GREECE showed why it’s a Top 10 team in the world even without Giannis Antetokounmpo as it rallied past New Zealand, 83-74, on Wednesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena to catch the last Group C bus to second round of the 2023 Fiba World Cup.
Greece vs New Zealand recap Fiba Basketball World Cup 2023
Ranked ninth in the world, the Greeks turned to Ioannis Papapetrou and Giannoulis Larentzakis to climb out of a deep 15-point hole against the 26th-ranked Tall Blacks to finish the first round with a 2-1 record.
Greece advanced alongside Team USA to the second round where they will face the top two teams from Group D in Lithuania and Montengero.
New Zealand ended the first round at 1-2 and is relegated to the classification phase in Group N with Jordan, Egypt, and Mexico in a battle for 17th to 32nd spots.
Papapetrou dropped 26 points, spiked by four triples, on top of six boards, one assist, one steal, and one block for the Greeks, who erased a 15-point deficit and even led by 12 points for a huge 27-point turnaround.
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