Bosnia and Herzegovina took an important step forward in the fight for qualification to the Round of 16 of EuroBasket 2025. In a match from Group C in Limassol, the Bosnians defeated Greece 80-77, inflicting the “Greeks” their first defeat since the beginning of the tournament. It should be noted, however, that superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo did not play for Greece, who missed the second consecutive match. Against Cyprus, he was rested, and today he was again left out of the squad, but according to some media, the reason this time is different – discomfort in the knee.
In the absence of the Milwaukee Bucks winger, Greece started the match well and took the first quarter with 25-19. However, they played a weak second period, which they lost with 13-25. By the end of the match, the Greeks were lagging behind in the score. At the very end, they came seriously close to their opponent, but the strength of Vassilis Spanoulis’ players was ultimately not enough to turn the game around.
The defeat is not fatal for the Greek team, which had already secured its place in the Round of 16. Giannis Antetokounmpo and company have 3 wins and 1 loss. For Bosnia and Herzegovina, however, the victory is of great importance, since the team led by Aziz Bekir already has 2 wins and 2 losses.
The new player of Utah Jazz – center Jusuf Nurkic, made a huge contribution to the victory of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a double-double – 18 points and 10 rebounds. To these, he added 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 block. John Roberson also scored 18 points for the winners, and Edin Atic accounted for 15 points and 8 rebounds.
Veteran Kostas Sloukas was the top scorer for Greece with 15 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds, Tyler Dorsey scored 14 points, and another experienced player, wing Kostas Papanikolaou, recorded 11 points and 7 rebounds.
