Game Summary

Turning point: Late in the second quarter Israel cut the lead to three, 43-40, and plot to forge a lead by the half time break, but a time out by Coach Jonas Kazlauskas and a 13-2 run led by Ioannis Kalampokis put Greece up by 14 at the break and from there it was never a close game again.

Hero: There was not one specific player on the Greek squad who stood out in this win. Sofoklis Schortsanitis used the rest of Ioannis Bouroursis got to better his averages and show his dominance with 16 points in 15 minutes to mention the most impressive stat line of the Greek side.

Stats: Greece scored 11 three balls in 50% to reach a total field goal percentage of 62%. In a game they scored 106 points and rested Ioannis Bouroursis it says how much the Greek offense is ready for the Qualifying Round.

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Greece remained perfect at the end of the Preliminary Round in Group A at Poznan after a 106-80 win over Israel in the last day of the championship.

The game had no influence on the final standings whatsoever and as a result Coach Jonas Kazlauskas chose to rest Ioannis Bouroursis towards the Qualifying Round where Greece will carry two wins in a great pole position for the Quarter-Finals.

"When you come to EuroBasket you don't know what to expect, you just come to play well in every game and hope to win, but I'm very happy we are 3-0 now," said Vasilis Spanoulis of Greece following the win.

"This is a young team and we still learn things, but it's very encouraging we're playing much better than we did in the preparation, and I hope we'll be able to keep it in the next round as well," added the Greek guard.

Israel is ranked 13-16 where they were ranked only once in history in 1993, yet this is the first ever EuroBasket Israel travel back home without a single win.

Greece used a late second quarter run to open a gap Israel couldn't put in danger, and sealed to the win in the second half.

Spanoulis led five Greek players in double-digits with 18 points and five assists. Antonios Fotsis and Sofoklis Schortsanitis added 16 each, Ioannis Kalampokis added 12 and Knostantinos Kaimakoglou had ten.

Israel saw 21 points and eight rebounds by Lior Eliyahu and 15 by Raviv Limonad.

Without Bourousis in the line-up Greece struggled in the early minutes.

Halperin shinned for Israel to set a 13-7 lead, but Spanoulis answered at the other end with a 16-4 run in which six different Greek players scored.

Greece maintained the lead to finish the first quarter up 31-25, but saw a stubborn Israel stay in the game.

Eliyahu collected points and Kaimakoglou gathered buckets again and again, to keep Greece on top.

Kazlauskas called for a time-out with 3:21 to play in the first half, and saw Gal Mekel score right after the huddle to make it a 43-40 game but Kalampokis scored seven points in a 13-2 Greek run until the break that set the gap on 14 entering the second half.

Spanoulis pushed the gap higher and Schortsanitis used his big body to dominate the paint as the margin extended beyond the 20 point line.

Early in the last quarter the team from Jerusalem managed to cut the lead down to a single-digit but the Greek answer was quick and decisive, to set a tournament high of 106 points.

Raviv Limonad, Israel:

"It was a disappointing game for us. We didn't play what we wanted to play. We have to focus on the future and we have many things to consider."

Nikolaos Zizis, Greece:

"We played good basketball, especially in the second half. We are satisfied with the result. We are in good spirits, but we know that in the next round things will be more difficult."

Zvi Sherf, Israel coach:

"It was a game only for the protocol. I have to congratulate Greece, they play the best defense in the tournament. We are disappointed, it's a shock for me and my team. We have a lot of time to think about what happened in this tournament."

Jonas Kazlauskas, Greece coach:

"I'm happy, this round was very successful for us. We won all our games and gained a psychological boost. We fight, start from tough defense and are efficient in offense. There are only several small things that we have to correct. This tournament shows that there are no weak teams anymore."

The closing game of Group A in Poznan between the group's winner Greece (2-0) and the team to go home Israel (0-2), will have no influence on the final standings in the group.

Both team's destiny is set in stone already, so for both teams it will be a good chance to think about the future.

Coach Jonas Kazlauskas will get a chance to rest some of his top players and give minutes and experience to some of the youngsters who didn't play so far, as well as oiling some parts in the Greek machine towards the Qualifying Round.

Israel never finished a EuroBasket without wining a single game, and wouldn't like to write 2009 in the history books.

After failing to pass the Preliminary Round only for the second time in the team's history, and first time since 1993, a lot of pride is on the line for the Israelis who drowned in sorrow after yesterday's loss, but must recover in less than 24 hours, even if only for the sake of pride.

Head-to-head: The total record between Greece and Israel stand on 10-5 in favor of the Greeks, but this record divides into two periods. In the first six games between the teams Israel wrote all their five wins, which means Greece stand on a nine game win streak. Oddly enough the last time Israel knocked down Greece was in 1993, and it was also the first and last time Israel didn't advance from the Preliminary Round group stage and finished at the bottom of the standings, just like will happen now.

Last time out: Greece set an example and released a loud statement with a 76-68 triumph over Croatia in a game that was one-sided much more than the final score tells. Israel fought for their lives and chased the entire second half after the F.Y.R of Macedonia but eventually lost 82-79.

Stats: Yaniv Green's injury in the second quarter yesterday forced him to sit out most of the second half, and this could be carried into today's game as well. Israel allowed 14 and 17 offensive rebounds in the first two days, will probably have great difficulties against the immense front line of Ioannis Bourousis, Kostas Koufos, Sofoklis Schortsanitis and the gang even if Green is 100%. Without him it could be an even less pleasant night on the boards for the Israeli side.

Key Match-Up: Yotam Halperin and Vasilis Spanoulis are big rivals during the season as well. The first is playing for Olympiacos while the other for archrivals Panathinaikos. Spanoulis has been the main force of the Greek back court system while Halperin was cold on Day One but reached 20 points yesterday. In order to look the Greek giant in the eyes, Israel must need another big night by Halperin, and if Spanoulis wouldn't be a factor at the other end things could get more interesting than expected.

X-Factor: Lior Eliyahu exploded with 31 points in the first night against Croatia but dropped to only 12 in the tough loss the following day. With Green's injury playing a role, Israel must get another big game from Eliyahu in hope to have a chance against the erupting Greek team.

Sounding-Off: "The fact the game has no meaning makes no difference for us. We want to finish the group with a perfect record in a Greek way." - Ioannis Bourousis of Greece plans no mercy for Israel.