Ukraine beats Greece 82-76 in Riga during World Cup basketball qualifier

Ukrainian perimeter shooting establishes early lead

The Greek national basketball team suffered an 82-76 defeat against Ukraine in Riga, Latvia, on Friday, recording their third consecutive qualifying loss. Head coach Vassilis Spanoulis opened the match with a starting five of Nick Calathes, Tyler Dorsey, Omiros Netzipoglou, Kostas Papanikolaou and Kostas Antetokounmpo. Dorsey scored the first basket of the game, but Ukraine answered with a 5-0 run to take an 8-5 lead. Greece briefly led 12-11 after a three-pointer by Dinos Mitoglou before Ukrainian guards Illia Kovliar and Rostyslav Shulga capitalized from the perimeter. Ukraine established an eight-point margin at 21-14 and 22-14 in the eighth minute, before Giannoulis Larentzakis made a three-pointer to close the first quarter at 24-19.

Defensive rotations and first-half parity

Greek defensive adjustments limited Ukrainian scoring opportunities during the early stages of the second quarter. Kostas Antetokounmpo picked up his third personal foul in the 13th minute with Ukraine leading 28-21, prompting Spanoulis to send Panagiotis Karagiannidis onto the court. Greece mounted a 7-0 run to tie the game at 28-28 following an offensive rebound and a two-pointer by Calathes. After Kovliar hit a three-pointer, Papanikolaou leveled the score again at 31-31 from beyond the arc. Calathes, who led Greek scoring with nine points in the first half, pushed Greece ahead 37-36 before Ukraine closed the half leading 40-37, as Greece made four of 17 three-point attempts.

Second-half perimeter surge by Ukraine

Greece opened the third quarter with an individual 5-0 run from Dorsey, tying the contest at 48-48. Ukraine halted the run as Ivan Tkachenko converted two consecutive three-pointers, establishing a 54-48 lead in the 27th minute and forcing a timeout by Spanoulis. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk added a contested perimeter shot to widen the margin to 62-54 in the 29th minute, and Ukraine closed the third quarter ahead 64-59. In the fourth period, Ukrainian forward Andriy Voinalovych hit two three-pointers to push the gap into double digits at 70-59 by the 32nd minute. Ukraine widened the lead to 80-66 in the 36th minute before Greece trimmed the final margin in the closing minutes.

Standings implications and upcoming Spain fixture

Kovliar led Ukraine with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists on 3-of-5 three-point shooting, while Shulga added 11 points, four rebounds and four assists on 4-of-5 shooting from deep. Mykhailiuk contributed 13 points on 3-of-14 shooting from the field. For Greece, Calathes finished with eight assists and 7-of-10 field goal shooting, while Dorsey matched the team lead with 16 points. The defeat leaves Greece fifth in qualifying Group 9 with three wins and four losses, having carried over three defeats from the first phase. Ukraine strengthened their position in the race for the third and final qualifying place for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Qatar. Greece will host Spain on August 31 at 19:00 at the T-Center in their next qualifying fixture.