Game Report: Egypt's quest for Olympic qualification ended with a blowout 93-71 loss to Greece in the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Despite the absence of Nigerian-Greek NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who did not participate in the game, Greece dominated the match.
Last Updated on
July 6, 2024
Kendi Mwiti
Staff Writer
Ahmed Metwaly's heroics, as he emerged top scorer with 22 points for Egypt, were not enough for the Pharaohs as they fell 93-71 to Greece.
The two sides clashed in a group B match at the ongoing men's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Greece with the African side needing victory, and by a big margin, for a chance at the semis.
In a match that saw Greece go to battle without one of their star players in Giannis Antetokounmpo, coach Vassilis Spanoulis charges still dominated, dropping treys at will for the victory that puts them against Slovenia in the semis.
"We prepared like Greece is one of the top teams in the world with many profile players away for Giannis. We are glad to have had a close game for the most part. We did our best," Egypt's power forward Omar El-Sheikh said after the march adding that the team is getting better with each competition.
The hosts, powered by Olympiacos legend Kostas Papanikolaou who had an MVP performance of 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting, done in just 16 minutes, led all quarters, coming from a 46-41 scoreline at the start of the third quarter to win by 22. Greece's 34 assists against Egypt's 14 pointed to the hosts' team work with their three-point shooting pro"I congratulate our group for playing a competitive game against one of the world's best teams. I know Giannis was not playing but the quality in the Greece team this year is amazing. I think it is the best team they have had in a long time.
If they make it to Paris they can medal and for our group to play like they did, especially in the first half, it shows basketball in Egypt is growing and they will be good in the future," coach Henrik said after the match.
Coach Henrik Rödl's side gave the ball away 17 times, Greece capitalising to score 21 from said turnovers as the Pharaohs managed 8 from the hosts 12 giveaways.
"I congratulate our group for playing a competitive game against one of the world's best teams. I know Giannis was not playing but the quality in the Greece team this year is amazing. I think it is the best team they have had in a long time.
If they make it to Paris they can medal and for our group to play like they did, especially in the first half, it shows basketball in Egypt is growing and they will be good in the future," coach Henrik said after the match.
"I congratulate our group for playing a competitive game against one of the world's best teams. I know Giannis was not playing but the quality in the Greece team this year is amazing. I think it is the best team they have had in a long time.
If they make it to Paris they can medal and for our group to play like they did, especially in the first half, it shows basketball in Egypt is growing and they will be good in the future," coach Henrik said after the match.
On his part, Vasilis Charalampopoulos who scored 13, adding 4 rebounds to his tally says the match was good practice fro upcoming matches as they faced an Egyptian side with big bodies.
"They gave us good practice for our zone offense and defense but we could have done better on the latter. We ran the floor well and found easy baskets that made up for our defensive shortcomings," he offered.
[Photography / Imagery Courtesy of FIBA]
