconds remaining to cut Serbia's lead to 62-58.

    The home side fouled with no time running off the clock and put Marija Eric on the line, but the point guard made both free throws for a 64-58 advantage and they held on for the triumph.

    One reason why the Serbs were able to win was their superiority on the boards.

    They finished with 42 rebounds to just 28 for Greece.

    Center Ana Perovic had a game-high 10 boards to go with her nine points for Serbia.

    Jelena Milovanovic also scored 10 and grabbed eight rebounds for the winners.

    The result means Greece still lead Group D but with a 3-1 record while Belgium and Serbia are both 2-2 and Bulgaria 1-3.

    06 September 2008
    Kostas Missas, Greece coach:

    "We had a good game in defense, but I cannot say the same thing about our offense. Serbia is one of the best teams of our group and we didn't manage to take advantage of some free shots we had during the game. At the end we managed to lower the difference, to cut it to three points. We got defeated with three points, the same difference we have won in Serbia. It was a disadvantage for us that we didn't manage to control the rebounds, against a team that had a lot of solutions in the paint and taller players."

    Toula Kalentzou, Greece player:

    "We didn't play well. We couldn't find the basket from long distance. The defeat came because of our bad percentage in shooting, and not from our defense. We played rather well in defense. Now we must concentrate on our next game. We need the win against Bulgaria on Wednesday. We have to give our best and get the win away from home."

    Jovica Antonic, Serbia coach:

    "It was a very important game for us. Now we still have chances to get to Eurobasket. We knew that we had possibilities to get the positive result if we could make it a low scoring game. We tried to play good defense on Greece's most dangerous players and to control the rhythm. The victory is what is important for us but it will mean something only if we get the win against Belgium. Our win will force Greece to beat Bulgaria, a result that is good for us."

    Marija Eric, Serbia player:

    "It was a very important game for us and we knew it. Had we lost today, it would have been game over for us! We played very well for two periods, but we lost our rhythm on the way. Anyway, in the end we managed to get the win and that is the important point."

    PHOTO GALLERY

    TOP PERFORMERS

    logo
    headshot
    headshotlogo
    17Pts19
    7Reb5
    1Ass0
    33Min26

    ACCUMULATED STATS

    logo
    Greece
    logo
    Serbia
    19/57FG M/A22/50
    9/24 (37.5%)FG2P M/A17/33 (51.5%)
    10/33 (30.3%)FG3P M/A5/17 (29.4%)
    13/17 (76.5%)FT M/A15/20 (75.0%)
    28 (10-18)Reb (O-D)42 (11-31)
    12Ass14
    14TO19
    9ST2
    2BS0
    17PF20
    61Pts64