Greece falls to Portugal 71-56, finishes first qualifying phase at 3-3
A 71-56 home defeat to Portugal in the final game of the first phase leaves Greece with a 3-3 record and a difficult path in the 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.
Game flow
Greece started with Bazinas, Mitrou-Long, Charalampopoulos, Papanikolaou and Kouzeloglou but fell behind 6-0. Vasilis Toliopoulos came off the bench to score the first Greek points, and a 7-0 run gave the hosts a brief 7-6 lead. Portugal responded to close the first quarter 19-15. Greece tied the game at 21-21 midway through the second period, then went scoreless for almost three minutes as Portugal built a 28-23 halftime advantage.
The visitors stretched the lead to double digits at 41-30 in the third quarter and entered the fourth up 53-42. A 9-0 Portuguese burst made it 62-42 with just over eight minutes to play. Dimitris Moraitis scored six consecutive points and drew an offensive foul to spark a Greek rally that cut the margin to 63-53, but the comeback stalled.
- Greece 15-19 Portugal
- Greece 23-28 Portugal
- Greece 42-53 Portugal
- Greece 56-71 Portugal
Shooting struggles
Greece shot just 7-of-36 from three-point range and 13-of-30 on two-pointers. The team managed only 23 first-half points and went nearly three minutes without a score late in the second quarter. Portugal controlled the glass, outrebounding Greece 47 to 35.
- Greece 2-pointers made
- 13
- Portugal 2-pointers made
- 16
- Greece 3-pointers made
- 7
- Portugal 3-pointers made
- 8
- Greece rebounds
- 35
- Portugal rebounds
- 47
Sold-out crowd
All tickets for the Sunel Arena were sold, and the Hellenic Basketball Federation had expressed hope that the fans would carry the team to victory.
The Sunel Arena will be dressed in blue and white and the fans will give a boost to the Greek team to finish the first stage of qualification for the Qatar finals with a victory.
Qualification picture
The result means Greece carries a 3-3 record into the second phase, where it will face Spain, Georgia and Ukraine starting in late August. The top three teams from each first-round group advance, carrying results against fellow qualifiers. Greece's two losses to Romania and Portugal will now weigh on its campaign.
What's next
Head coach Vasilis Spanoulis used the same 12-man roster that lost in Romania, with injuries keeping out Dinos Mitoglou, Panagiotis Kalaitzakis and Dimitris Flionis. The next qualifying window is scheduled for late August, when Greece must regroup against three tough opponents.
