Game Summary

Turning point: Up by only six, 74-68, with three minutes to play it was time for Greece to step up, and their two best players of the night delivered. After Sofoklis Schortsanitis scored another power move and got a bonus from the line, he missed his shot but saw his team grab the ball. Vasilis Spanoulis finished that play with an off the dribble three-pointer and in 16 seconds made a close six point game into an 11 point difference.

Hero: Vasilis Spanoulis is a silent killer. He finished the game with 20 points on 66% shooting from the field, seven assists and four rebounds but from the outside it seemed like he was nothing more than OK game. The fact he also nailed the three pointer to decide the game, is a cherry on the cream, but one that makes a big difference.

Stats: 15 turnovers by Germany, compared to only ten by Greece, were enough to keep the win on the Greek side. Whenever Germany came close, and that happened several times especially in the last quarter, the Greek defense stepped up and forced another turnover to create easy points at the other end and stay on top.

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Greece booked their place in Katowice with a hard fought 84-76 victory over Germany on the first day of Qualifying Round action in Bydgosszcz.

The win lifts Greece to a 3-0 record in the group, while Germany fell to 1-2.

Heiko Schaffartzik led the way for Germany with 25 points, with 15 of them coming in the second half.

The young fighters of Coach Dirk Bauermann of Germany deserve all the credits for a hard-nosed fight throughout the entire game.

The last lead for Germany was early in the game in the fourth minute, but for the other 36 minutes Greece never managed to surrender the German spirit and team play.

The largest margin was 13, early in the last quarter, yet 20-year-old Robin Benzing with 12 fourth quarter points showed why he was the top scorer of the U20 European Championship earlier this summer, and proved he can execute also against some of the best defenders in EuroBasket 2009.

Vasilis Spanoulis scored 20 points on 66% shooting including the three-pointer that secured the Greek win, in addition to seven assists and four rebounds.

Sofoklis Schortsanitis added 14 points while Antonios Fotsis and Nikos Zisis added 12 each.

Heiko Schaffartzik led the losing side with 23 points, 15 of them in the second half, and Benzing added 16.

"We played very well and we could have won the game, but at the end they kept making shots and always had answers for what we did," commented Schaffartzik in the press conference, words that were backed by the other side as well.

"Germany played a great game and gave us a lot of problems," confessed Coach Jonas Kazlauskas.

"The inside game was very difficult for both sides, and it shows they were very ready for this game.

"They controlled the tempo, which made it very difficult for us to play them," he summarized.

Once again the first bucket of Greece came from a post up move of Bouroursis, but Femerling answered right away on the other end.

Nikos Zisis drew three early fouls from Steffan Hamann after just four minutes, but Germany continued to be in foul trouble, and reached no less than 13 personal fouls after one quarter.

"We executed our game plan very well, as we wanted to play as smart and aggressive as Greece does," revealed Coach Bauermann.

"Maybe we were too aggressive in the first minutes, and it cost us with a lot of quick fouls that allowed Greece to open a gap, and when you allow Greece to take such lead, it's very difficult to come back.

"I think starting too aggressive was the only major mistake we made today."

Three point and second chance shots kept the players of Coach Bauermann in the game, but Spanoulis and Schortsanitis scored the last nine points for their team in the quarter to make it 25-19 after ten minutes.

Jagla missed open shots from distance and the Greek defense started to create casualties with back to back German turnovers to set the difference on 29-19 after 13 minutes.

The young Tibor Pleis added four points before the break and good presence in the paint, and with a huge offensive rebound of Harris carried Germany back into the game, 35-31.

Greece answered with back-to-back three-pointers by Perperoglou and Zisis and the teams entered the break divided by eight, 41-33.

"In the start of the third quarter for no reason our defense relaxed," shared Zisis.

'We let them score some easy baskets on pick-and-roll and one-on-one situations, and that allowed them to come back into the game."

The German bigs added points from inside (Femerling) and on the arc (Sven Schultze) to cut the margin to only four, 49-45 after five minutes in the second half, but things were still under control for Greece.

Georgios Printezis and points in the paint by Kostas Koufos and Schortsanitis set the margin on its highest shelf again at 12, 57-45, and after the massive Schortsanitis added a monster dunk it was time for Germany to call for a time out, before things got out of hand, deep in the third.

Benzing hit a nice jumper, added two from the line and now it was time for Coach Kazlauskas to ask for a time out, up by only seven, 66-59 with the same amount of minutes on the clock.

Benzing was on fire and after a big three pointer finished with great footwork to cut the difference to only four, 70-66, but that was as close as Germany ever came.

Up by six Schortsanitis completed another power move, and earned a bonus from the line.

He missed the shot, but Greece were first on the rebound, enough for Spanoulis to convert a three pointer and set the margin on 11 with 2:21 to play.

Benzing still cut on the lead, but it was already too late for his team.

"It was a really good game for both teams," said Benzing to the press.

"In the end we made some stupid mistakes that cost us the game.

"They just hit their shots in the right time and that's why they won the game," he concluded.

On Sunday Greece will play Russia while Germany will try to grab a win against F.Y.R. of Macedonia.

Sofoklis Schortsanitis, Greece player:

"We won this game, but it is only the first step to the final round in Katowice. Now we are thinking about the next game against the Russians. Tomorrow we will play a friendly game against each other to prepare as well as possibile for the next match against Russia. Did I really almost destroy basket during making a slum dunk? Well, it's just my nature."

Jonas Kazlauskas, Greece Coach:

"They played an excellent game. They controlled the tempo. It was very difficult for us to play against such a team. I agree that free throws were our problem. Maybe it is a matter of psychology. The problem has to be solved."

Dirk Bauermann, Germany Coach:

"The biggest problem for us was the first quarter. We were over aggressive and committed unnecessary fouls. Generally we made mental mistakes and it took us time to solve these problems. When we found out that Dirk will not play we had the two hardest trainings ever. Maybe this team does not have experience but it has a great potential. We still have chances to get to the final eight."

Jan-Hendrik Jagla, Germany Player:

"Even if we lost I consider this game to be good. Couple of successful shots and slum dunks made by  Greek players resulted in our loss. We don't feel pressure, we gathered experience for the next game in this tournament."

The second match in Group E in Bydgoszcz will feature Germany and Greece, two teams with different targets.

Greece arrive as the Group A king carrying two wins in their back pocket, and wish to remain perfect after the first day of the Qualifying Round. One more win should give them a lot of breathing space coming into the next few days.

Germany made it to the Qualifying Round only in the closing seconds of Group B and cherish every extra minute they get to spend at EuroBasket 2009 after arriving with minimum expectations.

Germany has a very young roster and a limited team on the offensive end, but their team play and fighting spirit is what brought them here, not only with a win over Russia but also with the knowledge they matched-up with a powerhouse as France.

Greece eye the third day of the Qualifying Round when they will match up with France, which will probably be their first real challenge here, but until then need to make sure there will be no slump in their readiness and concentration.

Another walk in the park as the first and last games in Group A will allow Greece to focus on the later stages earlier than others, but might also hurt their sharpness when the big Quarter-Finals day arrive and a strong contender will wait at the other side of court.

Until then they will try to maintain the ambitious German team that will hope not to suffer the same blow Israel and the F.Y.R. of Macedonia felt before in Poznan.

Head-to-head: The all time record is in favor of the Germans who won five games and lost four, but the last time these two giants faced each other it was on the biggest stage. The 2005 EuroBasket finals featured Greece and Germany and the 78-62 victory lit up thousands of fans in the Belgrade Arena and much more in Athens. That game registered the biggest margin in these match-ups, as seven of the games between the two were decided by no more than five point difference.

Last time out: Greece secured the top of Group A by setting the tournament high in points behind a 106-80 win over Israel. Russia was five points short against France after a 69-64 loss to take a 1-2 record in Group B.

Stats: We got used for many years to see Greece as a defensive oriented team with a slow paced around the 70 ppg offense, but under Coach Jonas Kazlauskas and after three days of games Greece is topping the Most Points category with 89.3 ppg, and leading the field goal percentages ranking with 57.9%, and second in assists with 17.7. Nevertheless, they still remain one of the best defensive teams by allowing only 67.3 ppg and stealing more balls than any other team here at 9.3 spg.

Key Match-Up: When Ioannis Bourousis was a 17 years old junior player Patrick Femerling was playing a big role in Olympiacos Piraeus. Nowadays things are different. Bouroursis is a star emerging to stardom in the same Greek club, while the 34 year old Femerling is entering the later section of his career. Their match-up could be decisive today. If Femerling will gather his experience and manage to limit the Greek big guy, Greece could face trouble. If Femerling fails, Germany will have to try several other big guys, as Tim Ohlbrecht and Tibor Pleiß, yet they are much younger and less experienced, and it might not be enough to handle the Greek big.

X-Factor: Simple math. Germany averaged 67.7 ppg so far and never their best offensive display was the 76 points scored over Russia, which they will probably not going to reach against the aggressive Greek defense. In order to match up with Greece the gang of Coach Dirk Bauermann will have to limit the #1 offense in the tournament. If Point Guard Steffen Hamann could limit Nikos Zisis and/or Vasilis Spanoulis that would be a big step towards reaching that goal.

Sounding-Off: "No team is just going to give us the victory to go to the next round. We have to earn it. For us to earn it we have to go out and fight hard," Germany's Demond Greene knows what it will take to be in Katowice.